Posted on 06/01/2011 12:26:58 PM PDT by SmithL
Homeowner, who owns the land you live on? You might think you do, in America, but you'd be forgetting a few things. One) eminent domain: you could at any time lose you house if, say, your city or state wants to put in a freeway there. Two) County building codes: You can lose your house if it gets too weird, ugly, unsafe, or enough of an annoyance to neighbors. Yes. In the end, this is not as free a country as you think when it comes to home design.
Ask former telephone tech Alan Kimble Fahey of Acton, CA, who began building the "home" he lives in with his wife and son 30 years ago. The L.A. Times reports that Fahey "christened the project 'Phonehenge' because it sits atop pilings modified from phone utility poles."
. . . L.A. County deputy District Attorney, David Campbell, told the L.A Times that Fahey repeatedly ignored official warnings that he was "violating multiple municipal building safety and fire codes and thinks he is above the law." "He has set up his own arrogant interpretation of the law," Campbell said. Meanwhile, Fahey's attorney says L.A. officials failed to enforce their own rules for over 20 years before finally deciding to issue this ultimatum.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
I remember when the US was a free country.
Looks like a work of art to me. no sarc.
Who ever has the original deed (not title deed) to the land owns that land. Where are the original deeds kept? In the county seats.
I’m and architect and I think it looks pretty cool.
Try cutting down a tree in your yard, if you live in the SF bay area. The weeds on your land have more rights than you.
yah...looks pretty cool unless you live right across the street from it.
If he's violated any covenants in the deed itself (easements, equitable servitudes, etc.), that would be a civil matter that can only be filed by a party who's property is burdened by his property.
Frankly, I don’t like cookie cutter housing tracts. I want something little different in my neighborhood.
Look at that guy. He’s had fun with this. That’s the real crime here. It’s not a run down dump. It’s not an eye-sore.
If the guy has some code violations, then I can see some need for compliance, but buy and large these code issuing departments are little fiefdoms what like to wield power as much as anything else.
There are many places in this nation where a house is out half a mile from anyone else. In such places, it baffles me why a government agency forces their codes on anyone.
If a guy burns himself to death, who cares. If he electrocutes himself, who cares? If he complies with codes, fine, he can sell the home on that basis. If he hasn’t, there won’t be a paper trail for the owner to prove he went with the codes.
Buyer beware. Enough said...
If the home is in a populated area, I can see more need for compliance. A fire or other violations could cause a problem for the neighbors.
Yeah, but if it was named the ‘Osborn Good Art Center’, you would be asked to move before he would be criticized.
As long as he keeps those tacky pink flamingos and grotesque gnomes out of his yard, I’m all for it!
Sorry, but as long as the penalty for not paying property tax is your removal from a property, there is no other conclusion other than that it is the government that owns “your” property. You just rent it from them.
The normal houses they build these days are even worse looking.
In fact...I'm pretty sure those a "snail darter" trees!
He can't tear the place down!
First, there will have to be a complete environmental study!! Then on to the US liberal packed Supreme Court!
The County are obviously “beardists.”
Besides, how unsafe can it be? It has apparently survived earthquakes for 30 years, including some real doozies! Besides, I am a great fan of pole building and have built a few with scrounged and bought phone poles, one of the greatest building foundation materials ever!
Ugly in LA? Now there's a troublesome definition! LA was a paradise with 5 million people; a Third World hellhole with 20+ million. Maybe the planners ought to work on the overcrowding. Ugly? I'll give you a tour of LA Ugly!
Perhaps the Mexican Government will straighten this all out when LA becomes the capital of Aztlán.
Yet a black man who built the towered metal castle in the middle of LA doesn’t face such domination. It’s a national treasure!
Because we have to pay for the firemen and ambulances.
And everytime an emergency occurs somewhere, other people risk life and limb, for example, emergency vehicles can get into an accident racing to the scene.
And firemen are more likely to be killed or injured when fighting a fire in a house that is not up to code--floors more likely to collapse under them, roofs to fall on them, etc.
I'm very much in favor of codes and zoning.
And before I buy a house somewhere, I check to be sure the rules are to my liking.
Fine with me across the street as long as I get to visit.
Had a guy on our lake build a little shed. The town council said it was too close to the lake and violated an ordinance. They told him he would be fined 500 bucks a day until it was gone. He looked at them and said, “ Well get the damn clock rollin and the addin machines addin, cuz I ain’t movin it”...they left him alone, and 10 years later, he is dead, but his wife still has the shed in the same location....
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