Tree Hugger Trying to Shut Me Down

[zogger]

You aren't violating any laws, and have passed numerous inspections. This neighbors behaviour is close (not there, but sorta similar) to what is called vexatious litigation, although he hasn't sued you directly in court. He probably will though, come up with some wild claim.

Get a lawyer, give him the details and records you have, if and when he tries to take you to court, you'll have immediate defense and then your lawyer can push for the vexatious litigation angle and try to get a judge to dismiss the guy and order him to back off with some sort of restraining order.

 

[Walt41]

To the OP, I think you already realize that this situation is not going away and will only get worse. Town officials will not back you up and are the biggest two faced liars on the planet, most of them have calendars and are just running out the clock till retirement, I'd guess they were on your neighbors side when talking to him. Only way I see this going away is a face to face with no weapons and no witnesses, nobody wants to take nutrition thru a straw, it is time for you to at least talk to him directly, my guess is he will back off once he knows the stakes.

 

[GeeVee]

Four wood burning homes within 100ft. of each other? How sad.

This is the kind of thing that is going to screw it up for all wood burners.

People living on top of one another can't all burn wood.

I think he and other nearby neighbors have a good case.

Sorry, can't support you.

I'm his neighbor. I burn wood too. can you support me? My BIL lives next door, Support him? What shall be your threshold of support? None of us? Because we don't have fifteen acres, we can't have a stove or fireplace?

 

[dhopkins55]

Explain to the Tree Hugger that burning wood is actually "carbon neutral." That'll make him and his Obama-like buddies happy!!:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[mattfr12]

I was gonna put a wood burner in my house but now can't they where banned in my town last year. outdoor wood furnaces are no more. the people that had them had to stop use. one guy had over 10k in his furnace did water and everything. a few people got together and complained and shut them down permanently.

 

[Rob1276]

I've got four, maybe five, wood burners within 100ft, no problems here with smoke! Not sure what you are on about there Dan!
My fix for this, get an old riding mower, remove the muffler and run a straight pipe then add a quart or more used motor oil in the gas tank when the wind is in his direction. Nothing in the books about lawn care!

Dude that's great I can barely type I'm laughing so much just picturing that

 

[s37d]

Some good feedback here, thanks. We do have a good lawyer and I will look into the vexatious litigation suggestion.

P.S. If that doesn't work, perhaps go to southie to give Vinnie a couple hundred to pay your neighbor a visit???

That's pretty funny, lol. I am half Italian/Irish. Southie is Irish, would have to go to the North End for Vinnie. I wouldn't tap connections for this, anyway. He's more of a nuisance, and I knew you guys would enjoy the story.

 

[Chris-PA]

Some folks use any opportunity to trot out their favorite political boogyman. From the OP description this has not much to do with "tree huggers" or us dreaded environmentalists, and everything to do with a personal feud between neighbors. Some people are just a-holes - I live next to one.

 

[Whitespider]

This type of thing is exactly why I live where I do… in the sticks.
With that said, I also have spent my share of hours looking at the wrong side of jail bars because I have no time for self-righteous azz-holes like that… and it was worth it every single time!

After his first complaint I would have had a stern, private conversation with him, explaining exactly what would happen if the BS continued.
After the second complaint I’d have still made it private, but he wouldn’t have even seen me coming.
And I’ve never found there’s a need for a third meeting, no matter what the outcome or aftermath.

And I’ve also learned to never give a statement… just best to smile and talk about the weather.

 

[shelbythedog]

If the fool keeps pushing to shut the OP down, it will reach a point when everyone burning becomes affected. If the county, township, city, etc. gets involved in an actual shutdown of burning at the OP's residence, they will have to shut everyone down. Get your other wood burning neighbors on board with shutting the nut case down, they will be willing to help if their burning is in jeopardy, too. No question, there is power in numbers.

 

[Rob1276]

I was gonna put a wood burner in my house but now can't they where banned in my town last year. outdoor wood furnaces are no more. the people that had them had to stop use. one guy had over 10k in his furnace did water and everything. a few people got together and complained and shut them down permanently.

Time to get a lawyer and start fighting or put a for sale sign up. This country going to hell quick screw over the masses to please the few.

 

[THE PLUMMER]

OK, which are "them" and which are "us"? On the face of it, your statement is bogus. IMHO. Or is it just some sort of paranoia.

From what we've heard, the unnamed person is just a nut demanding special treatment. Like the Bachmanns, you know.

In this case "them" = koolaid drinkers, people who support laws as long as they don't effect their lives, greenies that spew the first headline they read without an ounce of fact or research on their own, 1 of the 52 million proven uneducated morons that voted for the socialists in charge, someone who supports electric vehicles but can't afford one without other tax payers money in the form of an $8,000 government rebate, people still dumb enuff to support the guy who has passed more EPA restrictions than any other president in history and stifling the economy and growth. Who do you think put the ban in place on all wood burning heating equipment. Oh maybe we wouldn't have to heat our homes with wood if someone didn't restrict or ban the fossil fuel industry causing the price of fuel to more than double. I wonder what all these wood burning haters do when they go camping? oh but thats ok then, cuz they are doing it. Fact is wood burning isn't harmful to you at all, unless you are the one huffing off the stack. You have to do some real research not just the articles that suit your point of view. Ask a fire marshal for some real first hand air analysis of just wood smoke. Obama supporters hate facts as much as they hate their own miserable lives, thats why there's msnbc,cnn,cbs,pbs.........they aren't happy until everyone is as miserable as they are. One way to tick thy neighbor off is to always be happy

 

[MarylandGuy]

Curious, but how old is your woodstove? Is it a newer EPA approved stove? If not, you might consider upgrading.

I know that sounds crazy, but it will make a huge difference in smoke. And you will probably burn at least half as much wood.

I upgraded my old stove to a newer EPA approved unit. I cut my wood usage to about a third of what I used to burn. And when it is running correctly, you never see smoke coming out of the chimney.

 

[Chris-PA]

Time to get a lawyer and start fighting or put a for sale sign up. This country going to hell quick screw over the masses to please the few.

So in that area do you think the outdoor wood burners outnumber the others? Which are the masses and which are the few?

My neighbor burns his trash, including leftover chemicals from his illegal paint shop that he built after lying to me and the township. He runs his illegal business using my private property to access his land-locked place. Did I file every complaint against him I could? Damn straight. But first I went to him, whereupon he showed his true colors.

At this point he has sworn in court that he is not running a business, a point I never fail to remind him of, and he has to work so hard to hide his activities that it's pretty much put an end to it. He can't put a toe out of line without me all over his butt. I can guarantee you it would not end well if he came over to give me a "stern talking to". On the other hand, I'm smart enough to not give him anything he can use against me legally - I will not be losing my home or property in order to show how manly I am. He watches me swinging an axe for hours, I think he gets the picture.

A cool head is better than a hot head.

 

[s37d]

Some folks use any opportunity to trot out their favorite political boogyman. From the OP description this has not much to do with "tree huggers" or us dreaded environmentalists, and everything to do with a personal feud between neighbors. Some people are just a-holes - I live next to one.

Yes, he is, on top of all else, an a-hole. The yacht-club wannabe snob variant.

 

[Guido Salvage]

He runs his illegal business using my private property to access his land-locked place.

Does he have a deeded right of way or prescriptive easement across your property? I do not know the circumstances of the property subdivision, but I believe that a prescriptive easement is obtained in PA by continuous use over a 21 year period of time. If he has neither, you may want to talk to a lawyer about shutting him out.

 

[CWME]

Why would you let these people into your home? Code enforcement or the Fire marshall. Is there some law that states that they can search/inspect your home without a court order? Even more violating is because it is on the word of a third party. That is scary buisness if they can come in when ever they so choose. They would have been turned away at the door at my house.

 

[Chris-PA]

Does he have a deeded right of way or prescriptive easement across your property? I do not know the circumstances of the property subdivision, but I believe that a prescriptive easement is obtained in PA by continuous use over a 21 year period of time. If he has neither, you may want to talk to a lawyer about shutting him out.

There is no formal lane use agreement, but the residence has been there for 50years so that is grandfathered. Even if it weren't so legally, it was there when I bought the place it so I do not have any interest in bothering about that. The business has not, the structure is new and he has sworn there is no business. The pro-business judge required receipts to prove he was running a business, an almost impossible standard to meet. However, he cannot not now establish any precedence of using my land for accessing his business since he swore there was none, which was my goal.

At this point I could prove it, but I cannot justify diverting my family's funds towards a pissing contest. His health is failing and of late we are both trying to live next to each other without so much conflict, although he will always be what he is. I intimidate him a lot, which is to my advantage, and he believes he cannot rattle me or make me loose control.

 

[Iska3]

I'm glad I live where I do. We have a gal down the road who goes wild with the smell of smoke from a outdoor fire pit and she'll do everything she can to stop them. I've burn wood in my OWB going on three years now and not a word has been said. Most of the people around me never knew I heated with wood until this fall and if they did, no one said anything to me.

I found it's best to work with my neighbors as a form of respect. It’s hard for anyone to be upset with a person who is always kind and willing to work with them. What little smoke that might come from my OWB to me is not a big deal because I’m seeing $aving$ and the other person might be a bit envy of me when the LP truck pulls up to their tank.

It might not by your stove that upset them, it might be the stove down the road that is causing the troubles and you just happen to be the one living next to them. Then again, it could be something totally different making them upset and the smell of the smoke is the little bell that goes off in their head and they take it out on you.

I would find a way to work with them and not against them before it gets out of hand and the LP truck is now pulling up to your tank next week.

Send them a Smoked Turkey for Christmas....

A lot of what Plummer said is true…

 

[Chris-PA]

Why would you let these people into your home? Code enforcement or the Fire marshall. Is there some law that states that they can search/inspect your home without a court order? Even more violating is because it is on the word of a third party. That is scary buisness if they can come in when ever they so choose. They would have been turned away at the door at my house.

Sounds to me like he did himself a big favor by letting them in and establishing a good relationship with them. You never know who you'll end up dealing with, but I've found it a big advantage to be on good terms with my local government in the place I live. There are rules and official practices, and then there are human beings with emotions in official positions, and often they are good folks. They can do a lot for you if they want to.

EDIT: That doesn't extend much past my local government, say township level - people I can meet and get to know personally.