Discharging water on neighboring property

[WayneB]

It sounds like you're operating outside of reality and common sense, and have entered the twilight zone of local ordinance and inspectors. It really doesn't matter what federal code or law is, all that matters is what the local zoning board requires. If they pass your inspections and give you a Certificate of Occupancy, then that's all that matters. Of course, that also means that you have to do it their way. While fighting them is doable, I've found that doing this beforehand and asking for permission is always the hardest way to go. Doing it wrong without their permission and then asking forgiveness or seeking out a variance is actually the easier way to go in my experience. Once it's done, it's just a matter of convincing them to live with it, compared to getting them to change their mind before hand, which is always impossible.

Good luck,
Eddie

Eddie I would only hope that you do not make a practice of doing it Eddie's way and then going into the building inspector / code enforcement officer, or planning board and finally the zoning board and get them to live with it!

It is rare that in our small town people will go ahead and doing something knowing it is wrong and then come into the zoning board and ask for a variance. It has happened a few time and only once did we enforce the ruling and have the construction work stopped. It was taken to court and the court agreed with our decision. The home owner was required to remove the front porch he had added as it fell way within the set-back.

The zoning board only covers issues that fall outside the building codes. Being on these boards is not pleasant and a thankless task. With that said I still maintain my seat on the board and believe that we have helped more people than we would every hurt.

 

[TCBoomer]

After researching all the options, we've decided to just let the cards fall where they land. No sense in delaying the building process by getting on the wrong side of the BI. The 2 options we have are...approach the neighbor with the invoices for the site engineer and additional work and see if he will reimburse her or even make a partial contribution. If he declines, then take the matter to small claims court and let a judge decide.

We do have a document that states the additional site/drainage work is required ONLY because of the neighbors curtain drain discharging onto my daughters property, so hoping that alone should be sufficient grounds for a favorable outcome.

Eddie...I did consider the suggestion you mentioned, but since the property is not mine I'm not really in a position to argue and defend my rights as a property owner. The town we live in is very rural and the local code enforcement/requirement?? is very lax IMHO! Case in point...I've done substantial work on my own property without any permits. Mostly repair work do to shoddy workmanship when the home was built. The one time I did get a permit was when my daughter had an inground pool installed after she graduated from college. Long story short...the BI signed off on the job fully aware that the fencing and electrical was incomplete....the pump and lighting were still operating using an extension cord. The BI never even got out of her vehicle to inspect anything even after I told her I wasn't finished, she just said OK and signed off. So that should give you an idea of what our local enforcement is all about. Great town to live, but you have to protect your best interests by yourself and not rely on the rules and regs that are supposed to be there for a reason.

Thanks for the replies and info guys