RE: [UC] PM-302.3 Weeds
I'll be calling the police on J. Cass, who has an illegal sod farm in his backyard. It's a scandal. ELISABETH DUBINHillier ARCHITECTUREOne South Penn Square, Philadelphia, PA 19107-3502 | T 215 636- | F 215 636-9989 | hillier.com From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jonathan CassSent: Tuesday, April 12, 2005 9:10 PMTo: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]Cc: univcity@list.purple.comSubject: RE: [UC] PM-302.3 Weeds It is good to see that the City is finally cracking down on all youlay-abouts. Good god --most UC homeowners only have about400 square feet of property not covered by the dwelling -- is it really that difficult to maintain it properly? It reminds me of Kyle's lame excuse for why he hasn't taken any steps to landscape the vacant lot next to his manse. (Remember that one -- "Janie Blackwell said I couldn't do it"!!). The PIC plants sale is coming up at the end of the month-- I suggest that you all get on over there, purchase some plants, and do some landscaping at your weed-choked hovels. Remember, the crazy old lady next door will be watching. Jonathan A. Cass -Original Message-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED]Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2005 7:32 PMTo: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]Cc: univcity@list.purple.comSubject: Re: [UC] PM-302.3 Weeds Yeah right. "Decorative grass". Heh. Heard that one before. What are you raising there, Widyono, Panama Red? Hmm? Little BC Bud? Some decorative Colombian mixed in with the trailing arbutus, and the wisterias, and the travelling bamboos? Ross Bender http://rossbender.org In a message dated 4/12/2005 5:03:45 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: I got slapped with this, some decorative grass in the front lawn apparentlywas not liked by a neighbor (who still hasn't come clean to let me know itwas them who contacted the police to complain, without ever complaining to mefirst). *I* got the ticket FOUR MONTHS after it was written up. Thetimestamp on the envelope proves it. No deal, they wanted their money. Iwasn't about to fight all the way to a judge, I'd wasted enough time tryingto reason with the Finance department (a.k.a. Collection Agency).
Re: [UC] PM-302.3 Weeds
Folks, This weed citation is foolish. There's no across the board method for citing such a thing in a way that couldn't be grotesquely abused by the people making the complaints. There must be hundreds of residences with at least one weed that may be in excess of 10 inches at any given time in this city. It's one thing to want to keep Philadelphia looking clean and orderly, it's another to pelt people with these poorly regulated statutes that aren't properly and equitably enforced by the city government. Unless the city appoints landscaping police, it's foolish to think that you're at the mercy of a disgruntled neighbor who has an abusive green thumb under which we are all are pinned. 2 cents Mario Giorno On 4/13/05, Dubin, Elisabeth [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I'll be calling the police on J. Cass, who has an illegal sod farm in his backyard. It's a scandal. ELISABETH DUBIN Hillier ARCHITECTURE One South Penn Square, Philadelphia, PA 19107-3502 | T 215 636- | F 215 636-9989 | hillier.com From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jonathan Cass Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2005 9:10 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: univcity@list.purple.com Subject: RE: [UC] PM-302.3 Weeds It is good to see that the City is finally cracking down on all you lay-abouts. Good god -- most UC homeowners only have about 400 square feet of property not covered by the dwelling -- is it really that difficult to maintain it properly? It reminds me of Kyle's lame excuse for why he hasn't taken any steps to landscape the vacant lot next to his manse. (Remember that one -- Janie Blackwell said I couldn't do it!!). The PIC plants sale is coming up at the end of the month-- I suggest that you all get on over there, purchase some plants, and do some landscaping at your weed-choked hovels. Remember, the crazy old lady next door will be watching. Jonathan A. Cass -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2005 7:32 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: univcity@list.purple.com Subject: Re: [UC] PM-302.3 Weeds Yeah right. Decorative grass. Heh. Heard that one before. What are you raising there, Widyono, Panama Red? Hmm? Little BC Bud? Some decorative Colombian mixed in with the trailing arbutus, and the wisterias, and the travelling bamboos? Ross Bender http://rossbender.org In a message dated 4/12/2005 5:03:45 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: I got slapped with this, some decorative grass in the front lawn apparently was not liked by a neighbor (who still hasn't come clean to let me know it was them who contacted the police to complain, without ever complaining to me first). *I* got the ticket FOUR MONTHS after it was written up. The timestamp on the envelope proves it. No deal, they wanted their money. I wasn't about to fight all the way to a judge, I'd wasted enough time trying to reason with the Finance department (a.k.a. Collection Agency). You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named UnivCity. To unsubscribe or for archive information, see http://www.purple.com/list.html.
Re: [UC] PM-302.3 Weeds
Mario Giorno wrote: Folks, This weed citation is foolish. There's no across the board method for citing such a thing in a way that couldn't be grotesquely abused by the people making the complaints. There must be hundreds of residences with at least one weed that may be in excess of 10 inches at any given time in this city. It's one thing to want to keep Philadelphia looking clean and orderly, it's another to pelt people with these poorly regulated statutes that aren't properly and equitably enforced by the city government. Unless the city appoints landscaping police, it's foolish to think that you're at the mercy of a disgruntled neighbor who has an abusive green thumb under which we are all are pinned. Still, such neighbors exist, and the statutes exist, so the potential for abuse exists. I can even cite some personal experience: about a year after I'd moved into my house, one of my neighbors decided to trim the bushes in front of my house by chopping them down to stumps. Without my consent, BTW. They grew back, happily, and although they're not the prettiest landscaper's choice in the world, I figure I'll keep'em there just to spite Paul Bunyan. But the incident showed me that there were people who'd probably be tickled pink to have a city _agency_ act on their particular gardening whims. You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named UnivCity. To unsubscribe or for archive information, see http://www.purple.com/list.html.
RE: [UC] PM-302.3 Weeds
Title: RE: [UC] PM-302.3 Weeds I will say that when I was having problems with my neighbors and their trash, it was matt wolfe who came through. I'd been complaining to my councilwoman off and on for a year with no result, matt got it taken care of the next day. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of Kirk Wattles Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2005 4:22 PM To: UC List Subject: [UC] PM-302.3 Weeds PHILADELPHIA PROPERTY MAINTENANCE CODE SECTION PM-302. EXTERIOR PROPERTY AREAS PM-302.3 Weeds: All premises and exterior property shall be maintained free from weeds or plant growth in excess of 10 inches (254 mm). All noxious weeds shall be prohibited. Weeds shall be defined as all grasses, annual plants and vegetation, other than trees, shrubs, cultivated flowers and gardens. http://municipalcodes.lexisnexis.com/codes/philadelphia/_DATA/TITLE04/ SUBCODE_PM_THE_PHILADELPHIA_PR/SECTION_PM_302_EXTERIOR_PROPER.html
Re: [UC] PM-302.3 Weeds
I got slapped with this, some decorative grass in the front lawn apparently was not liked by a neighbor (who still hasn't come clean to let me know it was them who contacted the police to complain, without ever complaining to me first). *I* got the ticket FOUR MONTHS after it was written up. The timestamp on the envelope proves it. No deal, they wanted their money. I wasn't about to fight all the way to a judge, I'd wasted enough time trying to reason with the Finance department (a.k.a. Collection Agency). Dan W. On Tue, Apr 12, 2005 at 04:26:05PM -0400, Kyle Cassidy wrote: I will say that when I was having problems with my neighbors and their trash, it was matt wolfe who came through. I'd been complaining to my councilwoman off and on for a year with no result, matt got it taken care of the next day. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Kirk Wattles Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2005 4:22 PM To: UC List Subject: [UC] PM-302.3 Weeds PHILADELPHIA PROPERTY MAINTENANCE CODE SECTION PM-302. EXTERIOR PROPERTY AREAS PM-302.3 Weeds: All premises and exterior property shall be maintained free from weeds or plant growth in excess of 10 inches (254 mm). All noxious weeds shall be prohibited. Weeds shall be defined as all grasses, annual plants and vegetation, other than trees, shrubs, cultivated flowers and gardens. http://municipalcodes.lexisnexis.com/codes/philadelphia/_DATA/TITLE04/ SUBCODE_PM_THE_PHILADELPHIA_PR/SECTION_PM_302_EXTERIOR_PROPER.html -- -- Daniel Widyono -- -- www.widyono.net-- -- www.cis.upenn.edu/~widyono -- -- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named UnivCity. To unsubscribe or for archive information, see http://www.purple.com/list.html.
RE: [UC] PM-302.3 Weeds
I too got one of these tickets, as did several of my neighbors. Not the neighbor whose front yard is an experiment in ecosystem reversion, i.e., see what happens when you do nothing for years. The same timing nonsense occurred (written in August, filed in January.) After much back and forth, I finally got a supervisor at the Finance Dept who told me that if I appealed, I would win. There's no reasoning with any of the folks who answer the phone, although one did inform me that the only way to avoid a hearing was if I knew someone, and in that case, he didn't want to know about it. Charming. So, me and the baby are off to court next week, his first experience with the law. I hope they go easy on us, maybe give us a donut and urge us to stick closer to church related activities. MC -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Dan Widyono Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2005 5:02 PM To: Kyle Cassidy Cc: 'Kirk Wattles'; UC List Subject: Re: [UC] PM-302.3 Weeds I got slapped with this, some decorative grass in the front lawn apparently was not liked by a neighbor (who still hasn't come clean to let me know it was them who contacted the police to complain, without ever complaining to me first). *I* got the ticket FOUR MONTHS after it was written up. The timestamp on the envelope proves it. No deal, they wanted their money. I wasn't about to fight all the way to a judge, I'd wasted enough time trying to reason with the Finance department (a.k.a. Collection Agency). Dan W. On Tue, Apr 12, 2005 at 04:26:05PM -0400, Kyle Cassidy wrote: I will say that when I was having problems with my neighbors and their trash, it was matt wolfe who came through. I'd been complaining to my councilwoman off and on for a year with no result, matt got it taken care of the next day. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Kirk Wattles Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2005 4:22 PM To: UC List Subject: [UC] PM-302.3 Weeds PHILADELPHIA PROPERTY MAINTENANCE CODE SECTION PM-302. EXTERIOR PROPERTY AREAS PM-302.3 Weeds: All premises and exterior property shall be maintained free from weeds or plant growth in excess of 10 inches (254 mm). All noxious weeds shall be prohibited. Weeds shall be defined as all grasses, annual plants and vegetation, other than trees, shrubs, cultivated flowers and gardens. http://municipalcodes.lexisnexis.com/codes/philadelphia/_DATA/TITLE04/ SUBCODE_PM_THE_PHILADELPHIA_PR/SECTION_PM_302_EXTERIOR_PROPER.html -- -- Daniel Widyono -- -- www.widyono.net-- -- www.cis.upenn.edu/~widyono -- -- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named UnivCity. To unsubscribe or for archive information, see http://www.purple.com/list.html. You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named UnivCity. To unsubscribe or for archive information, see http://www.purple.com/list.html.
Re: [UC] PM-302.3 Weeds
Yeah right. "Decorative grass". Heh. Heard that one before. What are you raising there, Widyono, Panama Red? Hmm? Little BC Bud? Some decorative Colombian mixed in with the trailing arbutus, and the wisterias, and the travelling bamboos? Ross Bender http://rossbender.org In a message dated 4/12/2005 5:03:45 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: I got slapped with this, some decorative grass in the front lawn apparentlywas not liked by a neighbor (who still hasn't come clean to let me know itwas them who contacted the police to complain, without ever complaining to mefirst). *I* got the ticket FOUR MONTHS after it was written up. Thetimestamp on the envelope proves it. No deal, they wanted their money. Iwasn't about to fight all the way to a judge, I'd wasted enough time tryingto reason with the Finance department (a.k.a. Collection Agency).
RE: [UC] PM-302.3 Weeds My story.
I have an elderly neighbor who has harassed me for several years. She has interrupted me while I was working on my house to yell at me on several occasions, once because a metal trash can full of old furnace debris had been left in front of my house by a plumbing contractor. It was too heavy to move and they had been promising to come get it for several days. Over the years, she has never said anything positive about any improvements I have made. I have tried to be polite though she is insanely overbearing. When we had a house fire she said nothing while other neighbors were quite supportive. I am currently having exterior painting done on a property I have been working on for two years. It used to be a boarding house populated by crackheads and prostitutes. Again she says nothing nice to me. One day she yelled that I was dragging her property values down because my privet hedge was high. (Keep in mind that privet hedge height is subjective. Some people like hedges for privacy.) On one property my older neighbor and I share a hedge. This neighbor is in her sixties. She gets no such critique from Mrs. X regarding the height of her hedge. The last time Mrs X came at me with a tirade was last fall. My husband had just broken his back and was getting ready to have surgery. I could not muster any more patience and asked her to remove herself from my property. When I received a ticket in February for high weeds I just laughed because I knew it was her. She seems to have a lot of time on her hands as many elderly people do. The property in question has no high weeds because two years ago I laid weedpaper in the front garden and mulched it and have maintained it since. I suppose there is no high hedge citation because it's an aesthetic choice -- so weeds is the way they wrote it up. I only hope calling in this absurd citation gave Mrs. X a shred of satisfaction and joy in what seems to be a dismal and empty old age. Mrs. X. once yelled something about me making so much money on my property. She clearly has no idea how much money it takes to rehab a house or homes that have been left derelict for years. The total irony of the situation is that Mrs. X. will soon be selling sells her property -- one she has owned outright for many years. When it goes for $400K or more; it will never occur to her that her profit is partly due to people like me -- a younger generation of investors. Our sweat equity and financial investment in U-city partially contributed to her windfall. It was a gamble that has paid off admittedly, but it was still a risk. It's clear to me that Mrs. X. is projecting her anger and frustration at growing old toward me. She doesn't like high hedges because she keeps hers short. She has no control over the fact that she must leave a neighborhood she loves because she is growing too infirm to maintain a giant twin house. She can't control me or by extension the block she has called home for much of her life. I wish her only happiness in her new situation and hope I will remember her when I get to be her age. When I got the ticket - I paid it. Ultimately, it was a small fine to pay for the criminal act of being young. Nicole McEwan gt;From: quot;Michael Clapperquot; lt;[EMAIL PROTECTED]gt; gt;Reply-To: quot;Michael Clapperquot; lt;[EMAIL PROTECTED]gt; gt;To: quot;'UC List'quot; lt;univcity@list.purple.comgt; gt;Subject: RE: [UC] PM-302.3 Weeds gt;Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2005 19:06:52 -0400 gt; gt;I too got one of these tickets, as did several of my neighbors. Not the gt;neighbor whose front yard is an experiment in ecosystem reversion, i.e., gt;see what happens when you do nothing for years. gt; gt;The same timing nonsense occurred (written in August, filed in January.) gt; gt; gt;After much back and forth, I finally got a supervisor at the Finance gt;Dept who told me that if I appealed, I would win. There's no reasoning gt;with any of the folks who answer the phone, although one did inform me gt;that the only way to avoid a hearing was if I knew someone, and in that gt;case, he didn't want to know about it. Charming. gt; gt;So, me and the baby are off to court next week, his first experience gt;with the law. I hope they go easy on us, maybe give us a donut and urge gt;us to stick closer to church related activities. gt; gt;MC gt; gt;-Original Message- gt;From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] gt;[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Dan Widyono gt;Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2005 5:02 PM gt;To: Kyle Cassidy gt;Cc: 'Kirk Wattles'; UC List gt;Subject: Re: [UC] PM-302.3 Weeds gt; gt;I got slapped with this, some decorative grass in the front lawn gt;apparently gt;was not liked by a neighbor (who still hasn't come clean to let me know gt;it gt;was them who contacted the police to complain, without ever complaining gt;to me gt;first). *I* got the ticket FOUR MONTHS after it was written up. The gt;timestamp on the envelope proves it. No deal, they wanted their money
RE: [UC] PM-302.3 Weeds
It is good to see that the City is finally cracking down on all youlay-abouts. Good god --most UC homeowners only have about400 square feet of property not covered by the dwelling -- is it really that difficult to maintain it properly? It reminds me of Kyle's lame excuse for why he hasn't taken any steps to landscape the vacant lot next to his manse. (Remember that one -- "Janie Blackwell said I couldn't do it"!!). The PIC plants sale is coming up at the end of the month-- I suggest that you all get on over there, purchase some plants, and do some landscaping at your weed-choked hovels. Remember, the crazy old lady next door will be watching. Jonathan A. Cass -Original Message-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED]Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2005 7:32 PMTo: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]Cc: univcity@list.purple.comSubject: Re: [UC] PM-302.3 Weeds Yeah right. "Decorative grass". Heh. Heard that one before. What are you raising there, Widyono, Panama Red? Hmm? Little BC Bud? Some decorative Colombian mixed in with the trailing arbutus, and the wisterias, and the travelling bamboos? Ross Bender http://rossbender.org In a message dated 4/12/2005 5:03:45 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: I got slapped with this, some decorative grass in the front lawn apparentlywas not liked by a neighbor (who still hasn't come clean to let me know itwas them who contacted the police to complain, without ever complaining to mefirst). *I* got the ticket FOUR MONTHS after it was written up. Thetimestamp on the envelope proves it. No deal, they wanted their money. Iwasn't about to fight all the way to a judge, I'd wasted enough time tryingto reason with the Finance department (a.k.a. Collection Agency).
Re: [UC] PM-302.3 Weeds My story.
Nicole, if you think you have it bad, check out this story from the Japan Times: Jail muffles neighbor from hellNARA (Kyodo) A 58-year-old woman was arrested Monday on suspicion of intentionally torturing her 64-year-old neighbor by playing loud pop music almost 24 hours a day between November 2002 and last March. Miyoko Kawahara apparently made a hole in her back door to ensure that the racket from her portable stereo would reach the neighbor's house in the town of Heguri, Nara Prefecture, police said. The two homes are about 6 meters apart, they said. The sonic onslaught caused the neighbor to suffer insomnia and headaches. The elderly woman needed a month of medical treatment to recover, prompting police to investigate the case, they said. Kawahara has refused to discuss any possible motive, they said. She has been in conflict with her neighbors over noise for about nine years, police said. The Japan Times: April 12, 2005 Ross Bender http://rossbender.org In a message dated 4/12/2005 8:17:36 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: I have an elderly neighbor who has harassed me for several years.She has interrupted me while I was working on my house to yell at me on several occasions, once because a metal trash can full of old furnace debris had been left in front of my house by a plumbing contractor. It was too heavy to move and they had been promising to come get it for several days.
Re: [UC] PM-302.3 Weeds My story.
A local emminent landscape architect who had planted native plants on the grass near the curb in front of his house was cited and fined for having weeds. I guess one man's weed is another man's native plant. Strange how this discussion coincided with the announcement of Bartram Garden's native plant sale. You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named UnivCity. To unsubscribe or for archive information, see http://www.purple.com/list.html.
Re: [UC] PM-302.3 Weeds
Ross, Jonathan, :P We also have flowers, and the decorative grass served to prevent theft of our garbage cans -- we could lock them down to the slightly-higher-than-10 grass which obviously made the neighborhood look like a war zone. Screw it, I'll just plant the still-living (!!) bamboo in front; that'll take care of the garbage cans *and* give us some privacy. Dan W. You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named UnivCity. To unsubscribe or for archive information, see http://www.purple.com/list.html.
Re: [UC] PM-302.3 Weeds My story.
For those concerned about future crabby neighbors: Take a picture once a week of your house, with date proof (e.g. newspaper). For anything that *might* be considered a weed, take closeup pictures, take samples and have them dried and put in your legal scrapbook, include research on the type of plant, etc. You might never need this kind of proof, but if you end up getting a ticket for several months back, it'll be handy. Oh, and measure all your non-flower plants to make sure they're below 10 inches tall. Might as well take a picture of any tall-ish plants with the ruler next to them. Also: if the ticket Badge Number is 4 digits, a cop was called explicitly to file a complaint about the weeds. Also, if the department is 1-1, again a cop wrote the ticket. If the Badge Number is 3 digits (unlikely for weeds), it was the streets department noticing you had tall weeds. The above (pictures, samples, ticket identifying information) is actual advice given to me by the City when I fought my ticket (round one, I ended up paying without appealing to a judge). Regards, Dan W. On Tue, Apr 12, 2005 at 09:32:56PM -0400, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: A local emminent landscape architect who had planted native plants on the grass near the curb in front of his house was cited and fined for having weeds. I guess one man's weed is another man's native plant. Strange how this discussion coincided with the announcement of Bartram Garden's native plant sale. -- -- Daniel Widyono -- -- www.widyono.net-- -- www.cis.upenn.edu/~widyono -- -- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named UnivCity. To unsubscribe or for archive information, see http://www.purple.com/list.html.
