Town of Weston Harrasses Residents Flys drones to photograph long grass to fine.

[oil pan 4]

What is the local craigslist?
Maybe there are just a crap load of fakes and no one takes it seriously there.

[Xist]

Good luck!

[Fat Charlie]

Don't forget to put a no trespassing sign facing straight up.

[Vman455]

So, the complaints from the village are:
-unregistered car(s)
-car(s) parked on gravel
-weeds

I scanned through the Weston ordinance on property maintenance, Chapter 50. It specifically prohibits "noxious weeds" 12 times, and general "weeds" 6. Curiously, the remedy specified in the ordinance for weed overgrowth is mowing by the village weed commissioner, so I would recommend telling them, if they think a few weeds constitute an "accumulation" (their word), they're welcome to send the weed commissioner by to mow. I'm sure he has nothing better to do.

As far as the cars, documentation of the registration should satisfy them that the red car is licensed. There's nothing in their ordinances about parking on grass vs. gravel vs. blacktop, but there is a provision which requires unregistered or inoperable cars be stored in a building:

Sec. 50.105. Accumulation of used motor vehicles.

No person, except a person licensed under Sec. 18.131(a) or a licensee of a motor vehicle dealer's license issued under statute, shall accumulate or store or allow to remain outside of any building on real estate located within the Village for a period of more than ten days...any used motor vehicle, as defined by statute, or any detached part thereof, for which no current registration fee has been paid under statute or which, if paid, does not have properly attached thereto under statute a current license plate, if required, and which is in a condition which would mechanically prevent the immediate operation thereof upon any public highway or its operation thereon would be in violation of the law.

So, if all these cars are registered and operable, they can't prevent your mother from parking them outside on her property. Tell them to pound sand.

[jcp123]

My brother in law was forced to have a licensed electrician run the wiring to his above-ground pool (for the filter and such) after a neighbor complained. The electrical was the only thing the city inspector could really "get him" on. He disassembles it every winter, so he has to get an electrician back out every summer when the pool goes back up.

Gotta love cities.

[Xist]

JCP, do they have a fence? It sounds like he can complain of a peeping Tom. "Why is my neighbor watching my kids in swimsuits?"

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by jcp123

My brother in law was forced to have a licensed electrician run the wiring to his above-ground pool (for the filter and such) after a neighbor complained. The electrical was the only thing the city inspector could really "get him" on.

I have never seen such degree of bureaucracy, unless it involved either some major refurbishment or an entirely new building that would require someone to be held technically responsible.

[jcp123]

Originally Posted by Xist

JCP, do they have a fence? It sounds like he can complain of a peeping Tom. "Why is my neighbor watching my kids in swimsuits?"

Nah it's one of those weird neighborhoods where everyone has chain link fence.

[cajunfj40]

Hello rmay635703,

Sounds like your Mom and you have a dilemma, of the obnoxious, officious sort! I empathize, having a bit of an "extra vehicle" problem of my own.

The ordinance itself sounds like, as Vman455 pointed out, there's nothing your mother's actually in violation of - if every vehicle can currently be walked up to, unlocked, sat in, started, and driven off the lot immediately without incurring any potential legal problems. IE, they must be insured and registered, batteries charged, tires full, gas in tank, adequate tune, etc.

The only reason I mention all the nitty-gritty specifics is that the way the law is worded, an officious jerk and a flat battery/tire/other could ruin y'all's day SO easy, so unfortunately, I would advise treading lightly.

As mentioned by Vman455, proof of current registration/title/etc. should satisfy the Red Car complaint. Hiring a neighbor kid or whoever mows it now to weed-whack once a week should handle the weed complaint. I hate to suggest a lot of work, as you don't have the time and your Mom doesn't have the ability. Plus, it might just whet these officious jerks' appetites. Best bet would probably be the grapevine - folks who know your Mom and/or knew your Dad could have one or more of the more amenable board members over for coffee/beer/other and try to butter them up a bit. I didn't see the Craigslist post before it was deleted, so I don't know what was tried already, but kind of in the vein of trying to get the jerks to "lay off the old lady, eh?"

For a longer-term thing, maybe try and get folks there interested in something like this anti-drone ordinance. (PDF) Might help cut back on the overflight issues.

If you want to begin the process of getting the cars sold, I would contact the folks at bringatrailer.com about it. They mostly run auctions now, rather than just feature interesting stuff anymore. If you can write an interesting little paragraph about each one - or the whole lot of them - and include a bit about "save them from the crusher!!!", they'd probably eat that up. That site has featured all sorts of interesting cars, and a trove of microcars that run and are registered and have titles - and are willing to sell at no reserve, buyer pickup - would probably get them interested. Bonus points for showing up in the auction thread to answer questions, tell stories, etc. That quip about your Dad saying the $50 fine would be worth it is gold! Their FAQ is here. From that FAQ, it seems that a lot of good photos and information up front is really good. Sounds like they get back to you in 2 business days from submission, then you pay the $99 and they pair you up with one of their folks to write the auction copy. Once you approve the copy, it goes up in about 2 weeks, and the auction lasts 7 days. No idea how they handle collections if other than a "per car" basis. Never used them, actually kind of annoyed that they've gone mostly auctions these days, but it's the first place I thought of for "how to sell a neat car that is unfortunately too far from it's target sale environment without a lot of effort." They could be jerks, I dunno, but I've seen a lot of neat stuff on there.

Best of luck to you and your Mom.

If they yank the cars/fine your Mom/other crap, let us know.

We can get creative.

[redpoint5]

Just throwing this out there, but what about Mom downsizing? Seems people should live in places that are manageable to them. The extra money from downsizing may come in handy for her, or if money isn't the issue, then she should be able to hire someone to maintain the property.

Easier said than done I'm sure. My grandparent(s) can't manage anything, yet would rather live in squalor than change anything at all about their living situation, including their routines. My grandfather died last year, and now my grandmother has 2 Chevy pickups (S-10 and new Colorado), plus a Cadillac and a Buick, all of which she is incapable of driving. She doesn't need the money and would probably be violently opposed to the idea of selling anything.

I've initiated the process of getting rid of the junk on my parents property because I don't want to deal with it all when they are unable to. My dad is a mild hoarder (he might be able to use that someday). I'm prone to hoarding things of potential use and especially of sentimental value.