TOTALLY GEEKED!

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

Farmer who built a 60ft screen to block her neighbors' view of her home faces $15k fine

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

What do you think. What rights do you have on your own property?

Tinydancer · Guru

There's that word "shunned" being used incorrectly again. Now blocking an unwanted view means you are "shunning" someone. It also says there is no law against this so how are they allowed to fine her? Sheessh.

-- Edited by Tinydancer on Friday 5th of June 2015 08:23:44 AM

Dona Worry Be Happy · Vette's SS!!

HOW DID I NOT HEAR ABOUT THIS???
This is great.
I wasn't aware you needed zoning to build a screen. Geez.

Tangerine · Guru

Not everyone wants to be friends with their neighbors.
Get over it, dude.

just Czech · Give Me Grand's!

Tell me again why the farmer should provide a stunning view for the neighbor?

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

60 feet is ridicuolous. Should someone be able to build up as high as they want? There are zoning laws. Nothing wrong with putting up a privacy fence, but come on.

just Czech · Give Me Grand's!

Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:
60 feet is ridicuolous. Should someone be able to build up as high as they want? There are zoning laws. Nothing wrong with putting up a privacy fence, but come on.

Horses need a taller privacy fence then dogs do. Gosh, it is her land, she doesn't have to provide a view for the freakin' neighbors when their activities spook her livestock.

The neighbors sure as hell don't care about the well being of the farmers livestock.

just Czech · Give Me Grand's!

And the fence is only temporary. As soon as the trees are tall, the fence will come down. So what is the difference?

Tinydancer · Guru

If there are no laws or regulations against it why should they be able to stop her is a more likely question.

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

"Spite fences" are often regulated. It can be considered a nuisance, especially if it would affect your values. But if they fined her because of breaking zoning violations - and she was DENIED a permit, which says there are regulations and she was aware of them.

FNW · Guru

I would like to construct a screen in my backyard so I can have privacy while my trees/bushes grow, too. But I might go with something a little more decorative, and certainly not 60 feet. I have actually discussed this with my neighbors behind me and they fully support me, because they, too, would appreciate the privacy from us, and are willing to assist by planting bushes/trees on their side of the fence also.

That being said, it is rural farm area, not some subdivided housing development where, for purposes of continuity and aesthetics, association rules would apply. Perhaps this problem may have been alleviated had the farmer spoken with the new neighbor prior to erecting the screen, letting them know about the livestock concerns and their intent to temporarily shield their cows from the distraction. This would avoid feeling "shunned."

As for the zoning/permit issues, then I'm not sure what else she can do but figure out a way to make the screen comply.

just Czech · Give Me Grand's!

Dwyer, who unsuccessfully ran for governor, is more privileged, right?
IMHO, he needs to get over himself.

What zoning rule was violated? The article does not say. It is NOT a fence. It IS a screen. Big difference, IMHO.

Mellow Momma · Sniff...sniff, sniff. Yay! A Bum!

just Czech wrote:
Dwyer, who unsuccessfully ran for governor, is more privileged, right?
IMHO, he needs to get over himself.

What zoning rule was violated? The article does not say. It is NOT a fence. It IS a screen. Big difference, IMHO.

She. Dwyer's first name is Ruth.

Lexxy · My dog name is Sasha, too!

The screen is 60 X 24 and since it appears longer than it does tall I assume it is only 24' tall & 60' long.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

This looks like a rural area to me. I don't see the big deal.

I can see certain restrictions in close quarters of subdivisions. But out in the country, I think you should be able to do what you want t with your property.

Mellow Momma · Sniff...sniff, sniff. Yay! A Bum!

lilyofcourse wrote:
This looks like a rural area to me. I don't see the big deal.

I can see certain restrictions in close quarters of subdivisions. But out in the country, I think you should be able to do what you want t with your property.

Agreed.

I also think that when you buy land next to a working farm, you have to roll with it. You have to expect the farmer to do whatever it takes to work the farm.

People have purchasedand next to pig farms and then complained about the smell. To me, this is similar.

burns07 · Guru

this was constructed on private, rural property--would tell the authorities and the neighbor to go to hell and haul them into court, sue them for anguish and nuisance and collect

we have a 9' privacy fence around our place and NO ONE has said a thing over the last 16 or 17 years

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

I'd love to have 100 acres out in the country and a 100 foot wall around the whole thing. Of course a couple gates.

Blankie · Guru

Lexxy wrote:
The screen is 60 X 24 and since it appears longer than it does tall I assume it is only 24' tall & 60' long.

It looks 24 feet tall from the photo.

It's a livestock management issue. The new neighbor needs to accept that, and stop misinterpreting it as shunning.

burns07 · Guru

I'd love to have 100 acres out in the country and a 100 foot wall around the whole thing. Of course a couple gates.
____________________________________________________________________________________________

amen--we recently acquired a couple of sections of Nebraska farmland and are working on a 1031 exchange for a place near here

we like privacy

I know what to do_sometimes · Frozen Sucks!

Something similar happened in my town. We have zoning laws. No fence can be put up higher than 6 ft. But the laws were enforced loosey goosey until a few years ago. There were two warring neighbors. One wanted to put up a 10ft high fence and went to the town hall and was told "oh sure, no problem. " The neighbor he was warring with even agreed. They just didn't want to see each other. After the fence was put up, someone complained (there were not other neighbors close to them). The family was ordered to take it down and assessed a daily fee for every day it was kept up. The towns people were so enraged with the town, we actually put it on a ballot for voting. We overwhelmingly voted to dismiss the fines and legal fees assessed. Sometimes towns have growing pains.

Lexxy · My dog name is Sasha, too!

Mine isn't town related, it is HOA rules about what type of fences are allowed. I bought my house used with a fence the same height as the neighbors on either side with connecting fence lines. About a year later I got letters from the HOA saying my fence was too high & it needed to be taken down or I would be fined. I talked to the neighbors & found out because our road backs up to the woods they made an exception & allowed us to have 8' fences so that critters couldn't get into the back yards. I got it straightened out & no fines but it was a PITA for a bit there.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

If there were restrictions on fencing height, I think I'd build up the ground under the fence.

Good fences make good neighbors.

Blankie · Guru

Another article says the problem is the town is calling it a fence, and any fence over 10 feet tall requires a building permit.

Dwyer is calling it a screen, not a fence or wall. So she says it doesn't violate any rules.

200 bucks a day is an expensive lesson if she loses.

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

Blankie wrote:
Another article says the problem is the town is calling it a fence, and any fence over 10 feet tall requires a building permit.
Dwyer is calling it a screen, not a fence or wall. So she says it doesn't violate any rules.
200 bucks a day is an expensive lesson if she loses.

Splitting hairs - she is not going to win.

Southern_Belle · Nothing's Impossible

Is the ugly side of the "screen" facing the neighbor? In my city the ugly side of a fence has to face the homeowners property. One of my friends was sued because she had privacy fencing installed and she insisted that the smooth side face her yard. The people installing it should have never put it up that way. They had to come back out and fix it.

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

The shunning isn't the issue. She doesn't have to like or have any interaction with the neighbors. But, I think a 24 foot high fence seems like overkill if it is merely for farm management. Seems more like the spitefulness of some some beitchy person honestly.

ed11563 · Guru

I'd like to hear from someone familiar with raising cattle and horses.

Would normal activities of a family with children living across the street, be a problem for the livestock? Or is that something the cows and horses should get used to pretty quickly?

But if the kids are using anything with gunpowder, I could understand that being an issue .... which the screen or a fence or a stand of trees would not fix.

FNW · Guru

Southern_Belle wrote:
Is the ugly side of the "screen" facing the neighbor? In my city the ugly side of a fence has to face the homeowners property. One of my friends was sued because she had privacy fencing installed and she insisted that the smooth side face her yard. The people installing it should have never put it up that way. They had to come back out and fix it.

My sMIL did that. Beotch. I told her that's nice, but now the kids can use the ugly side as a ladder and get into her yard and peep at her. She hadn't thought of that.

ed11563 · Guru

FNW wrote:
Southern_Belle wrote:
Is the ugly side of the "screen" facing the neighbor? In my city the ugly side of a fence has to face the homeowners property. One of my friends was sued because she had privacy fencing installed and she insisted that the smooth side face her yard. The people installing it should have never put it up that way. They had to come back out and fix it.
My sMIL did that. Beotch. I told her that's nice, but now the kids can use the ugly side as a ladder and get into her yard and peep at her. She hadn't thought of that.

Wouldn't they be stuck though, when she turned her Rottweilers loose?

cadiver · Senior Member

couldn't she erect an 8ft fence closr to where the horses are so they could not see.

Mellow Momma · Sniff...sniff, sniff. Yay! A Bum!

While I totally think she should be allowed to do whatever she wants on her property, since it's rural and not a subdivision or in town...why does it need to be that tall (to cadiver's point)? It is terribly big and the other house seems to be fairly far away from her property - I can't imagine her horses even notice it's there. I wonder if she doesn't like seeing that house from her windows? It's ruining her view? So she blocked the house from her sight until the trees grow?

I know what to do_sometimes · Frozen Sucks!

ed11563 wrote:
I'd like to hear from someone familiar with raising cattle and horses.
Would normal activities of a family with children living across the street, be a problem for the livestock? Or is that something the cows and horses should get used to pretty quickly?

But if the kids are using anything with gunpowder, I could understand that being an issue .... which the screen or a fence or a stand of trees would not fix.

Yeah, this is what I want to know. Not many of us have experience with this type of land use. The screen could be very well needed and not abnormal.

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

I live in a subdivision. Our houses are close together as several geeks here can attest to. Right across the street are about five farms that raise horses and cattle. None of them have fences other than the barbed wire stuff. In fact, there is a dairy barn that sits on the HIGHWAY. His land literally backs up to the service road. Many people have to take the service road to get into our subdivision. We often see the cows and horses grazing right next to the highway. So I guess I'm wondering why her cows are so special.

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

And ironically they're rebuilding the highway right where that farm lies. So all day, and sometimes at night, there are all kinds of construction trucks there. It's also a big place for 18 wheelers as there is a rest stop for them right there. There's always tons of loud traffic there. Those cows and horses don't seem to be bothered.

Blankie · Guru

Interesting editorial about it in the Valley News:

http://www.vnews.com/opinion/14739191-95/editorial-ruth-dwyer-and-the-view-from-thetford

"Although Dwyer mentioned that she doesn’t care for the aesthetics of the house and is bothered by the sounds of lawn mowing and the glow of the TV screen that now emanate from the property, the underlying truth may be a bit more complicated. The house was built on what had been a two-acre hay field that was sold to a young family. Dwyer told Cassidy that she considered it a sacrilege to turn open land that could be hayed productively into a lawn and to fill part of it with gravel for a septic system."

I think Dwyer just can't adjust to the change, after 40-plus years of having no neighbors.

But if she loses, that's a lot of money to pay. $200 bucks a day in fines, and it's already $15,000.

She planted 68 young cedar trees along the property line. She'd be better off taking down the screen, and investing in some really beefy fertilizer to make those trees grow quickly.

Or maybe she's got plenty of money and doesn't care how many fines and legal fees she has to pay.

cadiver · Senior Member

Blankie wrote:
Interesting editorial about it in the Valley News:
http://www.vnews.com/opinion/14739191-95/editorial-ruth-dwyer-and-the-view-from-thetford
"Although Dwyer mentioned that she doesn’t care for the aesthetics of the house and is bothered by the sounds of lawn mowing and the glow of the TV screen that now emanate from the property, the underlying truth may be a bit more complicated. The house was built on what had been a two-acre hay field that was sold to a young family. Dwyer told Cassidy that she considered it a sacrilege to turn open land that could be hayed productively into a lawn and to fill part of it with gravel for a septic system."
I think Dwyer just can't adjust to the change, after 40-plus years of having no neighbors.
But if she loses, that's a lot of money to pay. $200 bucks a day in fines, and it's already $15,000.
She planted 68 young cedar trees along the property line. She'd be better off taking down the screen, and investing in some really beefy fertilizer to make those trees grow quickly.
Or maybe she's got plenty of money and doesn't care how many fines and legal fees she has to pay.

A lot of things any me, but the glow of a tv?

Blankie · Guru

cadiver wrote:
Blankie wrote:
Interesting editorial about it in the Valley News:
http://www.vnews.com/opinion/14739191-95/editorial-ruth-dwyer-and-the-view-from-thetford
"Although Dwyer mentioned that she doesn’t care for the aesthetics of the house and is bothered by the sounds of lawn mowing and the glow of the TV screen that now emanate from the property, the underlying truth may be a bit more complicated. The house was built on what had been a two-acre hay field that was sold to a young family. Dwyer told Cassidy that she considered it a sacrilege to turn open land that could be hayed productively into a lawn and to fill part of it with gravel for a septic system."
I think Dwyer just can't adjust to the change, after 40-plus years of having no neighbors.
But if she loses, that's a lot of money to pay. $200 bucks a day in fines, and it's already $15,000.
She planted 68 young cedar trees along the property line. She'd be better off taking down the screen, and investing in some really beefy fertilizer to make those trees grow quickly.
Or maybe she's got plenty of money and doesn't care how many fines and legal fees she has to pay.
A lot of things any me, but the glow of a tv?

Kinda hard to believe the tv glow is annoying the livestock. I think it's annoying her.

She should have bought the adjoining land before the other people did.

Mellow Momma · Sniff...sniff, sniff. Yay! A Bum!

I KNEW it !!!

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

She must have some VSS livestock. I know the livestock by us aren't bothered by semi trucks or cat tractor equipment for the road construction.

Mellow Momma · Sniff...sniff, sniff. Yay! A Bum!

Nobody Just Nobody wrote:
She must have some VSS livestock. I know the livestock by us aren't bothered by semi trucks or cat tractor equipment for the road construction.

The only thing I can think of is that if the cattle were born and raised by the highway they wouldn't notice. But if the noise started up suddenly one day they might.

You would think the construction of the house would have made a lot more noise than a few kids playing outside.

The only VSS here is her. She doesn't like having neighbors. Cry me a river.

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

Mellow Momma wrote:
Nobody Just Nobody wrote:
She must have some VSS livestock. I know the livestock by us aren't bothered by semi trucks or cat tractor equipment for the road construction.
The only thing I can think of is that if the cattle were born and raised by the highway they wouldn't notice. But if the noise started up suddenly one day they might.
You would think the construction of the house would have made a lot more noise than a few kids playing outside.
The only VSS here is her. She doesn't like having neighbors. Cry me a river.

That is exactly how I see this. I have no sorrow for her. And I don't really care about the "shunning" either. But if I were the neighbor I'd be pitching a fit about the ugly eyesore.

TOTALLY GEEKED!

Farmer who built a 60ft screen to block her neighbors' view of her home faces $15k fine

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