“I wonder if a neighborhood association could fix my golden locks of hair?”
Darrin “Director of neighbors and junket trip digger-uppers” Smith (Image; KELO-TV screenshot)
While I agree neighborhood associations are a good idea, especially neighborhood watch associations, I sometimes feel like this is an excuse for the city to encourage neighbors to turn in neighbors for stupid crap like ‘leafy branches’ or ‘long grass’. Thank Gawd I don’t live next door to Costner, or I would be fixing my sidewalk and trimming my boulevard trees every ten minutes. Maybe the conspiracy theorist in me is talking here, I don’t know?
I do have a terrific relationship with my neighbor to the South. We share a fence and a grapevine and have many great fence line conversations about city government. They have lived in my neighborhood since 1950 when they built their house. But my neighborhood is interesting, for several reasons, I’m zoned ‘light industrial’ and can never add onto my home without council approval (which I think is a violation of my property rights) and the fact that my home was built in 1889 and as far as I can tell has been added on to at least 5 times since the original structure was built (the original siding still exists in a crawlspace above my kitchen). We also have several businesses in the hood, a casino, a sandwich shop, a plumber’s outfit, a fireplace installer, a mechanics garage, a lawnmower repair shop and a copy machine peddler (and a can crusher, gas station, and my favorite; a liquor store) We also have some guy who works on his hotrods and sells electric scooters. Besides that, there is several rental properties that have residents come and go like the wind.
Like I said above, I am all for neighborhood associations, but this isn’t fucking Mayberry. I’ll stick with the neighborhood association I like the best, Me and Don bitching about city hall while standing by a grapevine.
‘I’m zoned ‘light industrial’ and can never add onto my home without council approval.’
Not true. You can do anything you want, but hurry before codes are revised. They’ll issue citations but have no way to collect or enforce. They can’t use the court because NEITHER party can appeal.
Oh, Sodapop and I have have enough trouble already using the space we have. Although I have thought about building a summer studio in my backyard.
Until codes are revised, the city has no civil authority period. Huether calls it ’27 years without revisions, come on folks’ to make it sound like he thought of it. In fact, the court ordered it before they’d allow court actions.
New codes can be tested legally. There are now many lawyers who will take these cases. I think the city will no longer make big bucks off unjustified fines. I’ll be testifying against the city often.
Message to Citizens: Build it fast and anything the city cited you for after 2006 is now legal.
I wrote another very damaging letter to the editor (Argus). They called and it should be published this week.
In a few weeks, there’ll be 200 Home Rule logo frisbees circulated free at city parks and swimming pools. I hope they’re here for distribution at Jazzfest. They only cost $1.50 each. T-shirts and Frisbees are expensed to a non-profit named Stop Home Rule Sioux Falls just in case someone wants to contribute or go to Carson City Nevada and sue.
dude you need to call me. I can get frisbees printed for a lot less than $1.50 each.
I might not report you for branches hanging over the sidewalk, but if you ignore city law long enough I might lose patience.
I’ve called in a neighbor once about a junker car that was sitting in front of his house for almost two years. Not only didn’t it run, but it didn’t even have current tags and was being used for (I kid you not) storage of lawn clippings in between trips to the leaf pile.
Two days after I made the call that car was gone… probably to Nordstroms or some other recycler. Do I feel bad about it? Nope – that is what city codes are for… to protect property owners from the selfish idiots who refuse to take care of their own messes.
Sure the city might be a little extreme in cases, but you don’t toss out the baby with the bathwater. Fix the issues and we would have a pretty good system. In a perfect world we wouldn’t need code enforcement because people would just naturally do the right thing… but obviously we don’t live in the perfect world.
The city council is working on throwing out the ‘administrative appeals’ process. It is working it’s way through some committee’s right now. I think they have realized it is not working (well duh). It also sounds like a few bad apples in the attorney’s office are to blame (well duh, again).
I see your point Costner. I’m surprised they took care of the issue in a timely manner.
Code enforcement is also used for political harrassment. In your case, the process worked. In my case, there was no violation. They’d not allow appeal, dragged me through 4 city kangaroo hearings, and cost me $40,000.
It works for you and can work against you. As bad as it was used against me, I’d not mind junk cars up and down my block.
hosenpheffer,
When you google ‘home rule charter city’, it’s 35 million hits. I’ve networked and Sioux Falls could become the worst case national example of Home Rule. There’s collaboration such that suppliers may soon print free. Meanwhile, it’s important to show how much liberty costs.
I don’t think you’ll see this discussion on Channel 16. They’re still praising his majesty Munson. I’m not sure they’ve learned there’s a new mayor. Parents, block this trash. It’s propaganda not suitable for children or uneducated relatives.
Could Channel 16 budget for the next 4 years build a convention center?
Will darren stay there or quit his job after while.