My husband went downtown to appeal an environmental violation we received about two months ago.  We were been fined once for something we didn’t realize was a problem, putting out items behind our garage for bulk trash pick up the day before the truck came (everyone does it, most people put it out several days beforehand) – we were notified that it could only be put out early the morning the pick up was scheduled.  We immediately corrected that, but then a month later were fined again.  I was very exasperated to this time find out were fined for having several small pieces of wood (neatly piled) and a foosball/game table inside our yard.  

I thought it was absurd, that it just didn’t make sense, and so did people we spoke to; everyone felt we should appeal it.  Yesterday the scheduled hearing took place.  But no luck.  I think the city has no desire to let go of any fine money it can collect, and the judge told my husband that they have the right to fine you for anything left anywhere in your yard except for patio furniture and it’s up to each official’s discretion to determine what is a problem.  How in the world I can keep every toy every minute out of the yard I don’t know.  It seems insane to me.  It’s not like I live in an expensive subdivision with a rigid housing committe – it’s a working class neighborhood.  I think that we have someone new on the job who is really super zealous and/or into her own sense of power.  We were here for two years, doing lots of work in the house which entailed boards and old fixings being removed and stored in the yard until we took them to the dump, staying in the yard longer than I would have liked – but we never got a fine.  And now to be fined over a game table in the corner of my yard leaves me feeling like there’s no way I can win.  

What I’d really like to do is put up a six foot fence so I don’t have to worry about the person driving by and taking pictures of my yard (part of the back yard is unfenced).  But that isn’t a project I can allocate funds to right now – especially since my husband doesn’t feel the urgency regarding this that I do.  This whole thing left me feeling like I have no privacy, and my privacy is very important to me, so it bothers me more than it would a lot of other people.  And it’s so unpredictable that I can’t figure out how to avoid a fine in the future. 

Anyway, I have to remind myself that I can’t control other people, I can only do the best I can today.  Sigh.

Avivah