America needs more flamethrowers and fewer tyrants.
Posted on 04/29/2021 3:32:10 PM PDT by RC one
DUNEDIN — A federal court upheld the City of Dunedin’s decision to issue almost $30,000 in code violation fines in 2018 to a homeowner for an overgrown lawn.
Jim Ficken sued Dunedin in May 2019 after the city agreed to foreclose on his home, according to court records. He and his lawyers argued Dunedin’s fines were excessive and given with no notice.
After a two-year legal battle, a judge from the Middle District of Florida ruled on Monday that the 71-year-old will have to pay up. Ficken said he plans to appeal the court’s decision.
“The city’s behavior toward Jim is outrageous,” read a statement from Ficken’s attorney, Ari Bargil. “This ruling emboldens code enforcement departments across the state to impose crippling financial penalties and it empowers them to do so without first notifying a property owner that they are potentially going to be fined.”
The City of Dunedin has defended the fines. Local officials said Ficken was a repeat code violator in 2015 — subjecting him to $500 per-day fines for future violations, such as having grass that grows taller than 10 inches
(Excerpt) Read more at tampabay.com ...
city is an ass
Yep. The Institute for Justice fights this kind of abuse all the time. Often these cities and towns use punitive fines to force homeowners to sell so the city can sell the land to developers.
When I was growing up, the guy that lived two doors down cut his grass maybe three times a summer. We called him the Swamp Fox. The entire neighborhood rode his ass about it, even kids. He was physically able to cut his grass so there was no reason not to. I don’t think anyone ever thought about fining him, not even sure there was an ordinance to do. In retrospect, riding his lazy ass about it was probably the best thing to do.
Grass delinquent....
Should have given him the ultimatum:
In our town you get to do two things with grass. Cut it regularly if it’s a lawn or smoke it if it isn’t.
Cut yer grass & wear yer mask!
There should be a cap on those kind of fines. Enough to sting a little, but not bankrupt the owner.
“Judge”. Yeah right. Govt Toady.
When I worked nights, it was tough to get the lawn mowed. and then my rider broke down and it got real bad. I paid some guy to do it and it was too much for him (it was about 3 acres of lawn with lots of trees and stuff) so I basically fired him and I broke down and bought a $2,000 Snapper which I used for two years before selling the property and now that $2,000 mower has been sitting in a relatives garage for about 3 years. I hate grass. I want to move to the desert where grass doesn’t have a chance to grow.
Yeah, I think someone needs a severe counseling session.
So why did you not buy some cows?
And then eat them when they retire !
She doan like whitey.
With cows you have to worry about stepping in 0bama.
Mixed feelings, hate to have him as a neighbor, but fines seem excessive.
“Pretty sure this is what tyranny looks like.”
Until you live next door to a slob.
There are three homes on this street that the city posts code violations - I’m not sure of the fines however these three are on the frequent flier list.
The rest of us, who take care of our yards do not appreciate ignorant slobs who never learned what a mower is used for.
This is what happens when people from New York and New Jersey move to Florida.
Maybe the powers of these towns are limited in some states. In my state, the town would give you a citation for an unkempt property, and you’d have some defined period of time to correct it. If it wasn’t done by the deadline, the public works department would do the work and you’d get a bill for it.
America needs more flamethrowers and fewer tyrants.
I have not mowed my yard in eight years.
With the “drought” in California and water restrictions I had all my grass removed and replaced with rocks and drought resistant plants.
In the back yard I had the grass removed and put in a simple pea gravel path and had a brown mulch cover everything else. I do have some trees and bushes as well as flowers but no grass.
About once a month I need to take care of the odd weed that pops up and trim the vines on my fence.
I was one of the first but I have noticed others have done the same thing. I don’t miss the mowing and trimming.
Dunedin is soooooo close to having such a cool name for a city, then they go and do something this lame. Very sad. The line of Numenor weeps.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.