Had my court date today....It came out better than I'd hoped, but still leaves me a problem.
Entered a plea agreement that left me with a $100 civil fine and $106 in court costs. That part is good. With another "compliance to the agreement" hearing set for Feb. 28.
The bad part is that it also puts me under a permament injunction not allowing me to "store inoperable vehicles and/or car parts on my property outside a permament structure" The problem lies in their definition of "inoperable vehicle". The inspector apparently had been around this morning, and believe it or not, the car that I have fixed up enough for short to the corner and back trips had a flat tire,(has a slow leak, and I haven't been here the last 4 days to keep it aired) and that made it an "inoperable vehicle"....the other car (which is actually the best running of the lot) he couldn't check out because my dog prevented him from entering past my (6') privacy fence.
THEIR definition of an "inoperable vehicle" is that you must be able to "legally drive it on the street without getting a ticket" HMMMmmm... as an exLeo I can tell you that there is NO vehicle being driven that can't be cited for SOMETHING, should you be willing to take the time to really inspect it with a fine tooth comb and have a good city ordinance reference book handy.
Now I wouldn't want to try to drive the Chrysler on the street in it's present condition, even though it would make it anywhere in the country mechanically, it's just not too smart with the left side bashed in and the rear lights messed up the way they are. It's going to take at least $2000 to get it back to full safe condition, and I won't have that untill such time as the SS Administration sees fit to release my back pay check. It sounds like I'm being overly possesive of what is, after all, just an old car....but I have a great affinity for this vehicle; it was the last car my ex father in law bought before his death; it's my last tie to a man that I truly loved and respected. That car took Mamamontezz and I to the Texas Blogfest in great comfort, safety and speed three days after I took possesion of it.
This leaves me in a quandry...I have too much stuff in the garage that I have no other place for to put it in there, and I tried to go the sell to the knacker route and the best offer I got was $25.; which he'll part out and get at least $1000 for the engine alone, which rankles my soul; and now, BECAUSE I was trying to become compliant and get a current plate, I can't even do that because I now have to wait for the new title to arrive before I can sell it.
So I have 28 days to fix the situation, or be found in contempt of court, but am caught in a set of interlocking catch-22's that will make it difficult to comply with the order.
Isn't city government wonderful? I'd like to know just HOW I'm causing any sort of hazard and/or eyesore by having a running yet not quite street legal car awaiting repair, parked on concrete in my back yard behind a 6' wooden privacy fence.
This is going to get interesting....bureoucracy vs a stubborn Dutchman trying to use his private property in a manner they don't like. I know I can't win fighting, but it seems that my options are limited as well. We'll just have to see how it turns out...
Posted by Delftsman3 at January 30, 2006 03:13 PM | TrackBackI reckon you are going to find this anywhere you live in a city with code and code enforcement people. There is a lot to be said for living in the country
Posted by: GUYK at January 30, 2006 06:04 PMI remember that car.
Still can't belive you drove all the way to Texas. You should have let Mama drive some of the way.
Posted by: Deathknyte at January 30, 2006 09:09 PMI grew up in the country and I will always miss it so much. GuyK is right, living in the country, at least when I was a kid meant no rules on stuff like you are going through.
Wishing you all the best with what you have to do Dutchman!