Philadelphia C.L.I.P. Harassment

[WishWereSimpler]

I live in Philadelphia PA, and have one of the nicest most well kept houses on my block. Recently I was engaged in a dispute with a developer who first was dropping bricks and stones on my plantings and destroying them and then later about fencing.

All of a sudden following my protestation of his choice to try to annex a portion of my property that I had been under the understanding he was to build a fence on the other side of (leaving a no mans land and therefore no need for small claims court should one fence or the other be damaged) I began receiving violation notices from Philadelphia's CLIP program stating my property was overgrown and that I was using it as a rental property.

I had been letting friends stay with me for free while they transitioned to a new home, but preventing people from being homeless does not a landlord make.

They are gone now anyway.

The lawn is mowed, the only other things on the property are rosebushes, flowers, and a rasberry bush.

I have spoken with the inspector general who stated that he too thought the complaint was bogus and for a while the violations stopped coming. But now with the new year here they are again.

I called my city council member. But if they can't make this go away what are my options to stop this incessant harassment?

 

[quincy]

I live in Philadelphia PA, and have one of the nicest most well kept houses on my block. Recently I was engaged in a dispute with a developer who first was dropping bricks and stones on my plantings and destroying them and then later about fencing.

Did you file a complaint against the developer with CLIP?

All of a sudden following my protestation of his choice to try to annex a portion of my property that I had been under the understanding he was to build a fence on the other side of (leaving a no mans land and therefore no need for small claims court should one fence or the other be damaged) I began receiving violation notices from Philadelphia's CLIP program stating my property was overgrown and that I was using it as a rental property.

I had been letting friends stay with me for free while they transitioned to a new home, but preventing people from being homeless does not a landlord make.

They are gone now anyway.

The lawn is mowed, the only other things on the property are rosebushes, flowers, and a rasberry bush.

I have spoken with the inspector general who stated that he too thought the complaint was bogus and for a while the violations stopped coming. But now with the new year here they are again.

I called my city council member. But if they can't make this go away what are my options to stop this incessant harassment?

Apparently your neighbor did not feel his complaint was "bogus" when he saw you had visitors staying for an extended period of time. It is probably good that your homeless friends have moved on, to eliminate any perception that you were renting your house.

If speaking with the inspector general worked to stop the complaints before, I suggest you try speaking to him again. Or you can file your own CLIP complaint over the CLIP complaints you find harassing. Here is a link: http://www.phila.gov/311/Pages/default.aspx

A problem that often arises with community-based groups is that many who rise to certain levels in a group try to exert more power than their positions allow. These groups start off serving a good purpose but can become over-controlling.

Good luck.