City council demands man remove grass from home and the neighboring road or pay the price, man cleverly complies making matters worse

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    enderon Ons must be received on c nes Please call our Customer "Touché" serious Our Customer S your acc of service you wi City inves arges mus with our
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    You want me to clear the d d grass or I'll be fined? I will clean EXACTLY my property
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    Disclaimers: on mobile, non-English speaker, not in the US. This story started in 2017, was repeated every year until this year and I have promised my Father-in- law to repeat the compliance if it happens again. My in-laws used to live just outside of town (they moved this past fall to my MIL's home island and we moved in their place). And when I say just outside, I mean about 2 meters outside of the city plan; to be exact (and important for later) the city
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    plan reached up to the middle of the dirt road that separated their property with the neighboring one. So, back in spring of 2017, my in-laws received a letter from the city council about cleaning their property from d d grass in preparation for summer due to fire hazards or they would be fined. The letter and the d dline (end of May) were normal; what wasn't normal was the area named. It was their property, the property next to them (inside city limits) and the road in between. My FIL
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    took the letter to the council and explained that the property next to him didn't belong to him and couldn't clean it. They appeared to accept it. But something was nagging him. Now, my FIL had worked in exactly in two companies in life, both of them handling big government contracts and his main job was to take care of red tape and government bureaucracy. So he found the exact law that said that the owner was responsible for their property and the city was
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    responsible for any roads and any properties inside city limits that an owner couldn't be found. He had also found (through his connections) that the local council was under investigation for misappropriation of funds, including the funds for cleaning lots that were considered fire hazards. The tactic they used was to include lots that fell under their responsibility to nearby owners and either "intimate" (with the fear of a fine) to clean them or fine them and pocket the money.
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    My FIL decided to become creative. First, he gathered all the plans related to his property and the one next to him. Next, he cleared his property (he was planning to do that anyway), but only that; he cleared the part of the road that fell outside city limits. And then he waited. The d line passed and about 10 days later, a hefty fine arrived. My FIL challenged officially. The council tried to enforce the fine. My FIL challenged it again, presenting his evidence, on an open forum
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    of the council. The council insisted they were on the right and if my FIL didn't pay, they would take legal action. My FIL agreed happily to the legal action. This led to the court appointing an outside inspector to check the property, the city plans and the work my FIL had done. The council, not only lost the case and had to pay legal fees, but were forced to an outside audit that led to a couple of councilmen facing cri inal charges.
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    Every year since then, my FIL used to clean his property and exactly up to the middle of road next to him. That duty has been passed down to me now, which I fulfilled this year.
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    M1ssioner · 23 hr. ago Perfectly within the law, well done. Kudos for exposing corruption in the city council.
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    baka-tari 23 hr. ago Well I'll be da ed - the grass is actually browner on the other side of the fence! After seeing it could be done successfully, do you know if anyone else followed your dad's lead and challenged the council?
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    storyskeller OP 22 hr. ago From what I know, his friends certainly did.
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    HeatherReads Reddit 23 hr. ago . edited 22 hr. ago That's a great story! Well done for continuing what your FIL started.
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    _TiberiusPrime_ · 23 hr. ago Malicious inheritance tax
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    Equivalent-Salary357 20 hr. ago I went on a roller coaster ride with this post. First, I was looking forward to OP'S FIL getting over on the city's stupid mowing regulations. Next, when I saw it was for fire safety, I was thinking OP's FIL was a stupidj k.
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    Then I read, "he cleared his property (he was planning to do that anyway), but only that" and I was back on board for the rest of the post. Nice job.
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    Loofa_of_Doom . 22 hr. ago Oh, thank you for something so beautiful this morning. I have a smaller, less impressive, version of this going on w/ my HOA.
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    capn_kwick 20 hr. ago "Clean the property. Or else!" Thank you, I'll take the "or else".
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    tsuyurikun 21 hr. ago Sneaky tactic expertly handled. Cleaning half the road - mwah! Always good when people with the ability to fight something like this are able to make a difference for others who can't.
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    • Desperate_Set_7708 · 14 hr. ago When I sold my townhome in a HOA neighborhood, the HOA said I needed to power wash my sidewalks and driveway. I cleaned it to a gleaming white. Stopping right at property lines, making the whole thing look ridiculous. Toodles, b hes.
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    anomalous_cowherd 21 hr. ago Sounds like with a bit more effort your FIL could have ended up being declared the official owner of that property in exchange for cutting the grass occasionally....
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    Any-Contract-3255 18 hr. ago Please, give your FIL a hug from an admirer in the United States Who simply loves to see correct application of the law, especially when it will penalize Ne'er do wells up to shenanigans.
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    moon shall join coalition Ismitje 21 hr. ago This is a great story on its own, but even more so as I wonder if it is one of the four islands I used to live on back in the day.
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    belshamaroth1 · 19 hr. ago Alternatively he could have cleaned the property for a couple years then claimed it also belonged to him by adverse possession
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    storyskeller OP. 18 hr. ago Nah, you need fifteen years of continuous use for that over here.
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    sigmund 14 19 hr. ago edited 19 hr. ago It would be interesting to go the other way - "if I must clean it, it means it's mine" The plan would be to try to get an official signature that the lot is mine, to become an owner for (almost) no money. Then I would either sell the empty lot or build a house and then sell it or rent it.
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    ChzGoddess • 21 hr. ago These are the traditions I love to see carried on. 00

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