Before
My regular readers may recall my posts about my extremely rich and extremely obnoxious neighbor, and the wildflower meadow he planted. The photo above shows the meadow in happier times.
After
That was then. Now, the meadow is gone, and in its place sits an immense and sinister earth mover. The obnoxious neighbor is not just building a garage (he already has one of those) but a bigger, better, more expensive garage, and he got a variance from the town which allows him to build it even higher.
What that means is that our view of the water will be obliterated. Instead of looking at the salt pond, we will be gazing at the back of his garage.
So unfair. So obnoxious.
Digging RI 
Oh…that really sucks 😦 I’m so sorry about that!
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Thanks, Martha. It does suck, and we are deciding whether or not we should move. I don’t think I want to live near someone like that, and I certainly don’t want to gaze at the back of his garage.
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I do sympathize. Our own neighbors use their yard as a motorcross track for ATVs. In summer when we could be listening to the breeze in the leaves and the hum of happy pollinators intead we are wearing headphones to block out the obnoxious drone of internal combustion engines going around, and around, and around…
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That sounds horrible, The wrong neighbor can make your life a real nightmare, and you have so little control, even though it directly affects you. So unfair!
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Uuggghhh… that would drive me bonkers.
Now, I know that this was a big gardener’s ordeal recently on the west coast but have you looked into your township/state’s rule about obstructing one’s view from the lake? If the lake is something that you pay to live near, or it’s a state protected area sometimes there will be a law that says that a neighbor cannot obstruct another person’s view of said lake. It reduces the amount of enjoyment one may obtain and reduces the ‘value of the home’ if something like a giant garage is built.
But yeah… If that is the case, you may just have a reason to get that permit revoked?
It may make an enemy of your neighbor… but as it sounds, you don’t really care for him anyway… hehe…
Just a thought…
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No chance of stopping it, Donna. The abutters attended the hearing on the garage and the variance, and the permits were granted despite everyone’s objections. There is no such thing as a protected view in this town. Just about anything goes – if you have enough money.
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I truly dislike folks who have no regard for anyone else. When we moved here (from the lunatic beach area) to the woods, all was quiet. Now we have two sets of neighbors transplanted from the city; one built a motocross track with his own heavy equipment for his son and friends. The other loves to drive ATVs up and down his driveway and buys his darling sons such things as drums, electric guitars, and very large,barking, misbehaving dogs. I have to say that a call to the police for violations of the noise ordinance works, but there’s not much to be done about eyesores. So much for the enjoyment of one’s own property!
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That’s terrible. I had no idea you were enduring those horrible neighbors. The only solution in our case is to get out of Dodge. I don’t want to be here anymore.
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Have you considered investing in a pack of very loud constantly barking dogs and outdoor parties with loud music. Invite all your neighbors except the obnoxious one to join in, simultaneously of course. How about a pots and pans banging parade in the wee hours? How about a billboard on your property citing the obnoxious and environmentally unfriendly behavior of your neighbor. And how about some articles in newspapers, letters to the editor, and so on. Just some thoughts. I really like the billboard idea. 🙂
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P.S. Just use the 2 pictures you have here on the billboard with a caption like: How my neighbor increases land value in (your town’s name).
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The town approved this over the neighbors’ objections, so it is completely legal. We have been living in this house for a while, but fortunately, we do not own it, so we can leave when our lease is up. I’ve wanted to move for some time anyway. I want trees!
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How about having an artist paint a beautiful meadow scene on the back of his garage??? does he see the back of the garage?? It might help. Maybe even a fence on your side blocking the garage a bit with beautiful plants on trellises might make some of the ugliness go away.
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I think there are two solutions to this situation: moving, or a bolt of lightning.
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