Q & A Table of Contents
Is Dog Poop A Grown-up Way To Make Your Point?
From: Terry, Rockville, Rhode Island
Question: My neighbor built a large shed (24'x16') approximately 28" off the property line without a permit or variance. The required setback is 40'.
I fought him in our town hall in 07/00 and won but he has yet to move it. He has been bent out of shape since and is now dumping his dog feces 1" from the property line. The pile is about 10' away from my well and stinks terribly.
I have been to town hall to look for an ordinance on dumping feces and was brushed out of there faster than you can blink an eye. You see, the clerk and local building inspector are friendly with my neighbor as he is a carpenter by trade and does a lot of business through town hall.
I have contacted the Department of Environmental Management to no avail. Please keep in mind that we each own 2 acres of land. I have only recently finished paying for a property survey and look forward to receiving the results soon. This stunt is just one of many that he has pulled within the last 2 years. I purchased my home with a government loan and can not sell without being penalized.
Response: I am surprised you do not describe any legal mechanism for enforcing the ruling in July of 2000 which required your neighbor to move his shed. Have you investigated if there is a way to get that ruling enforced?
If local officials are not treating you with an appropriate level of respect and helpfulness, you may want to find out whether there are state agencies that grant licenses to carpenters, whether there are laws governing the behavior of the local officials, and whether there might be any interest on the part of a local newspaper in a story about a person who dumps dog poop near a neighbor's well.
The proximity of the poop pile to the well could be viewed as a health hazard; that may fall within the powers of health authorities.
The failure of the neighbor to conform to the July 2000 ruling might possibly be used as negative evidence when he applies for permits to do projects in other places. If he disobeys local rulings, how can another town be comfortable granting him the right to undertake jobs where he might ignore ordinances or breach agreements?
Of course the problem with all of these approaches is that they are taking a tough attitude towards your neighbor and he already appears to be a difficult person. If his behavior has come to the attention of other neighbors -- and if they are bothered by it -- perhaps it would make sense to work with a bunch of allies so that you have a consistent plan for dealing with your dog-poop dumping neighbor as a group rather than as isolated individuals.
Depending on your level of self-confidence, perhaps the best approach is to talk straight with him. Tell him that it is fairly obvious that he is annoyed about your success two years ago in getting the ruling to have his shed moved. Ask him what he'll offer you to get your agreement to allow the shed to stay; perhaps he'll offer to get rid of the dog-poop dump.
If you don't feel comfortable undertaking a face-to-face discussion, you need to figure out how you can escape the situation: erect a fence on your property line near the poop dump, rent your house to someone else and move to a different location, get your own dog and create a competing poop dump near another part of your neighbor's property, etc. Use your sense of humor and don't let the poop-dumper get you down.
Good luck,
Steve
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