Gale Hawkins
Super Star Member
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2009
- Messages
- 11,770
- Location
- Murray, KY
- Tractor
- 1948 Allis Chambers Model B 1976 265 MF / 1983 JD 310B Backhoe / 1966 Ford 3000 Diesel / 1980 3600 Diesel
We had a similar incident up here a few years back. A person bought some land that had an abandoned road running to it and wanted to build a camp. The owner of the property wanted to fix up the road so he could have access to his property on his dime. The town owned the land around the road leading up to the property, and a member of the town board had neighboring land also. Sure enough they denied the permit stating the road ran through it's property. The landowner then did some research and took the town to court. The town lost and had to repair and maintain the road when he put his camp in. The road had been abandoned for 48 years, but was still on the town books and it seems they were getting aid from the state for it. The town was nearly bankrupted as they had to bring the 1 mile stretch of road back up to code.
andIn applying for a land-use permit from the township, Paeth submitted a land survey that showed his home was 8 feet from the property line, according to testimony. In reality, it was 3.5 feet.
In the township, any construction within 5 feet of the property line required approval from its zoning board.
Without confirming the distance, a township official approved the permit and Paeth began work in 1999, testimony showed.
andPaeth, 58, is a former building contractor who worked for an architectural firm helping clients deal with zoning issues.
A neighbor upset by the slow pace of construction complained to the township that Paeth was building too close to the property line.
What does the amount of work that has been done really have to do with it? Does that mean the judge would rule against the next guy who does exactly the same thing but hasn't done quite as much work, in the judges opinion? I'd say the judge errored big time and rewarded Paeth for his original lie. Judges aren't always right you know...When the zoning board rejected the variance for a third time, Circuit Judge Donald Teeple, pointing out how much work Paeth has already done on the home, reversed the board's ruling and granted the variance in 2007.