Complaints and How to Handle Them

[Mac]

Complaints are my biggest complaint!

All of the municipalities I have worked for have sections of law that direct the Code Enforcement how to proceed with a complaint. Most of them include setting reasonable. compliance deadlines and, if not met, proceed to a court appearance ticket. I have a pretty good compliance record using a handshake and a straight forward conversation.

But at regular intervals, a situation arises when two neighbors (for example) just can't work out their differences, and need the assistance of a Town Judge.

One of the legacies I must deal with is a Light Industrial zone, bordered by a Residential zone. The result is predictable - one cabinet maker's shop produced too much dust to suit one residential neighbor, even though the shop had a dust collection system. Then there is noise, smells, truck traffic and so on. The latest flap concerns a startup craft brewery that installed a glycol based cooling system, consisting of a chiller unit outside the building, that cools the coolers inside the building. Well, it makes some noise. Not a lot, but enough to cause a mini feud because one residence is about ten feet from the property line and the chiller unit. So the brewer proposed a sound-insulated fence to enclose the chiller, and (hopfully) quiet the situation down to a tolerable level. Except that the actual installation of the fence is taking forever and the noise complaints keep coming, now from a different neighbor also. The brewer has stopped work on the noise mitigation fence, and I am ready to issue the second Court Appearance Ticket, after granting additional time for compliance.

There isn't any methodology to solve complaints in the codes. Unlike the building codes, which have actual solutions. Need a two hour wall? Here are some sample assemblies. Where shall we place the heat detectors? You can look that up too.

Who is going to be pleased with the outcome of the noise complaint? My current guess is nobody. But it will probably a Village Justice that makes the decision.

 

[mjesse]

Having solid zoning laws in place that address the items you mentioned (noise, dust, odor, etc.) is key to gaining compliance.

In the absence of such laws, many are left telling the parties to work it out for themselves.

Either way, sometimes the noisemaker is just too much for a neighbor to handle even when all mitigation efforts have been made and laws have been followed. Having the skills to kindly tell someone to "get over it, the govt. can't solve all your problems" is essential.

mj

 

[JPohling]

Assuming it is a fine brew, a couple growler fills a week and I wouldn't hear a thing

 

[north star]

* & * & *

MAC,

Agree that good Zoning laws & ordinances are the the first

step.........In lieu of not having anything on the books to

address the complaints, you simply must follow what you do

have and proceed from there......Document, document,

document..........Once it reaches the point where your AHJ

can no longer handle the complaints, ...then one recourse

left is for the parties involved to litigate and let the

courts decide.......This kind of thing happens every day !

IMO, I would not even recommend litigation to the

different parties involved in your noise issues.......Simply

state in writing that here are things that the AHJ can do,

and after that, ...the AHJ cannot give either party relief.

I WOULD however, pursue another Court Appearance

Ticket for the brewer and let the judge decide on a

solution..........Sometimes, when the message comes from

a judge, parties start coming in to compliance.



& * & * &

 

[Mac]

This is what can happen where a residential zone directly borders an industrial zone, with no 'buffer zone' as a transition. Business uses rarely complain about the residence next door.

The beer is quite good, I took five growlers to a music fest last summer!They have expanded operations to fill the entire space. The next expansion may mean they search for a new location

 

[ICE]

I got a noise complaint last week that was unique. He said that the turbine attic vent on his neighbors house squeaks. He said that it has been like that for years and last year he paid a person $75 to place a plastic garbage bag over the turbine but the sun killed the bag and it's making noise again. I suggested burlap.

 

[MtnArch]

I would have suggested WD-40 ...