Ryan Wright
Screenwriter
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2000
- Messages
- 1,875
Carl,
Pasco, WA.
Pasco is part of the Tri-Cities - Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland. Kennewick is a great city and is where I grew up. The city council is very open and well published by the local press. They do a lot of silly things - sometimes I think the whole council is just a circus - but I've never known them to crack down on citizens for simply living their lives. As an example, my parents have a beautiful rock garden with trees and shrubs and flowers in place of grass for a front yard. They've never been harassed. The couple who built the house across the street from me in Pasco did the same because they were in their 80's and unable to mow a lawn every week. They were harassed and threatened for months because Pasco has a law that some major % of your yard has to be grass whether you like it or not. Eventually, they were forced to sell their home and move. Pasco says not having grass is "an eyesore", but their yard looks a hell of a lot better than many grassed yards on our block.
Richland is also a great city and is probably where I'll make my next home. Main reason being, I want riverfront property on the Columbia, and I can't get that in Kennewick. (I can get it in Pasco, but it's still Pasco. Besides, the only riverfront property available to my knowledge is $190k for 2.5 acres and they've made the covenents so strict the realtor doesn't even think a $400,000 home would qualify. Median home price here is $130k and that will get you 2000+ sqft on a decent sized city lot. $400k for home, not including property, would buy a 5000+sqft mansion.) Either that, or I'll simply give up on the riverfront property and buy a couple dozen acres in Benton County (where Kennewick & Richland are located). Pasco is in Franklin County and I'm afraid the bastards would simply annex my land into the city if I bought anywhere near them. Richland and Kennewick could annex my land and it would make precious little difference to me, as they are run for the citizens they serve - as it should be.
The people who have been running Pasco simply have a real problem with control. They want to tell you where and when you're allowed to shit and they want the law to be there to wipe your rear end for you.
My neighbor was told he is not allowed to discharge his swimming pool's water into the street. The water runs along the curb and goes into the storm drain - seems like an appropriate place for pool water to me. Everyone else in every city I've ever been drains their pool that way. He was also warned not to put it into the city sewer system or he would face huge fines (tens of thousands of dollars). So he asked where he was supposed to put the water when he drains his pool. The answer? "That's your problem, not ours."
My other neighbor is harassed by a cop - one specific cop - on a regular basis. We're allowed to park vehicles on the road for no more than 72 hours at a time. Every time he parks his boat in front of his house, he is ticketed within 12 hours. He bought a timer that he put on his fridge for the sole purpose of tracking this. Doesn't matter if he parks it there late at night - by the next morning, he's got another parking ticket. He's received 6 of them so far in just a few months. The judge has thrown all of them out but he still has to go to court and stand around for hours every time. Incidentally, they did the same thing to my RV. I parked it in front of my house one night and when I woke up the next morning I was ticketed. Spent a whole morning in court so the judge could say "dismissed" and let me go. This abuse goes on throughout the neighborhood on a constant basis but nothing is done about it.
I'm [--]THIS close to buying Link Removed and putting up a website. The only thing stopping me is fear of retribution. Those assholes could make my life a living hell as long as I live within city limits.
Anyway, sorry to move this topic into different territory. Please, feel free to continue talking about your horrible neighbors. My "citizen neighbors" are great. The bad neighbor is the city itself.
Pasco, WA.
Pasco is part of the Tri-Cities - Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland. Kennewick is a great city and is where I grew up. The city council is very open and well published by the local press. They do a lot of silly things - sometimes I think the whole council is just a circus - but I've never known them to crack down on citizens for simply living their lives. As an example, my parents have a beautiful rock garden with trees and shrubs and flowers in place of grass for a front yard. They've never been harassed. The couple who built the house across the street from me in Pasco did the same because they were in their 80's and unable to mow a lawn every week. They were harassed and threatened for months because Pasco has a law that some major % of your yard has to be grass whether you like it or not. Eventually, they were forced to sell their home and move. Pasco says not having grass is "an eyesore", but their yard looks a hell of a lot better than many grassed yards on our block.
Richland is also a great city and is probably where I'll make my next home. Main reason being, I want riverfront property on the Columbia, and I can't get that in Kennewick. (I can get it in Pasco, but it's still Pasco. Besides, the only riverfront property available to my knowledge is $190k for 2.5 acres and they've made the covenents so strict the realtor doesn't even think a $400,000 home would qualify. Median home price here is $130k and that will get you 2000+ sqft on a decent sized city lot. $400k for home, not including property, would buy a 5000+sqft mansion.) Either that, or I'll simply give up on the riverfront property and buy a couple dozen acres in Benton County (where Kennewick & Richland are located). Pasco is in Franklin County and I'm afraid the bastards would simply annex my land into the city if I bought anywhere near them. Richland and Kennewick could annex my land and it would make precious little difference to me, as they are run for the citizens they serve - as it should be.
The people who have been running Pasco simply have a real problem with control. They want to tell you where and when you're allowed to shit and they want the law to be there to wipe your rear end for you.
My neighbor was told he is not allowed to discharge his swimming pool's water into the street. The water runs along the curb and goes into the storm drain - seems like an appropriate place for pool water to me. Everyone else in every city I've ever been drains their pool that way. He was also warned not to put it into the city sewer system or he would face huge fines (tens of thousands of dollars). So he asked where he was supposed to put the water when he drains his pool. The answer? "That's your problem, not ours."
My other neighbor is harassed by a cop - one specific cop - on a regular basis. We're allowed to park vehicles on the road for no more than 72 hours at a time. Every time he parks his boat in front of his house, he is ticketed within 12 hours. He bought a timer that he put on his fridge for the sole purpose of tracking this. Doesn't matter if he parks it there late at night - by the next morning, he's got another parking ticket. He's received 6 of them so far in just a few months. The judge has thrown all of them out but he still has to go to court and stand around for hours every time. Incidentally, they did the same thing to my RV. I parked it in front of my house one night and when I woke up the next morning I was ticketed. Spent a whole morning in court so the judge could say "dismissed" and let me go. This abuse goes on throughout the neighborhood on a constant basis but nothing is done about it.
I'm [--]THIS close to buying Link Removed and putting up a website. The only thing stopping me is fear of retribution. Those assholes could make my life a living hell as long as I live within city limits.
Anyway, sorry to move this topic into different territory. Please, feel free to continue talking about your horrible neighbors. My "citizen neighbors" are great. The bad neighbor is the city itself.
