Zoning Issue-Advice Needed
We bought a home and the neighbors are breaking zoning laws. They are running a car lot next door basically. they bring in cars, fix them up and then park them in front of my home and theirs on the street with phone numbers on them...they are also building an additional building on their lot for renters without a builder permit...their home is zoned for multi tenants but they have no permit to build it...also, they have a pit bull dog that barks non stop and is basically harrassing us as we have a three month old baby that cannot sleep with this dog barking...believe it or not this is in a upscale neighborhood in san antonio texas...please advise what to do...
call the county about the permit issue and call the cops about the dog noise. I had a neighbor in Florida that shot my cat with a BB gun because it was outside. The cat was an inside cat that jumped out the window and was outside maybe three hours. Then he called animal control and told them that all the stray cats in the neighborhood were mine. Next, he started building an addition on his house without a permit. I called it in and he had to stop work on the addition, get a permit and they fined him twice the permit cost. Needless to say, we never spoke again.
I did call the zoning commission and also have called the police on them before...they did not stop and the zoning commission did nothing....they said they drove by there and did not see any auto sales activity going on during his drive by....I have since videotaped the auto activity....are there any attorneys that view this thread please give me some advice on what they would do...I am considering sending a certified letter and then following up with a lawsuit for their causing us to not be able to enjoy our property plus the loss of value due to their activities....
I had a similar problem with my neighbor’s dog. I went out and purchased a couple "Barker Breakers" (http://www.worldpetstore.com/goodneigbarb.html) and conveniently located them close to my neighbor’s fence. I was surprised how well they worked, not only did the dog stop barking at us, but my neighbor stopped talking to us.
Have you visited the SA Citizen Requests homepage? (http://www.sanantonio.gov/sacr/) You can flood them with complaints there. Maybe they will get tired of hearing from you and actually do something. The information below is from that site.
Dog...
Noise nuisance means any loud, irritating, vexing or disturbing sound originating from a nearby property under separate ownership which causes injury, discomfort, or distress of a person of reasonable nervous sensibilities, or any sound that exceeds the maximum permitted sound levels specified; not to exceed 85dbs in a commercial zone.
Selling Cars...
Business activities are not permitted in a residential area.
Persons engaged in any commercial outdoor retail activity must meet license requirements and are restricted from operating in certain areas of the City without special approval.
All general sales, open or advertised to the public, conducted from or on a residential premises (single-family, duplexes or apartments), in any residential zone for the purpose of disposing of tangible personal property. A permit must be obtained and displayed at all garage sale activities.