621 E. Pleasant Street, Amherst
The Bad Boys at 621 East Pleasant Street, formerly known as "Babe Town", seem to be in a major renovation mode. Well except maybe for landscaping the lawn.
Not that I want to jinx it, as neighbors hope this is an attempt to dramatically improve "curb appeal" for a sale to new owners -- the Devil you don't know.
But a couple infractions leap out of this picture, taken from a public road this morning. The van on the lawn for one. And yes they have been cited a half-dozen times for that previously. But hey, what's a lousy $100 fine per day?
And the dumpster (far right) also requires a $25 permit from the Amherst Fire Department since they are a well known fire hazard. That too is $100 fine ... for the first day; $500 on the second and by the third day, $1,000.
Ouch!
I don't think the AFD ordinance was intended for situations like this -- I think it was intended for situations like Hobart and the frat houses, places where dumpsters are permanently located.
ReplyDeleteIf I lived in that neighborhood, or if I were a town official dealing with what inevitably was a deluge of complaints, I'd not make an issue of the little things.
If I were running the AFD union, I'd have the union buy him the permit as "betterment of the community" and go out & give it to him -- is there anyone who doesn't want to see them clean the place up? And sometimes it's best to choose not to fight -- to
"not see" the van on the lawn at which point it won't be fun to put it there anymore -- or they'll do something so outrageous that you can arrest them.
And in all honesty, if push came to shove on a situation like this, I'm not sure who would be liable for the fines -- the owner or the dumpster owner. Who put it there and who is engaged in the practice of renting dumpsters?
But what is in the best interest of the town -- having the place cleaned up or fighting with them? Seriously.....
That's just trying to persecute people that are cleaning out a house. Give me a break. You are already showing how mean-spirited the use of these regulations will be.
ReplyDeleteThe dumpster regulations have been around for many, many years.
ReplyDeleteBut yes, the town is cracking down on slumlords and unkempt properties.
Get used to it.
But yes, the town is cracking down on slumlords and unkempt properties.
ReplyDeleteGet used to it.
The point I was trying to make above (and it was me) is that the town needs to ask what it is trying to accomplish.
More importantly, the town needs to ask how everything it does is furthering the mission it is trying to accomplish -- and ask if it possibly isn't.
Big picture folks...
How do you even know the owner, or whoever brought the dumpster in, didn't get a permit?
ReplyDeleteBecause I'm a public documents Ninja.
ReplyDeleteDumpster gone- work still to be done
ReplyDelete