Atlanta, GA: Fighting the man! (zoning enforcement)

It is a sad day, my crazy old neighbor has turned me in to DeKalb
zoning. A zoning officer left a note on my door telling me that I can
not have any "inoperable" vehicles.

I have 2 beetles, the first one is ugly but runs. The second beetle
does not have an engine, the front two fenders are removed and the
windows are removed. The car is painted blue and used to be a very
nice car. It is under a tarp
because it has no windows.

I live in a middle class neighborhood where I see many "inoperable"
vehicles.

Do you guys know where I can pick up a cheap pre-owned engine so I can
show the zoning officer a running car? I can put the front fenders and
windows in but I am lacking a engine.

I seriously need some of those "pimp my ride" guys.

rauldejesus -at- gmail.com

On 24 Mar 2005 15:10:38 -0800, wrote:

>It is a sad day, my crazy old neighbor has turned me in to DeKalb
>zoning. A zoning officer left a note on my door telling me that I can
>not have any "inoperable" vehicles.
>
>I have 2 beetles, the first one is ugly but runs. The second beetle
>does not have an engine, the front two fenders are removed and the
>windows are removed. The car is painted blue and used to be a very
>nice car. It is under a tarp
>because it has no windows.
>
>I live in a middle class neighborhood where I see many "inoperable"
>vehicles.
>
>Do you guys know where I can pick up a cheap pre-owned engine so I can
>show the zoning officer a running car? I can put the front fenders and
>windows in but I am lacking a engine.
>
>I seriously need some of those "pimp my ride" guys.
>
>rauldejesus -at- gmail.com

Maybe if you just put the glass in and the fenders on and kept the
decklid closed and took the tarp off of it, that would be enough for
them to quit bothering you. That might make your neighbor happy
enough, anyway. Do you have to prove that the vehicle runs now that
you've gotten the notice from the cop? Or is it just a warning? If
it's just a warning I'd put the glass and fenders back in/on and
remove the tarp and try to "pretend." If you have to prove it runs
then put the glass and fenders on, then tow it to a buddy's house with
your running VW, swap the engine out of your running VW into the
non-running one, then drive the now-running one back to your house and
show them it runs. Once they're convinced, pull the engine out of the
VW in question (stealthily...so the neighbors don't see) and get a
friend with a truck to bring the engine with you to the other VW and
install it there and drive it home. And keep the decklid CLOSED and
the tarp off of the once-again-non-running VW. :-)


---
"There's nothing wrong with a little shooting as long as the right people get shot."
- Inspector Harry Callahan

On 24 Mar 2005 15:10:38 -0800, scribbled this
interesting note:

>It is a sad day, my crazy old neighbor has turned me in to DeKalb
>zoning. A zoning officer left a note on my door telling me that I can
>not have any "inoperable" vehicles.
>
>I have 2 beetles, the first one is ugly but runs. The second beetle
>does not have an engine, the front two fenders are removed and the
>windows are removed. The car is painted blue and used to be a very
>nice car. It is under a tarp
>because it has no windows.
>
>I live in a middle class neighborhood where I see many "inoperable"
>vehicles.
>
>Do you guys know where I can pick up a cheap pre-owned engine so I can
>show the zoning officer a running car? I can put the front fenders and
>windows in but I am lacking a engine.
>
>I seriously need some of those "pimp my ride" guys.

Give your neighbor something he can't complain about but really wants
to. Make your cars legal. Stay stricely within the rules. Make at
least one of them as ugly, noisy, unattractive, smokey, etc. as you
can. Keep it parked in a spot sure to be noticed. Drive it
occasionally. You can pick up a Beetle like this for a couple hundred
dollars. Dress it up nice. Stay legal. But make it look like Oscar the
Grouch owns and drives it!


--
John Willis
(Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)

I don't think the zoning rules are fair. The rule stated that no
"major" work can be performed on cars in my area. I think "major"
constituted work that can not be completed in 3 days. I don't think
that is right.


John Willis wrote:
> On 24 Mar 2005 15:10:38 -0800, scribbled this
> interesting note:
>
> >It is a sad day, my crazy old neighbor has turned me in to DeKalb
> >zoning. A zoning officer left a note on my door telling me that I
can
> >not have any "inoperable" vehicles.
> >
> >I have 2 beetles, the first one is ugly but runs. The second beetle
> >does not have an engine, the front two fenders are removed and the
> >windows are removed. The car is painted blue and used to be a very
> >nice car. It is under a tarp
> >because it has no windows.
> >
> >I live in a middle class neighborhood where I see many "inoperable"
> >vehicles.
> >
> >Do you guys know where I can pick up a cheap pre-owned engine so I
can
> >show the zoning officer a running car? I can put the front fenders
and
> >windows in but I am lacking a engine.
> >
> >I seriously need some of those "pimp my ride" guys.
>
> Give your neighbor something he can't complain about but really wants
> to. Make your cars legal. Stay stricely within the rules. Make at
> least one of them as ugly, noisy, unattractive, smokey, etc. as you
> can. Keep it parked in a spot sure to be noticed. Drive it
> occasionally. You can pick up a Beetle like this for a couple hundred
> dollars. Dress it up nice. Stay legal. But make it look like Oscar
the
> Grouch owns and drives it!
>
>
> --
> John Willis
> (Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)

On 25 Mar 2005 07:58:26 -0800, scribbled this
interesting note:

>I don't think the zoning rules are fair. The rule stated that no
>"major" work can be performed on cars in my area. I think "major"
>constituted work that can not be completed in 3 days. I don't think
>that is right.
>

That sounds like Code Enforcement issues. In some places (this may not
apply to you) folks have been cited for such "major" violations as
changing out spark plugs. I don't remember where I ran across it, but
I recently read where such "violations" were found by a court to not
exist...that is the work was deemed to not be of a "major" category.

A case could be made that work that can take an experienced mechanic
five to ten minutes to perform (removing an acvw engine, for example)
is not major. It is entirely different from removing a 350 from some
silly Camaro or other such car or truck.

The long and short of the story is, when your Code Enforcement
Officers get involved it is usually best to merely satisfy their
requirements since if you don't they can and will play hardball. You
don't want that. Fix what they are telling you to fix and then play by
your rules, just make sure either your rules fall within some legal
framework they can't do anything about or you don't get caught again
when your rules fall outside that framework. Either way, once you get
Code off your back you can pretty much do what you want.

Remember, Code Enforcement is a tool. Use it well and properly and it
will do what you want. Besides, without it, your neighbors could all
set up shops in their garages and work on their cars and anyone else's
cars at all hours of the day and night. Would you really like that?
Just put it into perspective, fix the problems, and have a happy day.


--
John Willis
(Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)

I live in the Atlanta area too. When I first moved here, I lived with my dad
for six months and his neighbors complained too. When I went to buy my own
house, I picked one 2 miles further out of town where those rules do not
apply.

As for your engine: Go to Pull-A-Part junkyard http://www.pullapart.com and
find yourself a running one. Its not 100% but with the paying for the
guarantee you have 30 days to bring it back until you find one that does
run. I have bought several running engines there for about $140 total. The
engine is $106 but there is a core charge if you are not exchanging a dead
engine in return.

To the guy that said find yourself a running beetle for $300. They are not
available at that price in this area.

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> It is a sad day, my crazy old neighbor has turned me in to DeKalb
> zoning. A zoning officer left a note on my door telling me that I can
> not have any "inoperable" vehicles.
>
> I have 2 beetles, the first one is ugly but runs. The second beetle
> does not have an engine, the front two fenders are removed and the
> windows are removed. The car is painted blue and used to be a very
> nice car. It is under a tarp
> because it has no windows.
>
> I live in a middle class neighborhood where I see many "inoperable"
> vehicles.
>
> Do you guys know where I can pick up a cheap pre-owned engine so I can
> show the zoning officer a running car? I can put the front fenders and
> windows in but I am lacking a engine.
>
> I seriously need some of those "pimp my ride" guys.
>
> rauldejesus -at- gmail.com
>

"Funkie" > wrote in message
...


good to see you Mr. Medina....

Chris Perdue(bugninva)

On Sun, 27 Mar 2005 10:32:30 -0500, "Funkie" >
scribbled this interesting note:

>I live in the Atlanta area too. When I first moved here, I lived with my dad
>for six months and his neighbors complained too. When I went to buy my own
>house, I picked one 2 miles further out of town where those rules do not
>apply.
>
>As for your engine: Go to Pull-A-Part junkyard http://www.pullapart.com and
>find yourself a running one. Its not 100% but with the paying for the
>guarantee you have 30 days to bring it back until you find one that does
>run. I have bought several running engines there for about $140 total. The
>engine is $106 but there is a core charge if you are not exchanging a dead
>engine in return.
>
>To the guy that said find yourself a running beetle for $300. They are not
>available at that price in this area.

See the post about Scott and I delivering a couple of Beetles
yesterday. The cars we delivered are not, strictly speaking, running
at the moment (and one is only good as a parts car as the body is more
rust than metal, but it is complete, with engine as well) but with two
whole cars to work with, someone who is handy ought to be able to make
a running engine out of the parts available in under a day or two. It
wouldn't be pretty, but it would run. If the original poster is
agreeable, he could drive out here to Garland, Texas and we would fix
him up with a 1971 SuperBeetle Autostick, complete (engine currently
non-running) for $500.00. We won't deliver this one as Scott and I are
both a bit tired at the moment from the 700 miles we drove yesterday.
And as anyone with a bad back will understand, sitting for that amount
of time is hardest on a bad lower back. Scott is in a fair amount of
pain today as a result of yesterday's little excursion.

Running Beetles for $300 may not be easily found where you are, but
they can be found. It takes a little searching and looking under rocks
and in barns, but they do exist. I've found a fair number of running
Beetles in that price range (one was even a complete convertible,
1969, that is now a show winner, thanks to the person I eventually
sold it to!:~)

As for the Code problems, again, you need to do what you need to do to
satisfy the inspector, and then think about how you play the game.
With a little thought and planning, you can do whatever you like,
Codes or no Codes-it merely takes a little imagination. Kind of like
the form of the sonnett, within the rules of the game you can do
whatever you like...


--
John Willis
(Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)

John Willis wrote:
> On Sun, 27 Mar 2005 10:32:30 -0500, "Funkie" >
> scribbled this interesting note:
>
>
>>I live in the Atlanta area too. When I first moved here, I lived with my dad
>>for six months and his neighbors complained too. When I went to buy my own
>>house, I picked one 2 miles further out of town where those rules do not
>>apply.
>>
>>As for your engine: Go to Pull-A-Part junkyard http://www.pullapart.com and
>>find yourself a running one. Its not 100% but with the paying for the
>>guarantee you have 30 days to bring it back until you find one that does
>>run. I have bought several running engines there for about $140 total. The
>>engine is $106 but there is a core charge if you are not exchanging a dead
>>engine in return.
>>
>>To the guy that said find yourself a running beetle for $300. They are not
>>available at that price in this area.
>
>
> See the post about Scott and I delivering a couple of Beetles
> yesterday. The cars we delivered are not, strictly speaking, running
> at the moment (and one is only good as a parts car as the body is more
> rust than metal, but it is complete, with engine as well) but with two
> whole cars to work with, someone who is handy ought to be able to make
> a running engine out of the parts available in under a day or two. It
> wouldn't be pretty, but it would run. If the original poster is
> agreeable, he could drive out here to Garland, Texas and we would fix
> him up with a 1971 SuperBeetle Autostick, complete (engine currently
> non-running) for $500.00. We won't deliver this one as Scott and I are
> both a bit tired at the moment from the 700 miles we drove yesterday.
> And as anyone with a bad back will understand, sitting for that amount
> of time is hardest on a bad lower back. Scott is in a fair amount of
> pain today as a result of yesterday's little excursion.
>
> Running Beetles for $300 may not be easily found where you are, but
> they can be found. It takes a little searching and looking under rocks
> and in barns, but they do exist. I've found a fair number of running
> Beetles in that price range (one was even a complete convertible,
> 1969, that is now a show winner, thanks to the person I eventually
> sold it to!:~)
>
> As for the Code problems, again, you need to do what you need to do to
> satisfy the inspector, and then think about how you play the game.
> With a little thought and planning, you can do whatever you like,
> Codes or no Codes-it merely takes a little imagination. Kind of like
> the form of the sonnett, within the rules of the game you can do
> whatever you like...
>
>
> --
> John Willis
> (Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)


Good on yah both!

Friggin good deed of the week, does not happen often these days..

J.

Thanks, I try to keep up a bit. I sold my beetle and will probably aquire
something else in the next year.

"Joey Tribiani" > wrote in message
news:k3B1e.86368$755.13306@lakeread05...
>
> "Funkie" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>
> good to see you Mr. Medina....
>
> Chris Perdue(bugninva)
>
>