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harrassment by city official

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jas2500

New member
What is the name of your state? Illinois
I received 3 citations related to the upkeep of my yard. 2 of the tickets were dismissed by the city, but the 3rd ticket for having grass over 12 inches was not dismissed. The ticket was for a small patch of grass growing in my backyard along the inside of my 4 ft privacy fence. The grass could only be seen when standing in the middle of my backyard, which is where a pic was taken from. To me, this is harassment. Do i have a leg to stand on in a lawsuit? I believe my neighbors wanted me to clean up my backyard, so they used their connections to the Deputy Fire Chief to have him write me citations.
 


quincy

Senior Member
What is the name of your state? Illinois
I received 3 citations related to the upkeep of my yard. 2 of the tickets were dismissed by the city, but the 3rd ticket for having grass over 12 inches was not dismissed. The ticket was for a small patch of grass growing in my backyard along the inside of my 4 ft privacy fence. The grass could only be seen when standing in the middle of my backyard, which is where a pic was taken from. To me, this is harassment. Do i have a leg to stand on in a lawsuit? I believe my neighbors wanted me to clean up my backyard, so they used their connections to the Deputy Fire Chief to have him write me citations.
Your neighbors could not see the tall grass from their yard?
 

adjusterjack

Senior Member
Do i have a leg to stand on in a lawsuit?
Probably not. Did you read the city code section cited on the citation? What does it say? Quote it word for word or tell us the city and the code section so we can look it up.

It's possible that you violated the code and your neighbors turned you in and got you cited. If that's true, it's not harassment and you need to mow the grass before you get fined.

Some cities are more strict than others when it comes to back yard blight.
 

jas2500

New member
Your neighbors could not see the tall grass from their yard?
Only one neighbor could have seen it, but they are approximately 100 feet away. This was a small patch of grass that was missed due to the lawn mower not getting close enough to the fence. The small patch of grass is literally %0.03 of my total property.
 

quincy

Senior Member
Only one neighbor could have seen it, but they are approximately 100 feet away. This was a small patch of grass that was missed due to the lawn mower not getting close enough to the fence. The small patch of grass is literally %0.03 of my total property.
It sounds a bit like harassment by the city. It also could be trespassing if code enforcement could not see the grass and take the picture from a public vantage point or from a neighbor's property (with the neighbor's authorization).

You could always cut the grass, you know. :)
 

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