a little help and guidance: neighbors calling cops.

[thdrcat]

I am so damned tired of it. Please read this and correct any grammar/spelling/logic errors. Many thanks.

From the Williamson Family at 2719 Sandy Circle:

Howdy all! We have a seemingly simple request: If you have a problem with someone or something on our property, come and speak with us about it. We are tired of our “neighbors” calling the police every time we start a house, automotive or marine project. We are an active family who enjoys doing our own work rather than paying others to do jobs that we can accomplish ourselves.

Here is a list of events that could have been handled better:

• One of the three sons that lives here was traveling ~30 mph up sandy circle. Apparently someone thought that he was traveling too fast and called the police. Instead of the person who was concerned coming over and letting us know that, in their opinion, he was traveling too fast, they chose to do the lazy thing and call the police. The only thing this accomplished was to take a patrolman off the streets so that he could come to our door and let us know that “it had been reported that a resident had been driving too fast.” For everyone’s information the speed limit on our road, as per the CSPD, is 35 mph. If our family sees someone traveling faster than is safe on sandy circle, we will walk over and let them know that our road is almost a gravel road and not very safe to drive fast on. We will then let them know that it looked as if they were going faster than seemed safe or reasonable. At that point the person knows that their behavior is annoying/bothering one of their neighbors and it *should* stop. If it does not THEN it is time for police involvement.

• We currently are restoring a 1970 SS Chevelle. At one time we had it sitting on a trailer in front of the house. It took us three weeks, but we arranged to have it sand blasted on a Monday. The Friday before we hooked it up to a truck and took it to the shop, we received a warning from College Station that we had 90 days to move our vehicle. Yet again if the person who reported the vehicle to CSFD’s code enforcement had came down and rang the doorbell, we would have let them know what the status of the car was and that it was leaving in 3 days. This is another example where someone declined to do the neighborly thing and instead did the lazy thing.

• We also have a 1987 Mustang GT that is “under the knife” quite often. When we bought the car, the first thing we did was to tear out the entire interior. Upon doing so, on a Thursday, we discovered that all the sound/vibration blocking material was gone from under the carpet. (For non-automotive people, this means that the car will be so loud you can not speak to the passenger without yelling and that the ride will feel like an old west buckboard.) Friday morning we ordered some new mating and had it sent overnight. Monday we received the parts and were able to put everything back in. The question is: Was it necessary for CSPD to send an officer over to inform us that the parts stacked on top of the car and on the lawn were against CS statutes? NO. Had the person who had a problem with this eyesore came and told use it was really bothering them, we would have let them know that it was a 48 hour problem and leaving the car unassembled for that time was saving us ~5 hours of disassembly/reassembly time on Monday. If that was not an agreeable solution, we would have found somewhere to stash the parts out of sight for those 48 hours.

• We noticed that our house’s paint had faded and needed to be redone; Thus began the saga of painting our house. It took nearly a whole month, but it is done and the results can be seen by looking at our house. During this time we received a warning for “unlawful storage of hazardous materials at residence.” Apparently someone had called in and complained. The five paint cans that were sitting under the scaffolding were what were in “violation.”

• We recently restored and sold a 1964 boat. It took 2 weeks to restore and one week to sell. Two days before selling, with buyers pending, yet another complaint and warning from the city. No warning. No “hey, what is going on with that boat?” Nothing was done that a neighbor would do.

• Recently it came to our attention that our garage was too disorderly to be of use as anything but a storage room. One of our son’s has spent many hours over the last week to straighten it up. We cleaned the garage out on Thursday morning. All trash was thrown in the trash can and bulky items were put between the garage and the hedgerow, out of sight. Our street’s bulk trash day is Wednesday. Today we came home to find yet another citation for “unlawful storage of hazardous materials at a residence.” This came on a Tuesday afternoon, when the collection day for this waste is Wednesday morning. I’m sure that most rational people can see where our frustration comes from this event. Again, a simple knock on the door would have yielded a solution to the problem: “it will be gone tomorrow morning when the trash men come.” It is out of sight, unless you are looking for something to complain about.

We are tired of this harassment. We do not call in fast cars driving by throwing gravel onto our cars, boats being stored in the road, parties that have so many cars that the road turns into .5 lanes, children playing in the street, cars parked in the same place for 6 months with for sale signs on them, project cars in driveways, semi trucks’ on a residential roads, loud car radios, etc. If we have a problem, we talk it over with the offender. If a mutual solution can’t be reached, THEN an outside authority needs to be brought in. It is time to start action like neighbors, and not like total strangers who happen to live next to each other.

1 or 2 of my a**hole neighbors is calling the police every time my family uses our house for something more than a place to sleep. It has annoyed me to THIS end. A copy of this letter is going in everyone on the street's mailbox.

Any advice? Has anyone else had neighbor issues? there have been 4 people that have moved away since we moved in:

93 saleen clone guy. home did everything, first "muscle car" i ever took a ride in.:::: replaced by 5 member nuclear family.

family with a 42 flareside and a dad that was a mechanic and car salesman. fixed jag's n stuff on the weekend:::: replaced by 6 member nuclear family.

jeep guy that restored willis'. was the manager of the local orielly:::: replaced by 4 member nuclear family.

[tireburner163]

Kill them and hide the bodies

[Stang_Girl617]

Are you home offen when the cops come or do they happen show up when you are away? Maybe you could metion to the cops that this is a bit childish and the same person has harrassed several people in the neighborhood and bullied them into moving. Im not sure how your cops react. But I know ours would begin to get upset when the calls began to come in everyday. Next time the cop comes, invite him in sit down and actully talk it through with him. Tell him the actual events that have taken place and what courses of actions have taken place. Im sure he can come up with a reasonable soultion. (weve had the same problem). Usually they do go talk to the complaintent after they leave your home. And thus, you would know who the a$$ in your neighborhood is and then you can confront him or her.

[OnMy3rdStang]

Originally posted by tireburner163
Kill them and hide the bodies

Hahahaha People like that piss me off!

I know exactly where you are comming from.I live with my bf in a snobby richy area where the people dont think we belong because we dont drive $40,000+ mercedes and bmw's. In our driveway: 1989 mustang, 1986 Z-28 camaro, 2000 Eclipse GT and 1998 Mitsubishi Mirage. In our garage: 1985 Thunderbird TC and 1986 Toyota MR2.
We get screamed at for speeding....limit is 25mph we are doing less than that. Because it is a little hard to do when people let their kids play in the middle of the damn street!
We get the cops called on us for working on our cars too.
We were even accused by a cop for "operating an illeagle bussiness" because we had 2 camaros, a mustang a thunderbird and an eclipse in the driveway.
A friend of mine was working on his 3rd gen camaro at 2 in the afternoon. He was trying to fix the timing so revving it was essential. Not more then 10 min passed and a cop pulled in the driveway.

I would tell those people if they want you to stop it, then they need to buy your house so you can then move.
Thank god one family that calls the cops on us alot is moving. GOOD RIDANCE!!

Because of all of the BS in the neighborhood, we are moving soon.

[thdrcat]

sad to hear that others have the problem too....


thanks for the advice.

[Crazy Horse GT]

my god!!, are they that bored, jeeze, what idiot's, find out who it is, call the cop's remain anomous, tell them they are cooking meth, bwahahahah.

[mustangII460]

Thats just the price you going to pay for living in a restrited area, county, state, whatever.


When the police come over invite them in and DON'T talk smack about the neighbors. The police already know those kinds of neighbors, ( There everywhere.) and they DON'T what to hear more of it. Do not make excuses for your actions, or your neighbors. Don't become a complainer like them. Friends of the police is good.

People in general criticize what they don't know. It may be hard but try to find a common ground. Make friends when ever possible. Circulate a flyer for a neighborhood party. At the party try to show them you meen no harm. Then explain the ( Tell me if you have a problem measage.) By just passing the flyer of explaination, you run the high risk of putting everyone on the defensive. Then you run the risk of it getting worse or creating enemies.

I have delt with alot of neighborhoods for various reasons. Ive set up neighborhood watches based on peoples suspicions of neighbors, they've never met. After everyone met, they shut down the neighborhood watch. Go figure.

Every neighborhood is different and so are its people. Don't feel like they all are after you. Usually its only one set with another set egging them on. In my hood of 50 homes there is one older couple that causes all the problems. Im sure more people are on your side, than arn't. (Reason for party.)

What ever you decide to do, think it out carefully. Seek out others that have had the same problems. Impliment a plan of action that is universal in goal. Maybe after you all are friends, you can lay down a two hundred foot black mark with them holding their thumbs up !

[bigred90gt]

Originally posted by thdrcat
I am so damned tired of it. Please read this and correct any grammar/spelling/logic errors. Many thanks.

....... It is time to start action like neighbors, and not like total strangers who happen to live next to each other.

In the last sentance in your letter, it should read "It is time to start acting like neighbors".


That sucks about your neighbors. Luckily, ours are pretty cool. I have been working on my car till 1 or 2 in the morning, running my air compressor and impact till then, and havent heard a peep out of any of em.

I say just find out who is calling them, and have a talk with them. Dont have a Sapprano style talk, but, a civilized conversation and explain yourself. Let them know you mean no harm and are just a crafty person. If that fail, kill em and hide the bodies.

[RBatson]

Moving is the first thing that comes to mind or you could put up a privacy fence and do every thing in the backyard.

[Fulcrum]

I quess we all have neighbors like this, I'm still trying to figure out who it is yet on my block. The one I thought it was has moved and the problem continues. I live in a older nieghborhood, but my house was one of the last built on that side of the street, and that was 1955. In the seventies the homes across the street were built, bigger and far more expensive. As far as I'm concerened they only serve to drive up the taxes.
Anyway, I also; each time I open the garage, someone complains. Or they will complain that I don't mow the yard often enough, or even once an animal abuse complaint. I showed the officer our dog, who happens to be 16 and is losing teeth and has lived in a dog house or the garage all its life. But she still will act like a young dog still, but sometimes, she needs a bath. Thats when the call came of course. HE (the officer) suggested I bring it in the house. Not a chance, there will be no animals in my house. So, I cleaned her up and took her for a walk, visiting everyone I could reach, while showing off my livley 16 year old (and so terribaly abused) dog.
Right now, the parts car has been shoved into the driveway, (anyone want the shell of a '80 'stang, its straight) and I'm getting complaints, but this time I have spoke to the code enforcement guy, and we agreed since I said the city could have it outright, that it can sit there until he comes to get it or someone else wants it.

[xxxBlakexxx]

Bad neighbor relations can be a disaster! I must tell you that your actions at your home can really depend on the type of neighborhood that you live in. While I would appreciate your hard work and efforts and enjoy cars, if you were doing this type of activity in my neighborhood, it would not fly.

I do live in an upscale neigborhood for the aera, but people are really down to earth. However, I believe in protecting my investment.

I have a neighbor across the street who owns 8 cars with a truck and trailer constantly parked on the street as the son owns a land scaping business. There is also a boat on the side of the hose. It looks very trashy and out of place for the neighborhood and also against local laws.

I am also good friends with the owner. Heck, the kid cuts my grass. As an April Fools joke, we put window stickers on all the cars and set up flags. We made it look like a car lot. It was very funy and we all had a blast with it. We even went on a few test rides with the owner with him acting like a salesmen.

Needless to say, he sort of got the point too and has since found a home for some of his stuff. No one has ever called the police.

[DaTank]

That's really too bad. I agree, your neighbor/or neighbors should come and talk to you. But this day and age, most people are afraid of what type of confrontation make take place when they come over with a complaint. So the easiest thing to do is call the authorities.

I've had a friend that was stabbed one time when he confronted his neighbor, in a friendly way, to keep it down one night when they had a party. I, personally, once had a neighbor that had dogs that barked all night (Every night) where I had to sleep with the windows closed and with a fan. I felt I was a prisoner in my own house at night. So I went over to see if he could do something about it, because a lot of dog owners don't hear their own dogs or maybe they work nights etc. The first thing that came out of his mouth, was "Get the hell of my property." He was ticked right off the bat that I even came over to his house.

Your probably a friendly person, so I think your letter is good (make it non threating) just to let your neighbors know that you are an approachable kind of person, and if they have issues, to come and dicuss them with you.
I always try and wave to my neighbors when I'm out front working or what not, so they know that I'm someone they could probably approach with an issue if one ever came up.

Good luck!
Brad

[rwhite65]

U know, tough SH*#. I do not care what they want. It is ur property and u pay taxes just like them. Let the people bitching keep doing it. I know if I kept getting called to something like this, me and the person calling all the time would have a nice little chat.

Ask the officer for a copy of the local ordinances...and use it against the S.O.B's. If the ordinance says you can not park there for more then 3 days, park it there 2 days and 23 hours.

it is called "private" property for a reason. Hell, put a confederate flag up nice and high....with a really bright spot light on it.... if they want to keep this up.
Ryan

[HonestAl]

MOVE TO THE COUNTRY!! The only awy to deal w/neighbors is to put so much land between you & them that you never see them.