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Had A Problem With Zoning?
By Greg L | 11 July 2009 | Prince William County | 58 Comments
Over the years I’ve been hearing some disturbing stories about how zoning enforcement is being done in Prince William County. In some cases, as these stories go, zoning enforcement officials came down extremely hard on some folks, but exercised an unusual deference to others. It appears that the most common factor that determined who got the lenient treatment and who didn’t was the ethnic background of the folks committing the violations. If you’ve experienced this, I’d like to know.
If Prince William County zoning enforcement personnel are enforcing zoning regulations in a discriminatory way and sufficient evidence exists to document selective enforcement of the law based on racial or ethnic bias, I have a strong feeling that there’s going to be a class-action lawsuit coming pretty soon. A really strong feeling.
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I would suggest that the real problem is not enforcement of the law based on racial or ethnic bias. Rather, it is the lack of enforcement of the law based on racial or ethnic bias.
The way Prince William County enforces zoning opens the door to potential abuse and harassment. As I understand the process, residential zoning enforcement is complaint based. No complaints, no problems. I wonder if, upon closer inspection, the appearance of racial or ethnic bias results from a pattern of citizen complaints against specific groups. I believe it’s safe to assume some minority populations are quite uncomfortable contacting local Government for support… so it’s a one way complaint flow.
From personal experience I know they say it will be 2 weeks until they can get to the complaint, they talk a big show about how busy they are all the time at bocs meetings, maybe to inflate the staff and budget? They do seem to be one of the larger county departments . . .
Good question Greg, seems someone needs to talk to Corey and any other County Supervisor who will listen real quick about how the new County Executive needs to “clean house”.
For example why does the County have a Planning Department, Development Services Department, Public Works Department, Zoning Department, and Transportation Department all with highly paid, and in my opinion, not qualified Directors who appear to be wimps hiding in their offices all day scared they will be asked a technical question or not too bright developer suck ups? This is a world class organization?
Just look at the horrible way the County has developed, many blame the Supervisors but I blame these Directors more so, who is watching the store and my taxes please!
I’m just saying… said on 11 Jul 2009 at 12:02 pm: Flag comment
The way Prince William County enforces zoning opens the door to potential abuse and harassment. As I understand the process, residential zoning enforcement is complaint based. No complaints, no problems.
Apparently this is the way things are run. No complaints, no enforcement. Just drive around the Sudley, Westgate and Loch Lomand areas and see the blatent zoning violations. One example that cannot be missed by anyone driving buy is a house on Lomand drive prior to Flat branch that has two or three cars parked on the lawn at any given time. One of the cars has not moved in many, many months and is probably not registered. There has been a large box truck parked outside a residence on Lafayett Ave. parked 24/7. Where are the inspectors? Surely not driving around the neighborhoods. Get them out of the office and provide them an area to work in and start enforcing the zoning laws.
Anonymous,
I don’t think inspectors drive around looking for zoning violations, I think they only respond to citizen complaints… ergo… no complaint, no enforcement.
A pragmatic question… If the neighborhood doesn’t care, why should we?
That would certainly explain how a car with tags that died 5 months prior was parked on a street in West Gate of Lomond for most of those 5 months with no enforcement actions what-so-ever. (The car–and several others nearby–was finally ticketed and then it disappeared).
Mr. Leeper, if it was parked on the street it would not be a zoning issue as the zoning inspectors have NO authority to enforce illegal vehicles parked on the street, only on private property. It would have had to be the PD that ticketed the vehicle.
It’s the final disposition of complaints that may be troubling. Some folks seem to automatically get non-conforming use permits and laughable findings of being in compliance with alarming regularity for all sorts of violations, while others get the book thrown at them. Some quite clearly seem to get tipped off in advance of an inspection, giving them the chance to hide the evidence, which is pathetically easy to make happen given the lax security that surrounds the handling of complaints. There are a lot of folks out there that I’ve talked to over the years that really believe a pattern of ethic or racial preference exists from the way some inspectors are handling their caseloads, and when called on it, their supervisors start spouting gibberish about how zoning enforcement has to take into account the cultural traditions of the people being investigated.
There’s some strange behavior going on, and it’s time to document it and determine whether that behavior merits the filing of a class action lawsuit against the county.
“Mr. Leeper, if it was parked on the street it would not be a zoning issue as the zoning inspectors have NO authority to enforce illegal vehicles parked on the street, only on private property. It would have had to be the PD that ticketed the vehicle.”
I’m well aware of that. I’m pointing out that some apparently take the position that they’re not going to deal with a problem unless someone complains, which is what “If the neighborhood doesn’t care, why should we?” amounts to.
It’s like the broken-down vehicle that sits on the side of 28 (the 6-lane part of 28) for a week before I call FFX PD and tell them I’m sick of looking at it and please get it OFF the road.
Then, amazingly, it disappears the next day.
I think we call that being “reactive”, not “proactive”. From my observation, it’s a problem with more than just PW zoning. It seems to be S.O.P. for many government agencies these days.
As I believe Greg said an abandoned vehicle on a public road is not a zoning issue. My comment re, “If the neighborhood doesn’t care, why should we?” doesn’t apply to public safety issues.
I’m a Conservative. While I appreciate a neighborhood’s desire for full conformance with some informal norm, I am also uncomfortable with the concept of a Government empowered to come onto my property and tell me what to do with it. Property rights is a long established Virginia (perhaps “the rest of Virginia” less the DC Metro) principle. I appreciate both sides; however, I would just as soon go to a more rural character where people don’t worry about what their neighbors are up to. I have no desire to be like Fairfax County.
I think the current process of complaint based compliance is a good compromise to keep Government from looking for problems where none exist (and would be quite pleased if our Government shrank considerably). Frankly, I’m surprised that Conservatives would be asking for more Government interference in our private lives and property.
We need less Government, not more. I thought that was what the Tea Parties are all about.
My experience has been that laziness is the over-arching problem - at least on the east end of the county. They do whatever they can to get out of investigating a complaint. And then when they DO investigate something, they pass by and ignore 10 violations on the way to the one they’re checking out. And “investigate” is a generous description of what some of them do. If you lodge a complaint, they drive by one time and if they don’t see it, it must not exist and they close the case.
Im just saying, nice post and I agree with you. But even the complaint based zoning has flaws. You can only imagine how many times people live next to a violation for years and then when they get mad at their neighbor they use that avenue to exact revenge. I bought into a HOA community so I don’t have to worry about those issues, for the most part.
A coworker of mine bought a bank owned house last winter in the amherst, yorshire lane area. The house needed alot of cosmetic work inside [cleaning,drywall,fumigation,plumbing]. There was an old shed,complete with 2 beds within 5 ft of the property line that needed removal, but my friend needed to get the house habitable so he focused on the plumbing and cleaning. He planned on tearing down the shed when the weather warmed up[it looked pretty bad]. Within 2 weeks after buying the house the zoning officer pulled up and wrote him a warning to get rid of this shed which from the looks of it was 20 yrs old, and he also warned him of not having his trailer on a paved part of the driveway. My friend asked this man if he had driven around the neighborhood recently and seen the cars in yards and numerous nonconforming sheds. He also asked why the previous owners were not asked to remove the shed and why it was so important now in the middle of winter.The zoning officer said someone complained. The driveway had been extended with gravel and the yard had deep ruts from cars being parked in it. My friend was busting his rear to do repairs to move in and this zoning inspector was being hard core. We tore the shed down and left the pile of trash in the yard till spring, apparantly that isn’t illegal.
not apathetic anymore, did the zoning inspector tell your coworker who made the complaint? I’m assuming the identity of the person who initiated the complaint is a matter of public record… or is it?
Personally, I think it is “low class” to file a complaint unless you have already talked to your neighbor (I’m assuming most complaints fall in this category). Why can’t neighbors just talk to one another?
I’ve lived in Northern Virginia for 35 years and Prince William County for over 20 and have never even met a zoning officer (let alone experienced a problem or know anyone else who has).
Just a FYI, the Virginia freedom of Information Act allows for the jurisdiction to withhold the names of complainants when it is a zoning complaint. Just a little useful information, if you call on your neighbor because their window is broken, paint peeling, fence falling down and other types of complaints, your name must be released by the jurisdiction if requested as they are Virginia Maintenance Code violations which are not exempt. If you call because of an inoperable vehicle, a shed too close to the property line and others, this is a zoning complaint and the jurisdiction has the right to withhold your name. This is how the City of Manassas was able to withhold names of overcrwoding complaints. The overcrowding portion is a Virginia maintenance Code violations and normally the names would have to be released. However, the City while taking the overcrowding complaint also took the stance of a zoning complaint of too many unrelated people in the house which would allow the withholding of the name. Sorry to ramble, but if you want to remain anonymous, which I feel is chicken$hit, you should ensure your complaint is a zoning complaint and not a Virginia Maintenance Code complaint. I believe PWC has the same people doing both. Until recently, the City of Manassas had two different departments handling zoning and VA maintenance Code complaints.
Some of you are assuming others live next to normal, stable people and could have a normal conversation with them. If they were completely “normal” they wouldn’t live in a sh*thole in the first place.
anon, agreed, after rethinking i can see where there is a time and place for an anonymous complaint or not speaking to your neighbor. At one time I had a neighbor Like that.
I have experienced similar problems with zoning as well.
The law is not applied equally in PWC. Instead of having to remove dump heaps or outside storage, some property owners are told that it is okay to cover up the dump heaps/outside storage as opposed to removing the dump heaps/outside storage.
Some people get non-conforming use permits for being over lot coverage when others are told to reduce the lot coverage.
Most people who are overcrowding get a pass by saying that they are all related - without having to provide proof they are related. The County has had the power to subpoena the information for almost two years now - and NOT ONE TIME HAS THE COUNTY USED THIS POWER.
Some people cover up inoperative vehicles with a tarp while others are made to remove the inoperative vehicles.
When complaints are turned in - it seems like certain property owners get notified about a complaint prior to an inspector coming to investigate.
Some of us do care about our community - we are sick of seeing cars parked on lawns, dump heaps, piles of trash, unmown yards, overcrowded houses, vehicles with no plates, construction materials being stored in yards, multiple work trucks/vans at one residence, etc. I for one don’t want to have to live next door to this kind of crap so I do want the County to enforce zoning ordinances. But I want them to enforce them equally - and not pick and choose who has to obey the law.
DportM,
I’m just guessing you don’t actually have any of these problems next door… or in your neighborhood… or perhaps in your area… Haymarket perhaps?
I hear talk about lower taxes and tea parties and then I hear talk about enforcing all zoning laws everywhere… there’s a bit of a contradiction here. As a conservative, I would rather see less Government and zoning enforcement when public safety is involved (IMHO, we could stop here) or where requested by neighbors in their own neighborhoods. The idea of members of one community reporting members of another community offends me. The idea of anonymous reporting is particularly offensive.
As for even enforcement, as long as people are involved no process will be fair. The key (IMHO) is to reduce Government and its associated processes thus reducing the power given to… well… normal folks like us (you wouldn’t do a favor for a friend?) That eliminates the natural discretion exercised by people when they are given a bit of power.
I’m just guessing’s… last post sounds so reasonable…on the surface. But dig down and it’s nothing more than the argument of someone who wants zoning, the police, politicians and on and on to turn a blind eye to the problems in our neighborhoods. If they try to take any action, the accusations of racial profiling will fly. The dead giveaway? Early on he/she said: “I believe it’s safe to assume some minority populations are quite uncomfortable contacting local Government for support.”
That argument sounds awfully familiar, doesn’t it?
I’m just guessing,
Actually, the problems of which I speak are in my neighborhood, and on both sides of my house, down my street, and down my neighborhood streets.
I had a neighbor report to zoning that his neighbors were throwing trash out of their basement windows into the back yard - the trash was blowing into his yard - and they didn’t have trash service. My neighbor would pick up the next door neighbor’s trash on a daily basis.
They finally got sick of seeing it and turned it in to Zoning. The complaining neighbors are in their late 70’s. What did they get? Their tires slashed and their car spray painted. They turned the complaint in anonymously because they were afraid of retaliation. Even in their anonymity, they were retaliated against.
Zoning inspectors have told offenders who turned them in - even though the complaint was anonymous - which resulted in the persons who were guilty of zoning violations confronting the person who turned them in.
I might add that attempts were first made to get these people to clean up their properties by explaining zoning laws to them. They ignored the requests.
If someone isn’t maintaining their property - zoning should absolutely have the power to make them obey the law. Neighborhoods suffer when people don’t obey zoning laws.
My own neighborhood is frequently called a sh**hole on this and other sites because of the people who do not obey the zoning laws.
I’m just guessing…
One more thing, I highly doubt that you are a conservative, because I don’t know any conservatives who don’t believe in obeying the law.
Greg L said on 11 Jul 2009 at 5:30 pm
There are a lot of folks out there that I’ve talked to over the years that really believe a pattern of ethic or racial preference exists from the way some inspectors are handling their caseloads, and when called on it, their supervisors start spouting gibberish about how zoning enforcement has to take into account the cultural traditions of the people being investigated.
Taking into account the cultural traditions of the people being investigated is pure BS! If they want to adhere to their cultural traditions, go back where they came from. This is America and we have our OWN cultural traditions on which the law is based. The law is the law. ENFORCE IT!
Brian Leeper said on 11 Jul 2009 at 5:45 pm: Flag comment
It’s like the broken-down vehicle that sits on the side of 28 (the 6-lane part of 28) for a week before I call FFX PD and tell them I’m sick of looking at it and please get it OFF the road.
I don’t know how many vehicles like you referenced above I have called in over the years to FFX PD. The FFX PD patrols 28 constantly yet they avoid having vehicles removed that leave little doubt as to having been abandoned (no plates, front or back and look like they just came out of a demolation derby.) After they have been called in to the PD they are usually removed within hours. Why can’t a PD patrol officer do the same?
My experience with PWC zoning is I made complaints against overcrowding for three flophouses and an inspection was done during the day and I got no feedback until I called the office and when I talked to the inspector all he told me was they were all related. When I told him that there were 9 (NINE) different last names on the mailbox he agreed to reinspect and then when i called he said that they were all related. When I spoke to his supervisor all I got was BS. I should have called Mr. Stirrup’s office to get some action taken against that inspector since he lied to me.
When I tried to speak to the people living there before I made the complaint it was “no habla English”.
I will say that working with my HOA I was able to get the extra vehicles towed each night until the offenders realized that they were losing two days wages every time their vehicles were towed. Thankfully those condo units were foreclosed on and they had to move and now we have young military families living in them, after they had to replace most of the light and plumbing fixtures the old residents took with them, including copper piping. , My HOA also was able to stop the business that one of them was running out of our parking lot, but I had to threaten the HOA with a formal hearing attended by my lawyer.
Dave in PWC
Please send your information regarding the zoning complaints to Greg. If you still have the case nos., or know the name of the inspector, please provide him that information as well.
We are providing Supervisor Stirrup’s office with a list of the inconsistencies in enforcing the zoning laws in PWC so an investigation can be conducted.
DeportM, re - One more thing, I highly doubt that you are a conservative, because I don’t know any conservatives who don’t believe in obeying the law.
Actually, Conservatives believe in obeying the law… we just believe in as few laws as possible (ergo, as small a Government footprint as possible). “Less is more” to a true Conservative. Property rights particularly, and a desire not to be told by Government what to do with one’s property is both a Conservative value and a Virginia tradition.
I could get into the whole law vice code and criminal vice civil; however, that would be a longer post. Suffisuth to say, I believe Government should focus on Public Safety and infrastructure and raising the minimum revenue to maintain both vice creating a plethora of “rules” that require large amounts of real estate, money, and bureaucracy to enforce. Zoning is one of my favorites since it reflects a specific set of expectations of one group that it wishes to impose on all groups codified as a set of often arbitrary “rules” at the expense of everyone (again, what exactly were the tea parties about?)
Perhaps if we spent more of our precious treasure enforcing the “law” vice “rules”, our County would be a safer place.
Some zoning issues ARE public safety issues. One which immediately comes to mind is that an accumulation of trash can provide food and harborage for rats, which can spread diseases and parasites to humans.
I’m just saying… said on 11 Jul 2009 at 7:47 pm: Flag comment
I’ve lived in Northern Virginia for 35 years and Prince William County for over 20 and have never even met a zoning officer (let alone experienced a problem or know anyone else who has).
You must lead a sheltered life. I invite you to drive/walk through the Westgage/Sudley/Loch Lomond and the Lomond South areas of the county. Bring a couple of legal pads because you could fill both of them with zoning violations in these areas. Apparently you cannot see the forest for the trees.
Greg’s original focus was fairness (an excellent post, by the way). To address that point, everyone brings their personal biases, relationships, and culture to Government and naturally reflects those in whatever role they fill in Government. Reducing the size of Government also results in a reduction of the opportunity to reflect these subjective influencing factors on the business of Government.
A Government focused on the objective issues of public safety and infrastructure (you are speeding or you are not) is (IMHO) more equitable than a Government in the business of creating complex rule sets addressing subjective elements of its resident’s lives and habits (that have little or nothing to do with public safety and infrastructure.) Again, I propose that “less is more”. The very fact that some people disagree with how zoning is currently enforced proves my point… “you” would do it differently because you disagree with the folks currently filling that role (bringing your own biases, relationships, and culture to the table).
A smaller Government is by its nature a more equitable Government. Let’s start shutting things down.
Again, a GREAT thread… thank you, Greg.
What Brian Leeper said - Some zoning issues ARE public safety issues.
I absolutely agree. I think most zoning issues ARE NOT public safety issues… and we should recognize the difference.
I’m just guessing…
So you would want to live next door to a house that had piles of building materials, cars parked on the grass, grass 1 feet high (or more), etc…?
Quality of life issues are just as important as public safety issues. I believe in limited government, but I don’t think I should have to live in a neighborhood in which some of the properties look like they belong in a third world country.
Do you have these problems in your neighborhood? If not, you shouldn’t opine on these issues because you are not being effected by them.
DPortM,
I opine on these issues because people who shouldn’t care… do. This drives up both the size and cost of Government for the rest of us.
We are talking about my tax dollars. Tea Party, anyone?
I’m just guessing…
When our founding fathers wanted limited government and freedom they had a foundation of Truth and so did the population.
These days people use “freedom” to do evil to their neighbors. More government is a symptom of that problem. It is because people have exchanged truth for a lie.
If you figured out what the Truth is or the better question is who, then you are one up on a certain Roman governor who asked the same question about 2000 years ago.
Consider this your Sunday School lesson for the day.
You didn’t answer my question, “I’m Just Guessing”
What do you mean by “people who shouldn’t care… do. I care because it is my neighborhood being effected.
OK, DeportM, to answer your question: yes.
If you want to know how may families are living in a single house just look on the roof and count the number of dtv dishes. It’s not unusual to see three or more on houses. I have been looking at foreclosed homes and it is amazing what these people get away with. Standard living rooms are partitioned into bedrooms. Bedrooms are split in two. None of these were done with permits, I checked. Plumbing and electric lines are run all through walls and are not even close to code compliance. I even saw a house where they had put a tiny br in the storage attic within the roof trusses, the ceiling was FOUR FEET HIGH, no kidding! People actually lived and slept there. Trust me you wouldn’t put your dogs in a space like that. Many of these houses are now fire hazards waiting to happen due to spliced electric lines and non compliant building. Now president Erkel wants to grant them all amnesty ensuring a future tsunami of illegal immigrants.
“If you want to know how may families are living in a single house just look on the roof and count the number of dtv dishes.”
That’s because they’ve never heard of a multiswitch.
“Many of these houses are now fire hazards waiting to happen due to spliced electric lines and non compliant building.”
Oh yes. They also put bigger circuit breakers in when they keep tripping due to overloading. I saw one house where the following happened.
This part is a guess:
Too many space heaters tripped the 15-amp living room and the 15-amp bedroom circuit.
So the two circuits were combined into one and put on a 30-amp breaker. Two wires were connected to the breaker. I suspect that the thinking was, “Well, if each wire can only carry 15, then if there’s two of them they each can carry 15 and so I can connect them to a 30″.
This part I’m certain of:
At some point the circuit was overloaded and the black (hot) wire’s insulation melted, touching the ground wire (inside the circuit breaker panel). Because this house was wired with the older Romex that only has a 16-gauge ground wire, and because the circuit breaker was twice the size it should have been, the ground wire burned away between where it was touching the black wire and the ground terminals in the panel. Yes, the ground wire MELTED.
As if that’s not bad enough, that part that hadn’t burned away was still touching the black wire so it was electrically live, so that any three-prong appliance plugged into this circuit became an instant electrocution hazard.
In this same house, I found a piece of Romex that was cut when a hole was cut in the floor between the upstairs bedroom and the basement, I found a piece of Romex that used to go to the outlet for the wall air conditioner that used to be in the living room (and was removed and drywalled over) just tucked into the wall (yes, it was live).
Also in this house, a wall was constructed in the basement to make an additional bedroom. The wall was constructed so that it blocked access to a junction box in the ceiling for a light fixture. The wall was torn out, and during the demolition it was noticed that the stud spacing was very erratic, some studs were spaced 3 feet apart and some 6 inches apart.
Also in this house, it appears that they were going to add a 5th bedroom in the rear basement and they had started wiring this room but never finished, leaving live, exposed Romex hanging out of the walls. From the date code on the Romex it appears that they did this sometime after 2005. I can only guess that the reason that they didn’t finish making this room into a bedroom is that the market for flophouse living space, well, kinda flopped.
I didn’t mention the shower valve that had been leaking long enough to rot out the backside of the house but I will. Apparently, it seems that they just let the water leak—and I will tell you it was obvious.
It cost only $15 for the replacement part to fix the leak, and it took 5 minutes to install. For want of a $15 shower valve and 5 minutes of time to replace it, the whole bathroom had to be redone.
For want of a little sanity in lending practices, a whole neighborhood is trashed.
Brian Leeper said on 12 Jul 2009 at 9:48 pm: Flag comment
“Many of these houses are now fire hazards waiting to happen due to spliced electric lines and non compliant building.”
……and I bet you that whoever screwed up this house are the same people that are passing themselves off as “construction and drywall experts” and driving around in white vans with 20 ladders on the roof just waiting to tip over.
Brian Leeper said on 12 Jul 2009 at 9:27 pm: Flag comment
“If you want to know how may families are living in a single house just look on the roof and count the number of dtv dishes.”
That’s because they’ve never heard of a multiswitch.
Sign a 2 year commitment under a phony name for a free 4 room installation, free Mexican programming, pay one or two bills and then bail out of the house with the equipment.
“Sign a 2 year commitment under a phony name for a free 4 room installation, free Mexican programming, pay one or two bills and then bail out of the house with the equipment.”
Apparently whomever last lived in the house I was speaking of has a $1200 DirecTV bill they never paid, based on the collections notices they keep sending.
The equipment is pretty much useless without the service, anyhow. I expect that neither Dish or DirecTV will activate a receiver tied to an account with a past-due balance. Well, I suppose the receivers might make a good doorstop or bookend..I’m not real sure what you do with that, it’s normally left behind anyhow.
“……and I bet you that whoever screwed up this house are the same people that are passing themselves off as “construction and drywall experts” and driving around in white vans with 20 ladders on the roof just waiting to tip over.”
Anyone dumb enough to buy that whomever did the awful work at that house is actually a “construction and drywall expert” deserves exactly what they’re going to get by being too cheap to hire someone who actually has the skills and training to do the job right.
“I’m not real sure what you do with that, it’s normally left behind anyhow.”
I was referring to the dishes here if anyone is wondering. What CAN you do with a DirecTV or Dish Network dish? I don’t think they can even be made into a halfway decent Wi-FI antenna.
Brian,
Did the house you are speaking of have aluminium wiring and Federal electrical boxes?
Most of the homes over here have the above. With all the illegal renovating to turn many of these homes into flop houses, if those who buy these homes do not do a good job of fixing them and bringing them up to code it could spell disaster. Many of these homes are potential time bombs.
No, it has copper wiring. The panel and service was upgraded to 200 amp service sometime around 1990, based on date codes I found in the panel. Also the electric meter enclosure was changed out for a larger one. (The size of the electric meter enclosure gives you a rough idea of what the service size should be–a 100 amp electric meter enclosure is smaller than a 200 amp one). It may have had an FPE panel at one time..house was built in ‘65.
For those who don’t know, the issue with FPE panels is that the breakers may not trip when they’re supposed to.
http://www.inspect-ny.com/fpe/fpepanel.htm
Many older houses in PW County have these panels.
Just sent in 2 zoning complaints (cars parked on front lawns.) It will be interesting to see the response to the complaint.
Brian Leeper said on 12 Jul 2009 at 10:26 pm: Flag comment
The equipment is pretty much useless without the service, anyhow. I expect that neither Dish or DirecTV will activate a receiver tied to an account with a past-due balance.
All they have to do is request a service under another name, tell the service they already have a receiver and say the card for the receiver was damaged and they need a replacement. You used to be able to buy your own boxes with a card and have the equipment activated. Believe you lease the boxes now from Directv but the same boxes can be purchased on Ebay. Maybe they are selling the equipment they steal there. In any event, a new receiver card is all you need to have the box activated.
Last time I checked, which was a very long time ago, the cost for a replacement access card (for DirecTV) was almost as much as a new receiver.
Also, even with an access card, DirecTV and Dish both still need to know the serial number of the receiver.
This eBay guide suggests that Dish won’t activate a box that has a past-due balance associated with it:
http://reviews.ebay.com/Buying-Dish-Network-Equipment_W0QQugidZ10000000000733291
This blog post suggests that DirecTV also won’t activate a box (receiver) with a past-due balance associated with it:
http://consumerist.com/5015543/check-serial-numbers-on-used-service-gadgets-before-buying
The same is true for cellphones and cable modems, and practically any other electronic device (such as XM/Sirius radios) that’s associated with a contract and has an electronic serial number.
That is not to say that there aren’t people who buy this stuff and then find out that it’s basically bricked and they cannot use it. Once again…like the low-cost contractor–if seems to be too good to be true, it probably is.
Or, more specifically, if it seems too cheap to be good, it probably isn’t good.
What ever happened to offering a neighbor a hand? You have a crappy looking yard, you buy the material and beer and I’ll bring tools and a strong back.
Granted, some folks really like their crappy looking yards.
Property rights in Virginia do not trump zoning ordinance. Virginia is a Dillon Rule state and according to case law, which is what Board of Zoning Appeals and Zoning Administrators are supposed to follow, basically nothing is subject to a variance or special use permit. The standard was, up until just a couple of weeks ago, that the only time a special use or variance was allowable was if the zoning was such that there was NO viable use of the property available to the property owner. That standard is next to impossible to meet. The new law has adjusted that slightly but not enough time has passed for courts to take a look and make real determinations about what the new standard is.
Please note that zoning speaks to land use, not parked or disabled vehicles, etc. Those sound like HOA or some other county ordiance violations, but they shouldn’t be zoning violations.
As far as the enforcement for some but not others, the best course I would think would be for the court to review the special use and variance permits that are being granted to see if they hold to the standard of the law (likely not) as it can’t fall under a general equal protection statute because zoning law specifically states that all cases are individual and are not handled in regard to previous decisions on similar issues.
The difficult part of this is that in the cases where the permits were denied, that was probably actually the correct decision under the law, so what would the remedy be? They can’t be granted permits just because others were, the law doesn’t allow it.
Seems as though many of the special use permits that have been granted need to be reviewed.
Sitting in on a few BZA meetings would probably be helpful in understanding what is going on.
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Trapalon said on 14 Jul 2009 at 10:12 am:
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What ever happened to offering a neighbor a hand? You have a crappy looking yard, you buy the material and beer and I’ll bring tools and a strong back.
That’s a fine sentiment except when you show up at the neighbor’s your are greeted with “No habla English”. How are you going to help someone you cannot even communicate with?
“What ever happened to offering a neighbor a hand?”
I know a guy (used to live in Irongate) who mowed his neighbor’s lawns whenever he mowed his own. Just did it, didn’t ask for their permission.
Brian, your friend seems like a good and decent person. There should be more like him.