man being evicted from his land

[mikerat]

I guess I'll comment, Many years ago I was a young Deputy and sent to do a welfare check on a older man that moved back to the family farm what was left ( left his daughter's house didn't like her rules) Setup a old winnibago camper and wasn't bothering anyone. I talked to him awhile and looked around talked about the old Allis WC that his father bought ( rusted up tight) and I could see he was trying to do the right thing and all seemed good until I saw the old gutter from the falling down barn run from the tailend of his camper into a old well casing at first I thought it was a old drain field vent but when I got closer I could see the old well head. So the question becomes how much damage did this man do to the aquifer your well or my well? Everyone that has commented all has excellent points but just listening to the news is not enough information. The mans got land then social services needs to help him stay put and use what he has for the best outcome.
We all need to pay attention to new zoning laws that people with deep pockets want to impose on all of us, we sit back and let it happen. Nothing easy about life is there?

[DanG]

Mikerat, you and Gary_C are exactly right.  Welcome to the Forum, by the way.   You can't possibly get the whole story from a brief news clip.

What would be wrong with a Government actually helping people comply, rather than just using their power to beat them down?

[whiskers]

I'd like to think that by now some of his like minded neighbors would have offered some assistance in his time of need.  Where's Jimmy Carter when you really need him?

[northwoods1]

No you can't get all the info from one news story but thank god for the internet so none of have to.

This case here is clear. The man was evicted from his land for a zoning violation. The county prosecutor stated that some of the laws he was in violation of were no electricity, no septic system, no running water, and he lived in a camper.

There was no mention of animal waste running in to streams, or of a well or groundwater being contaminated.

One of his neighbors complained and that is the one I mentioned in my previous post, the attorney. The madison county planning commisions man in charge, Bill Maxwell, stated this. That only one neighbor complained.

Pretty easy to dismiss this story and just say not enough info to go on, thats pretty easy. Move on and forget. However I think the initial outrage most people feel when they hear about it is well founded. There is enough info to go on and it is a sad state of affairs in my opinion.

[flip]

The scary part of this, IMHO, is not that the city is using ordinances to kick the guy off his land but rather how these laws were passed and there was not similar outrage.  Honestly this surprises me out of Indiana.  I know we are not really a commie state like NY or CA but not as freedom friendly as some others.  It's easier to protest or stop dumb laws like this before they are on the books rather than when someone's skin is on the line.

[Tom]

Some of the laws aren't so dumb.  It's how they are implemented that make them dumb.

Making sure that sewage is disposed of properly is pretty smart.  Saying how you dispose of it might not be so smart.  Governments tend to bind laws so tightly that there is no loophole.  When they do that, they make restrictions that might not fit the freedom loving citizen.

There might even be a reason to restrict junk build-up if it annoys neighbors and degrades the property values of the neighborhood.  But, this guy has over 30 acres for cryin' out loud.

[Cedarman]

They tried to get zoning in Orange Co Indiana several years ago.  The people pushing it stopped.  The local paper said they had too many death threats.  We do have septic inspections in the county though.  Not a problem because it is not too difficult to put one in properly here.

[Tom]

It's not too difficult to put one in properly here either.  It's just too difficult to put one in the way the Health department wants it put in.  That's why most of them are farmed out to commercial outfits.

I put mine in and it's been working just fine for 26 years now.

[DanG]

Well, now there is a proposal to mandate a septic tank inspection every five years.  The cost of the inspection is to be about $500, and the guy who does the inspection is the same one who will be selling you a new one.

[easymoney]

 when i moved onto the property i have now i put in the water and electricity and moved in a motor home.  afew days later i got a letter from the health department saying  that i had to put in a septic system. they said that a neighbor had complained. i put one in. i just had delayed a few days to do it. i do not know what they could have done if i had not put one in. but there was no problem with me having a motor home. there would have not been a problem if i had a travel trailer or a tarpaper shack as there is no zoning in this county. yes there is some that have pushed for zoning and building restrictions but so far it has not happened but i know zoning and restrictions is coming as soon as enough yankees move in to get it done. then you will not be allowed to saw your own lumber and build what you want on your land. your home will have to be built up to the standards that the county dictates.

[DanG]

they said that a neighbor had complained.

That right there is the thing that chaps my butt!  They will NOT tell you who complained.  I think the law should be just the opposite, and they should be required to tell you or not enforce it.  That would put a stop to about 90% of this BS.

[Peter Drouin]

Hay easy. In NH we " yankeeys" have towns with no "zoning" And yes we can use our trees for lumber. ;D ;D

[DanG]

You're right Pete.  It ain't a Yankee thing, it's more of what falls out of a chicken's butt that ain't an egg. ;)

[Gary_C]

There are really two issues here that are being discussed. The first has to do with the rules you have to live by as a society and the second issue is what to do with people who do not want to follow the rules.

And the rules we have to live by, even in the country can be both a blessing and a curse. In my county, we never had a manure ordinance till about five years ago when two pig farmers created a fuss with plans for new hog confinement buildings. One building was scheduled to be build right next to a large shopping mall and the other guy's wife told him that he wasn't going to build that stinking thing next to her house so he was going to move it down the road and build it right across the road from his neighbor. So we got established rules for livestock and manure handling. But as some large farmers pointed out, those rules also protect the farmers in case someone builds their new house right next to your operation. As long as you follow the rules your new neighbor cannot file nuisance complaints against you.

And then there is the issue of what to do with someone who, for whatever reason just refuses to follow the rules. Most of these cases are somewhat puzzling because there is almost always assistance available for those that want it. And I'm sure the guy could or did get more time if he had shown a willingness to make improvements. And in this case where we still do not know ALL the offenses he had committed, it is difficult to condem the authorities for taking action, regardless of who or how many had complained.

There are certainly some benefits of living in todays modern society over the days of the cave dwellers when you were pretty much free to do as you wished, but right or wrong, there are also some responsibilities.  :

In other words, even in a free society, the majority rules.

[Norm]

But that's the problem Gary it is not the majority that rules. It's a small connected group that make self serving rules.

[Gary_C]

That's another problem. It's called representative democracy. And it's supposed to be corrected at the next election and it does seem to work as evidenced by the recent election. Even in the great liberal state of Minnesota where voters yanked control of the legislature from the long term rule of the Dems.

But you are right in part because the rural population has become a minority and I don't know what can be done about that. In the last two elections the rural population has been outvoted by the urban areas. Guess the only solution is for good people like you and Patty to get more involved in politics like Arky did.  ;D ;D

[gunman63]

But Gary , our state voted one way for  the legislature, but the other for the governor, kind of odd i think, other than the name issue.