• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Can I legally chain off the driveway entrance

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

smulcahy

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Galveston County, TX

We are having a problem with our next door neighbor’s adult son (age 22 or 23). Since he was in high school, he’s had a garage band. The band is not talented and has never made it past an audition. The son decided the best way to get an audience was to post notices where people his age hang out and to offer a concert and free beer. The dad would haul in cases of beer and then leave for the weekend. When the son has these concerts, it draws in 75 to 100 carloads of kids. Our street is a blacktopped 30 ft wide road with no shoulder bordered by drainage ditches on both sides, it is also one long block long and a dead end street. They park on both sides of the street reducing it to one lane for traffic, and they also used to pull into my driveway and park behind my car and then park across the driveway entrance. We decided to rectify this problem by fencing off the entire yard and installing an electric gate, and it worked for awhile. Now that the son is older so is the crowd he brings in, and there is drug use as well as drinking. In the past month, my gate has been hit by cars 3 times. The first two times, in was the son and couple of days later his best friend got drunk and power slide their trucks into my driveway entrance to turn around and hit the gate. This last time was during one of the “concerts”. This huge guy pulled up and rang my gate bell, when I went out to the gate, he demanded that I open the gate and let him park in my driveway because he said there was no place left to park on the street. I told him that it was a private drive and he should go next door and talk to the son. He cursed at me, and stated that I was going to be sorry that I didn’t open the gate. Shortly after 4AM, someone crashed through the gate hitting my husband’s truck that was parked in the driveway, by the time I got to the front door, there was nothing to see but tail lights.

My deed says that my front property line is actually the other side of the street, the County of Galveston has a right-of-way that is 35 feet, that’s the whole width of the street plus the drainage ditch, my fence sits on the border of the ditch. I would like to sink two posts marked with reflectors on both sides of my driveway where it borders the street and chain the driveway entrance closed at night to stop the power sliding and gate crashing. It is legal for me to do this? The posts and chain would not hinder any traffic on the street but it would only block access to the driveway entry.
 


BelizeBreeze

Senior Member
And how many times have you called the police?

YOu need to contact the city regarding where you can place the posts. And each and every time something like this happens.
 

smulcahy

Junior Member
I have called the Sheriff office many, many times, the deputies make them leave and they return within a half hour. The neighbor across the road has called after they crashed her gate also. The deputies threaten to ticket them, tow their vehicles and arrest them, but they do nothing. I am in an unincorporated area. County enforcement is all I have.
 

rmet4nzkx

Senior Member
Call the sheriff every time. Are any of the concert goers underage? License for liquor resale? Do they have a special event's permit? Have you tried a video camera to record the events? Contact various county departments, re noise and air polution etc, taxman.

Get a big fish, like a carp, place it in a covered pot with onions and cabbage and enough water to cover. Set it out in the sum for several days until putrid, strain off the liquid and fill one of those giant water pistols, use as needed :D
 

msiron

Member
Have you spoken to the absent parent, the one who is suppose to be responsible? The one that could be SUED for something.......real or imagined????? Lady I don't know how you've kept your cool on this one. :mad:
 

smulcahy

Junior Member
I have called the police every time an incident has happened. I have also called every time they get the loud music going after 10PM, and for obstructing traffic. My husband tried to speak with the father about the damage caused to our gate, but he went into the house and refused to answer the door. The father has had run-ins with several of the neighbors about their yards being trashed after these "concerts". From what I can see they haven't done a bit of maintenance on their house in at least 8 years, the porch is falling off and so are the eaves. Every house on this street is a custom built home, so he's letting a big investment fall apart. I'm hoping the roof falls in and they have to move.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top