Zoning Law

Naio wrote:
...Rural areas I have dealt with basically don't have land use codes that affect this sort of thing. They have building codes, but that's not what we're talking about in this thread...

Rural living definitely has more freedom, but consequently takes more tolerance. If I want to target practice on my land on a Sunday afternoon, my neighbors can't say a darn thing about it. Similarly if their dogs are barking at the moon at 3am, I can't say anything either.

The tolerance comes when I invite the neighbors over for some Sunday afternoon target practice & BBQ, during which I suggest they keep their dogs inside whenever there is a full moon. I think I know my rural neighbors much better than when I lived in suburbia, and that does help the tolerance and understanding as well.

As for rural code enforcement... I think they are really looking at two primary concerns. 1) Is the property owner doing something with their land which will negatively impact the land around it? Dumping pollutants in a stream for example. 2) And can emergency services get where they need to go? Is the road too steep? Is there a place where a fire truck could turn around if they had to? That sort of thing.

I don't even think code enforcement would do anything themselves if they saw new construction. They would, however, mention it to their buddies in the tax assessor & building inspector offices. One hand of government watches out for the other. There is a reason a closed gate exists at the bottom of my driveway.

-Eric