Lady parks on my yard. What to do?
05-12-2005, 03:27 PM
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Lady parks on my yard. What to do?
[EDIT] Why didn't I think of posting this months ago. (Sorry for the long post below.)
Fellers, there's this lady in my neighborhood 4 houses down who drives her son 150 yards to the bus stop every morning. My house sits on the corner of a T intersection. My house is here ---> xT The bus stop is this intersection. The kid is way old enough to walk on his own. Looks like a 5th or 6th grader. Other kids walk to this intersection and wait too. He waits in the car.
She pulls up in her Sequoia, pulls off the road into "my yard" (more about the quotes later) and sits and waits for the bus. I don't mind it so much but she has now wore a 2 track path in the grass. When she leaves, she drives straight forward into the intersection, hangs a U-turn and goes right back home.
Here is my beef:
1) There is maybe 1 or 2 cars (no exaggeration) that pass by in the morning, real slow, because all cars must turn at this intersection to exit the neighborhood. The main road is 1.5 miles on through the neighborhood ... meaning this intersection is NO WHERE NEAR the main road.
2) She has wore a 2 track path through the grass.
I have just grinned and beared it for months. I finally went down there Friday (5/6) and as politely as I could asked her to please stop pulling off the road here as she has already wore the grass off. She gets all snippy (this is where the quote for "my yard" comes in) and starts blabbing about the first 15 feet from the road is city property. I tell her that I'm not concerned about the ownership of the property, but that since it is connected to my yard and I maintain it, that a simple request to not pull off the road here is all I'm asking.
She wrote me a note (later that day) and put it in my mailbox letting me know she's going to park there anyway. This happened last Friday (5/6). And she HAS been parking there since then, and I haven't continued pursuing this. Don't want a war, but would like to [EDIT] .
It's [EDIT] me off. Its a simple request. Personally, if I were asked this, I would have done the neighborly thing and complied to my neighbor's request, just to have peace in the neighborhood. But I feel she's parking there now just to show her [EDIT] .
Because of the lack of traffic, and the slow careful speed of what traffic there is, there is no reason why she can't just let her car stand on the edge of the road. No reason at all. There is also an empty lot across the street from me. She could pull off there. What's the general rule about how many feet off the road the city may own (in a neighborhood)?
Fellers - Help me out here. Help me make a rational decision here before I do something (too) rash. I'm open for any and all suggestions. I've been thinking about taking the CTD down to her yard and letting the 2 front wheels and the weight of the Cummins to do their thing in her yard. But heck, for all I know, if I met her husband, he and I could be good buds, and I don't want to be so immature and make an enemy when there is no need. Help me out here guys, she's making me pull my hair out.
Should I just leave it alone?
- JyRO
Fellers, there's this lady in my neighborhood 4 houses down who drives her son 150 yards to the bus stop every morning. My house sits on the corner of a T intersection. My house is here ---> xT The bus stop is this intersection. The kid is way old enough to walk on his own. Looks like a 5th or 6th grader. Other kids walk to this intersection and wait too. He waits in the car.
She pulls up in her Sequoia, pulls off the road into "my yard" (more about the quotes later) and sits and waits for the bus. I don't mind it so much but she has now wore a 2 track path in the grass. When she leaves, she drives straight forward into the intersection, hangs a U-turn and goes right back home.
Here is my beef:
1) There is maybe 1 or 2 cars (no exaggeration) that pass by in the morning, real slow, because all cars must turn at this intersection to exit the neighborhood. The main road is 1.5 miles on through the neighborhood ... meaning this intersection is NO WHERE NEAR the main road.
2) She has wore a 2 track path through the grass.
I have just grinned and beared it for months. I finally went down there Friday (5/6) and as politely as I could asked her to please stop pulling off the road here as she has already wore the grass off. She gets all snippy (this is where the quote for "my yard" comes in) and starts blabbing about the first 15 feet from the road is city property. I tell her that I'm not concerned about the ownership of the property, but that since it is connected to my yard and I maintain it, that a simple request to not pull off the road here is all I'm asking.
She wrote me a note (later that day) and put it in my mailbox letting me know she's going to park there anyway. This happened last Friday (5/6). And she HAS been parking there since then, and I haven't continued pursuing this. Don't want a war, but would like to [EDIT] .
It's [EDIT] me off. Its a simple request. Personally, if I were asked this, I would have done the neighborly thing and complied to my neighbor's request, just to have peace in the neighborhood. But I feel she's parking there now just to show her [EDIT] .
Because of the lack of traffic, and the slow careful speed of what traffic there is, there is no reason why she can't just let her car stand on the edge of the road. No reason at all. There is also an empty lot across the street from me. She could pull off there. What's the general rule about how many feet off the road the city may own (in a neighborhood)?
Fellers - Help me out here. Help me make a rational decision here before I do something (too) rash. I'm open for any and all suggestions. I've been thinking about taking the CTD down to her yard and letting the 2 front wheels and the weight of the Cummins to do their thing in her yard. But heck, for all I know, if I met her husband, he and I could be good buds, and I don't want to be so immature and make an enemy when there is no need. Help me out here guys, she's making me pull my hair out.
Should I just leave it alone?
- JyRO
05-12-2005, 03:57 PM
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If ya had any buds that are in the local police department, see if ya can borrow some spike strips. Throw em out b4 she pulls up and pull em back in while she is changing her tires (no lost or stray nails to find their way into the lawnmower). Or you could try some nifty landscaping with some really raised beds and a stone or 3 high border. See if her Toy can handle the vertical climb up the border.
Good luck in whatever comes out of it.
Gary
Good luck in whatever comes out of it.
Gary
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05-12-2005, 04:13 PM
#8
Thats MR Hoss to you buddy!
Be good Hoss.
I just had to remind myself before I posted a response. 
It sounds like you've been polite about the whole thing so far. You asked and she said no. I must admit that my FIRST thought was that I'd go park my 7000 pound Dodge in her front yard.....or at least in the first 15 feet of it. But, that's probably not a very good idea.
She's out there in the morning....what about a water sprinkler? When it's time for her to park here shiny new SUV there just turn on the sprinklers. I'm guessing she doesn't like spots....or mud.
Putting some nice landscaping out there is a good idea too. MOST people wouldn't even consider driving on your landscaping. She might do it just to spite you though.
If it were me though....I would ask her again. If she still refuses then I think I'd politely tell her that it is YOUR property and you are going to file charges for criminal trespass if she doesn't quit parking there. The city has easement rights there, but you still own the property. Be nice about it, but if she continues to show bad attitude and doesn't cooperate then call the law.
Then again....that roofing nail idea ain't so bad.
I just had to remind myself before I posted a response. It sounds like you've been polite about the whole thing so far. You asked and she said no. I must admit that my FIRST thought was that I'd go park my 7000 pound Dodge in her front yard.....or at least in the first 15 feet of it. But, that's probably not a very good idea.
She's out there in the morning....what about a water sprinkler? When it's time for her to park here shiny new SUV there just turn on the sprinklers. I'm guessing she doesn't like spots....or mud.
Putting some nice landscaping out there is a good idea too. MOST people wouldn't even consider driving on your landscaping. She might do it just to spite you though.
If it were me though....I would ask her again. If she still refuses then I think I'd politely tell her that it is YOUR property and you are going to file charges for criminal trespass if she doesn't quit parking there. The city has easement rights there, but you still own the property. Be nice about it, but if she continues to show bad attitude and doesn't cooperate then call the law.
Then again....that roofing nail idea ain't so bad.
05-12-2005, 04:22 PM
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I like Hoss's idea with the sprinkler, especially if the drainage is poor in that area. Maybe after the truck sinks to the hubs she'll get the hint.
05-12-2005, 04:26 PM
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Take pictures, first. Make sure you get her license plate in the picture. That way, you have proof/evidence down the road. Next, call the polica and ask them what their take is. I think Edwin has it right in that it's your property - hell, if her kid were to trip getting out of her car, she'd be suing you in a heartbeat - but the city maintains easements through it.
That's the next thing: liability. She's on your property and exposing you to liability! In addition to tearing up your lawn. Again, check with your city planning board/commission on the ownership thing. If it is indeed your property, send her a Registered letter basically evicting her from your property. Explain the property damage, additional liability and nuisance; have a lawyer draw it up if you need.
Of course, once you do this, you can't take your truck down to her yard and return the favor.
Now thet you've documented her actions - make sure you get pictures after you get receipt of that letter, too - you can then either file tresspass charges (if the town confirms it's your property) or file a claim against her in court. The simple cost of having to defend her actions and possible public exposure of her complete lack of consideration for her neighbors and utter laziness (why can't she walk her kid down there?) will probably make her either default or relent. If she chooses to fight it, then you'll have to live with the court's decisions, but if they say it's public property, then you now have the option of taking your much bigger and heavier truck over to her front yard and returning the favor... without fear of reprisal.
You could also find a way to go meet her husband and talk to him about it. Perhaps he could convince her to park on the road instead of your grass.
You could also - this won't solve your problem - park your truck there so she can't park there. That way, she'll have to get used to parking on the road. I'd guess that she'd start back up on the lawn as soon as you stopped that. Permanent landscaping would solve the problem, too, assuming that the town confirmed that the property is yours and that she doesn't just knock things down; document your yardwork and then her knocking it down if that happens, too.
That's the next thing: liability. She's on your property and exposing you to liability! In addition to tearing up your lawn. Again, check with your city planning board/commission on the ownership thing. If it is indeed your property, send her a Registered letter basically evicting her from your property. Explain the property damage, additional liability and nuisance; have a lawyer draw it up if you need.
Of course, once you do this, you can't take your truck down to her yard and return the favor.
Now thet you've documented her actions - make sure you get pictures after you get receipt of that letter, too - you can then either file tresspass charges (if the town confirms it's your property) or file a claim against her in court. The simple cost of having to defend her actions and possible public exposure of her complete lack of consideration for her neighbors and utter laziness (why can't she walk her kid down there?) will probably make her either default or relent. If she chooses to fight it, then you'll have to live with the court's decisions, but if they say it's public property, then you now have the option of taking your much bigger and heavier truck over to her front yard and returning the favor... without fear of reprisal.
You could also find a way to go meet her husband and talk to him about it. Perhaps he could convince her to park on the road instead of your grass.
You could also - this won't solve your problem - park your truck there so she can't park there. That way, she'll have to get used to parking on the road. I'd guess that she'd start back up on the lawn as soon as you stopped that. Permanent landscaping would solve the problem, too, assuming that the town confirmed that the property is yours and that she doesn't just knock things down; document your yardwork and then her knocking it down if that happens, too.
05-12-2005, 04:34 PM
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I've thought of nails. I've thought of sprinkler(s). I've thought of some landscaping. The problem is, my yard is 5 acres, and its a long ways from my house to that corner. I'd have to have a mighty long waterhose. I *could* do that, but then I'd be sprinkling one isolated area, and being an intentional ... bad guy ... for doing that. There is no other real landscaping anywhere near that, so that would stand out too much. And due to the length of the yard she'd just stop on one side or the other of the landscaping.
I don't want to cost her $100+ for a tire, just because she's the southbound side of a northbound horse.
And to be clear, the edited parts of my original post were only very mild language. Probably get my southbound / northbound edited.
I'm just wondering if there is a more peaceful resolution before I go too far. Or if not peaceful, maybe one that may not point the finger back at me (so's not to start a war).
Thought about letting my dog out in the mornings (Weimeraner). She'd likely stand about 25 - 50 feet from her car and carry on. Making it unpleasant to put up with. But she could scare the other kids standing on the corner, scare her own kid, and get me into bigger trouble. The dog's too unpredictable and too much of a risk.
The best I've come up with is to keep the yard real wet there, maybe even drag something over the area to get it real muddy so she doesn't want to park there. But that just musses up my yard even more.
This is what I've been targeting. In some way, I have got to make *HER* not want to park there. Not by any potentially law breaking means though. What about making the whole area stink. Maybe I can find some road kill and lay it on that spot.
- JyRO
I don't want to cost her $100+ for a tire, just because she's the southbound side of a northbound horse.
And to be clear, the edited parts of my original post were only very mild language. Probably get my southbound / northbound edited.
I'm just wondering if there is a more peaceful resolution before I go too far. Or if not peaceful, maybe one that may not point the finger back at me (so's not to start a war).
Thought about letting my dog out in the mornings (Weimeraner). She'd likely stand about 25 - 50 feet from her car and carry on. Making it unpleasant to put up with. But she could scare the other kids standing on the corner, scare her own kid, and get me into bigger trouble. The dog's too unpredictable and too much of a risk.
The best I've come up with is to keep the yard real wet there, maybe even drag something over the area to get it real muddy so she doesn't want to park there. But that just musses up my yard even more.
This is what I've been targeting. In some way, I have got to make *HER* not want to park there. Not by any potentially law breaking means though. What about making the whole area stink. Maybe I can find some road kill and lay it on that spot.
- JyRO