kevinkelly
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (South Carolina)?
Before my neighbors and I approach town hall, we would like to know if we can compel action based on right of way. A request form must be submitted to the town’s mayor and he will determine if the request is worthy of the town’s time, so we have to get this right.
When it rains, any water that enters three street drains comes together and travels 50 yards via concrete drain pipes. At the end of the 50 yards, the concrete drain pipe exits the ground on a hill (imagine a five foot hill with a pipe sticking out of it). This allows rain water to flow across a vacant lot, through my neighbors backyard where it enters an old creek bed and travels to the river a half mile away. Believe it or not, that’s not the problem.
Ownership of the lot changed hands in 2011. The owner lives out of state and despite letters from the town and fees added to his taxes, he will not maintain the property. It soon became home for wild animals and people started tossing old tires and other trash on it. We three neighbors (1 widow and two single women) who join this lot, decided to cut it ourselves and have done so for two years . . . except where the drain pipe exit’s the ground. Over the years (pipe was probably put in sometimes in the early '60) the water has created a large pool/ditch/hole, whatever you want to call it, under the pipe. The average riding mower would fall into the whole. The area stays damp, marshy and has become home to snakes, mosquitoes and something that‘s fast enough to catch a cat and kill it. In the Summer when the weeds and plant life is active, if you didn't know the hole was there someone could fall in it. Last year the town’s works department was repairing the road in front of my neighbor’s home and we asked the foreman about cutting the weeds. He said where the pipe exits the ground is several feet outside the town’s responsibility to maintain.
Can someone please give us some ideas to persuade the town to cut the weeds around the drain pipe? By allowing rainwater to freely run out of the pipe and onto land is the town exercising right of way? If we got the town to claim right of way and cut the weeds, would we be pushing the limits to ask the town to fill in the hole with dirt or gravel? Thank you.
Before my neighbors and I approach town hall, we would like to know if we can compel action based on right of way. A request form must be submitted to the town’s mayor and he will determine if the request is worthy of the town’s time, so we have to get this right.
When it rains, any water that enters three street drains comes together and travels 50 yards via concrete drain pipes. At the end of the 50 yards, the concrete drain pipe exits the ground on a hill (imagine a five foot hill with a pipe sticking out of it). This allows rain water to flow across a vacant lot, through my neighbors backyard where it enters an old creek bed and travels to the river a half mile away. Believe it or not, that’s not the problem.
Ownership of the lot changed hands in 2011. The owner lives out of state and despite letters from the town and fees added to his taxes, he will not maintain the property. It soon became home for wild animals and people started tossing old tires and other trash on it. We three neighbors (1 widow and two single women) who join this lot, decided to cut it ourselves and have done so for two years . . . except where the drain pipe exit’s the ground. Over the years (pipe was probably put in sometimes in the early '60) the water has created a large pool/ditch/hole, whatever you want to call it, under the pipe. The average riding mower would fall into the whole. The area stays damp, marshy and has become home to snakes, mosquitoes and something that‘s fast enough to catch a cat and kill it. In the Summer when the weeds and plant life is active, if you didn't know the hole was there someone could fall in it. Last year the town’s works department was repairing the road in front of my neighbor’s home and we asked the foreman about cutting the weeds. He said where the pipe exits the ground is several feet outside the town’s responsibility to maintain.
Can someone please give us some ideas to persuade the town to cut the weeds around the drain pipe? By allowing rainwater to freely run out of the pipe and onto land is the town exercising right of way? If we got the town to claim right of way and cut the weeds, would we be pushing the limits to ask the town to fill in the hole with dirt or gravel? Thank you.
