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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Posts
    2

    Default Neighbors Are Complaining About Our Home Business

    My question involves court procedures for the state of: PA

    We live in a tight-packed neighborhood. It was not the place we wanted to live but at the time was all we could afford.

    We have a small pet business in our house, which we brought along with us when we moved. It expanded quite a bit over the past 4 years. We did and do, everything we can to stay on top of cleaning and care, in order to minimize odors.

    Our neighbors never said anything about problems Despite our asking numerous times. Had they said something we would have worked to correct the problem immediately.

    There were no problems the first two years. After nearly two more years (we've been here 4) they decided to complain to various authorities rather than ask us to correct the problem of odor. In EVERY case, the authorities (including the Humane Society) found no problems. We have a copy of their report.

    Despite everthing we have done since then (beginning last September), they continue to harras us. We have implemented their own suggestions. We have reduced our pet business to the very low level it was at when we moved in. Everything we did to solve the problem, they claim caused more problems for them (medical). This has made NO sense to us. Dwarf hamsters Smell but they cannot possibly be putting out so much ammonia that both neighbors are sick?
    I should add, We are perfectly healthy. Our exposure to the animals / animal by-products is, if anything, much higher than theirs. I will also note, that houses along this block seem to go up for sale on a regular basis, and people seem to be sick all the time.

    The one neighbor has once again claimed we are making her family ill, MONTHS after our doing everything we can to solve the problem. We in fact cannot see how there can still be a problem, IF we had anything to do with it to begin with, which we do not believe.

    A really detailed account would run pages. We think we are being harrassed.

    I guess that is my basic question. Having done everything we can shy of giving up the pet business, they are still giving us grief. So: do we have any kind of case for harrasment?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Neighbors Are Complaining About Our Home Business

    What is your question? If it's, "Is there a way to make unreasonable people start being reasonable, and seeing things my way," no, there really isn't.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Posts
    2

    Default Re: Neighbors Are Complaining About Our Home Business

    *nods* Yes, pretty much what we figured. We are hoping to move later this year, and are in the process of fixing our house up towards that end. The only thing we can think of is: a) we Know we keep things clean, b)we know that any 'evidence' they have is entirely circumstantial. None of them has ever seen our pet business to know what it's extent was, and it has since all this began, been reduced to the level we began with 4 years ago.

    It is very frustrating.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Posts
    1,995

    Default Re: Neighbors Are Complaining About Our Home Business

    Quote Quoting GaryG
    View Post
    *nods* Yes, pretty much what we figured. We are hoping to move later this year, and are in the process of fixing our house up towards that end. The only thing we can think of is: a) we Know we keep things clean, b)we know that any 'evidence' they have is entirely circumstantial. None of them has ever seen our pet business to know what it's extent was, and it has since all this began, been reduced to the level we began with 4 years ago.

    It is very frustrating.
    What you are describing is typical of what happens when people run businesses in "tightly packed" neighborhoods.

    I don't know the zoning in your area, and generally speaking, in most jurisdictions, businesses are not allowed to be run from residential districts, regardless of whether it causes odors, perhaps with some exceptions for professional services, such as for psychologists or therapists. I was surprised no one raised a zoning issue, because if it is in our neighborhood, code enforcement would already had been called on it.

    A friend of mine was in the mailorder business. He takes large shipments of goods ( plastic toys mostly ), repacks them, and sends them onto his customers. The inconvenience to his neighbors is an occasional truck dropping of a shipment (twice a month), and UPS trucks comng through a few times a week, ringing his doorbell, and picks up packages.

    Yet, there were complaints, and yes, technically, he is violating zoning laws even though what he does is mostly by phone or the internet. He finally had the goods dropped off at the UPS warehouse where he picks up the goods himself in his own van, brings it to his house, and he has to bring the packages for his customers to the UPS store himself to be shipped.

    Is he frustrated and mad?? Certainly. It's far easier having the stuff dropped off and picked up at his home.

    Well, I was helping him doing brochures for his business, and I told him that laws exists for certain reasons, and he can't be mad that neighbors insists that he obey the laws. If his neighbor ran an illegal "massage parlor" down the street, he has as much right to demand it's closing even though it emits no odors.

    In fact, I rent out apartments, and one of my tenants does software consulting, did very well at it, and then had people come in to work for him. This is when I put my foot down, because I am in violation of zoning regulations myself as a landlord. And not only that, if something happens, a fire broke out, his employee tripped and fell, my insurance WOULD NOT PAY because I had it down as a "residential" rental, and yet, it's being used for a business.

    Originally, when he moved in, he did the work himself, and my position was I don't go check on what people do at home. But when employees come and go, UPS trucks come by every day, it's a different story. And I cannot excuse the situation just because he is mad and frustrated.

    He finally bought a commercial building, moved his business and family into it, and I beleive he's better for it in the long run.

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