Hi all! Recently we were fined for weeds around the stop sign next to our property on Royston. We had no idea we were responsible for this area. I actually caught the housing inspector sneaking around taking pictures and asked her what she was doing. I explained that as far as we knew, it was city property. A few days later, with no warnings at all, a fine for $120!!!!! I called to ask why no warnings were given, and she said it was due to our local councilman taking away our right to a warning first. Is this true? Has anybody else had this happen? I think it's a great way to drive out people who are here to improve the neighborhood, sadly.

Discouraged first time home owners,

Rik & Shannon Marshall

Wow. Unreal- I think the Housing commissioner should be asked if this is the best way to spend our tax dollars- really- all the true violations out there??? Weeds around a stop sign?? Silly.

Sorry you are discouraged- but I myself have been thru it- I had a neighbor who called on me for every little thing- it got to be ridiculous- I went and fought every citation; having to miss a day of work, and be totally inconvenienced, etc. eventually it stopped- you need to fight this- sounds like you will- and now I am wondering how much responsibility lies on the homeowner? sidewalks? weeds growing up thru them?

I guess my suggestion is to pull up your mortgage paperwork and look at your property plat- it will clearly ( although in a historic language) define the property lines that you OWN and therefore are responsible for.

I would like for you to keep us updated and informed on the process and outcome of this situation. I find it preposterous to say the least. Good luck. If I can find out any info. I will gladly post back on here. On the bright side, hopefully this will be the worst that happens to you as first time homebuyers!

Debbie - Burgess AVenue

I would also contact Councilman Curran's office and tell him about this -- I really doubt what she told you is true, and I would bet he'd be really upset to hear that she's saying this.

His office number is:

410-396-4812

I believe that the sidewalk and curb out to the street are the homeowners responsibility - when I bought my property on Louise I had to have a concrete contractor replace a section of sidewalk in front of my property before my homeowners insurance would insure my property. It seems as if the city is desperate for money - $120 is a LOT for some weeds!!!!

John Reuter

Shannon, that is utterly ridiculous! I think Debbie made some excellent suggestions regarding fighting this and looking up your plat. I suspect that whatever you were told about the councilman is bullshit.

The burden of proof is on the city to show where and how it informed you that this was your responsibility to caretake property you don't own before ticketing you. If they can't do this, they really don't have a case.

And along that same line: would you be responsible for replacing the stop sign if something happened to it?? I mean, where does this crap end? I suspect the only reason the city gets away with this stuff is because no one has even actually sued them/taken pro-active legal action against them. Why should a homeowner be responsible for replacing sidewalk on property he/she doesn't own? In the last few years, they have also started taking people's homes away, literally, and selling them on the auction block for not paying water bills. I know this as it happened to a relative of mine.

You might also look to the media if you don't have success with going to court, or if you don't feel like dealing with it. Maybe this is a new trend in the city as it looks for new sources of revenue and it would make for a good news story.