"Buzz" Control
Since I introduced my “Junk Law Plan” to keep Lindley free of blighted properties, and from listening to the “buzz” around town, I’m fast becoming known as a “radical candidate”. Before the “buzz” turns my policy on junk management into something unrecognizable as coming from me, let me clarify in more detail my position on “what I consider a junk property?”
When I’ve written about my plan to manage “junk properties” in the Town of Lindley, I purposely chose the words INDUSTRIOUS and EXTREME to describe property owners I would consider violating the Junk Law and those who wouldn’t.
In my opinion, an INDUSTRIOUS property owner is: A person who actually “uses” with regularity the items/stuff on his/her property. He/she keeps the items/stuff in as much order as possible on his property if they do not have a “storage shed/barn” to store it in. His/her place is otherwise well maintained as some thought and care is given to the overall appearance of their home and property. To them, their items/stuff has a great deal of value and they will “use it” or sell it, or get rid of it at some future date. I would not consider an INDUSTRIOUS property owner to be in violation of local junk laws unless the sheer quantity of “exposed” stuff on their property was EXTREME.
Conversely, a NON-INDUSTRIOUS property owner is: A person who has absolutely no intention of ever using the items/stuff they have hauled to their property. This type of person acquires stuff for the sake of acquiring. It’s the “getting it” part that’s more important than ever using it or turning it over for financial or personal gain. There is usually no attempt to store the stuff in an orderly, protected-from-the-elements manner because after it’s “acquired” it no longer has value to them. Their property and home are generally unkempt with no thought or care given to its overall appearance. Also, the quantity of stuff accumulates rather quickly on their property and becomes EXTREME. I would consider a NON-INDUSTRIOUS property owner to be in violation of the junk law.
My definition of an EXTREME junk property definitely has components I’ve assigned to the NON-INDUSTRIOUS property owner with even more intensity. An EXTREME junk property owner strews garbage and crap around the property with hardly a “bare spot to step on”. Unchecked, this property owner will accumulate garbage and junk at a rapid pace and never make any attempt to clean it up. The crap will be piled so high a passerby will not see the dogs tied to rusted out junk cars and washing machines that were put there to “protect his owner’s stuff”. In my travels around, I’ve stepped into homes like this and stared in disbelief at gaping holes in the floor and walls and gagged uncontrollably at the stench from the garbage. You will almost invariably see a “NO TRESPASSING” sign posted on these EXTREME junk properties. Any clear headed person can easily recognize a property like this. And any clear headed person can see the worth of having a Junk Law on the books when confronted with a property owner of this ilk. But there’s a “window of opportunity”, that my Junk Law Plan if managed and enforced properly will take advantage of to prevent a property from deteriorating to this EXTREME condition. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Any questions?
When I’ve written about my plan to manage “junk properties” in the Town of Lindley, I purposely chose the words INDUSTRIOUS and EXTREME to describe property owners I would consider violating the Junk Law and those who wouldn’t.
In my opinion, an INDUSTRIOUS property owner is: A person who actually “uses” with regularity the items/stuff on his/her property. He/she keeps the items/stuff in as much order as possible on his property if they do not have a “storage shed/barn” to store it in. His/her place is otherwise well maintained as some thought and care is given to the overall appearance of their home and property. To them, their items/stuff has a great deal of value and they will “use it” or sell it, or get rid of it at some future date. I would not consider an INDUSTRIOUS property owner to be in violation of local junk laws unless the sheer quantity of “exposed” stuff on their property was EXTREME.
Conversely, a NON-INDUSTRIOUS property owner is: A person who has absolutely no intention of ever using the items/stuff they have hauled to their property. This type of person acquires stuff for the sake of acquiring. It’s the “getting it” part that’s more important than ever using it or turning it over for financial or personal gain. There is usually no attempt to store the stuff in an orderly, protected-from-the-elements manner because after it’s “acquired” it no longer has value to them. Their property and home are generally unkempt with no thought or care given to its overall appearance. Also, the quantity of stuff accumulates rather quickly on their property and becomes EXTREME. I would consider a NON-INDUSTRIOUS property owner to be in violation of the junk law.
My definition of an EXTREME junk property definitely has components I’ve assigned to the NON-INDUSTRIOUS property owner with even more intensity. An EXTREME junk property owner strews garbage and crap around the property with hardly a “bare spot to step on”. Unchecked, this property owner will accumulate garbage and junk at a rapid pace and never make any attempt to clean it up. The crap will be piled so high a passerby will not see the dogs tied to rusted out junk cars and washing machines that were put there to “protect his owner’s stuff”. In my travels around, I’ve stepped into homes like this and stared in disbelief at gaping holes in the floor and walls and gagged uncontrollably at the stench from the garbage. You will almost invariably see a “NO TRESPASSING” sign posted on these EXTREME junk properties. Any clear headed person can easily recognize a property like this. And any clear headed person can see the worth of having a Junk Law on the books when confronted with a property owner of this ilk. But there’s a “window of opportunity”, that my Junk Law Plan if managed and enforced properly will take advantage of to prevent a property from deteriorating to this EXTREME condition. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Any questions?
posted by sallyann | 1:04 PM
8 Comments:
Sally- Super job on clarification!Even a hillbilly like myself can see where you are coming from now. Thank You .
The clarification of your "Jumk Law" may have to go before the planning board before you as the possible town supervisor, can implement it. Maybe now before you get in office (?) would be a good time to get this clarification passed by the planning board. Need help?
Junk Law not jumk law. Sounds like a freudian slip.
If elected Town Supervisor I would expect the sitting members of the town board and planning board as well as the CEO to engage in an honest discussion about my Junk Law Plan. I can provide the leadership, but it would take a "team work effort" to devise and implement the plan. If elected I would appoint an ad hoc committee formed with specific ideologies from the community to establish a "criteria or standard" to determine what a junk property is to the people in the Town of Lindley.
How would you classify the used farm equiment that now graces "non farmers" lawns as lawn ornaments? I consider that "junk"-especially in it's rusted,deteriorated condition.
Beauty must be in the eyes of the beholder.
This is a good example of how important it is to the citizens of Lindley that “common sense” be applied when judging the overall appearance and intentions of the home owner. The home where the old farm equipment is displayed is a “museum quality home”, having been expertly restored and its history thoroughly researched. It is a home that is “historically significant” to Lindley as well as to our country. Without the efforts and courage of this particular “Patriot” during the Revolutionary War you and I might not be having this conversation today. And because of the homeowner’s dedication to researching and preserving a major piece of Lindley’s history we are all the better for it. Even Lindley-Presho Elementary school teaches the history of this home and its significance to our heritage to its school children. For that matter, the original builder of that home has been inducted into the Steuben County Hall of Fame, and that ain’t no small potatoes!
I can safely say I know why this particular home owner is displaying “old farm equipment” on his lawn and it’s not to turn his front lawn into a junk yard. Besides, Lindley has a few homes displaying “tools and objects” from the past. None of the homes that display these historical artifacts are unkempt. In all cases these homes are well-maintained and their occupants INDUSTRIOUS and eager to share their interest in history with their displays. These home owners use their properties to display items from our past as a way to remind us where we come from and to save us the price of a museum admission ticket. Instead of being “turned off by these displays” you might want to look at them and learn something about Lindley’s heritage.
Now if this home owner begins to haul in a half dozen rusted out lawnmowers, a few old beat up washing machines, stacks of skids an rotted boards, an old junk car or two, and then piles his daily garbage on top of this growing heap and the grass around the “expression” grows so tall a small child could get lost in it….then we have ourselves a problem.
Lindley has a junk law. There was a lot of hard work and many discussions before it was implemented. It isn't as easy as one would think to enact such a law as all local laws must be sent to the state before they can be enacted.
You've misunderstood the premise of my "Junk Law Plan". I am not going to create another "Junk Law". Lindley already has one. In fact, I printed the entire Junk Law (June 2) on the blog to show citizens that we had an appropriate Law to work with. My intention is to use the existing Junk Law as a guide to determine what is a Junk Property in the Town of Lindley. And if you've been reading the blog you would know that there are many differing points of view as to what constitutes a Junk Property in Lindley. A major part of my Junk Law Plan is to consult with a committee of local citizens to develop an "example" of a Junk Property that our Code Enfocement Officer can use/refer to when he's out "in the field" looking for infractions.
Let me repeat: I am not looking to create another Junk Law for the Town. We already have one. My intention is to use the existing Law and apply it in an organized, consistent and fair minded manner.
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