Codes & Ordinances for St. Mary's - Lawn & Junk Piles

[CandaceMM]

I'm in the process of looking, but does any one know of any code or ordinances in St. Mary's County regarding junk in lawns?

We do NOT live in a neighborhood.
My neighbor has 5 abandoned boats, about 7 abandoned cars, a burn pile of junk about two stories tall and about 40 feet wide. It's simply out of control and a massive eye sore. He runs a horse rescue and has horses on the property (the barn is located less than 100 feet from said boats/cars/junk.

Are there any ordinances/codes that would force this man to clean his property and stop collecting junk?

 

[Goldenhawk]

Review the blight ordinance.

https://www.municode.com/library/md...ode_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIIGELE_CH248PRMAST

Your description sounds like the situation clearly fits the definition, and if so you have the opportunity to file a complaint with the County. Specifically: "open storage of trash, garbage, debris, junk", "Wrecked, dismantled, inoperable or unlicensed motor vehicles visible to the general public", "Which may be reasonably concluded to significantly depreciate the economic value of properties in the neighborhood".

 

[CandaceMM]

YOU ARE AWESOME! Thanks goldenhawk. Much appreciated.

 

[ciwmj]

Review the blight ordinance.

https://www.municode.com/library/md...ode_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIIGELE_CH248PRMAST

Your description sounds like the situation clearly fits the definition, and if so you have the opportunity to file a complaint with the County. Specifically: "open storage of trash, garbage, debris, junk", "Wrecked, dismantled, inoperable or unlicensed motor vehicles visible to the general public", "Which may be reasonably concluded to significantly depreciate the economic value of properties in the neighborhood".

The only problem with the County is that you must give your personal information when filing a complaint. If you are on good terms with your neighbor, you will not be after filing the complaint as they will be told who filed the complaint. I have the same problem in my neighborhood and will not file because one of the worst messes belongs to a law enforcement officer, and I don't want to antagonize him in fear of retaliation.

 

[officeguy]

Some people move to St Marys so they dont have an HOA nazi report them for the length of their grass or the color of their shutters.

 

[Grumpy]

Some people move to St Marys so they dont have an HOA nazi report them for the length of their grass or the color of their shutters.

That's not really comparable to what the OP posted.

 

[officeguy]

That's not really comparable to what the OP posted.

Same thing, different scale. I dont think you have a right for 'things to look pretty'. From the OP it sounds like this is an agricultural property. Some people run their operation in a messy way and it is not pleasing to the eye, still their property, their business. That's one of the downsides of living on an ag property located between other ag properties.

It looks like the city crowd on the county commission has passed an ordinance that may help you to get him to clean up his property. Dont expect this to go down well and if you think your relationship is strained now, after you called the .gov on him, you'll have someone who outright hates you living next to you. If you have a dog, make sure it remains on your property, if you have drainage that goes into his property, make sure you dont have anything of value in the low-lying parcel etc.


More important question is: Is his 'horse rescue' registered with the state and does he have the resources to feed and house the horses he takes in. Some horses would be better off with a bullet to the head and a trip to the county dump than the neglect they experience at some of the privately run 'horse rescue' facilities.

 

[BernieP]

Have friends up home who are farmers, pretty big scale between their land an the land they rent. None of it is blighted, actually they have to fight with their "neighbors" who think their fields are a good place to toss tires, refrigerators, furniture, etc. This >>

5 abandoned boats, about 7 abandoned cars, a burn pile of junk about two stories tall and about 40 feet wide.

is not typical for any agriculture or livestock operation, it's not blight, it's a home for vermin. So please stop with "city folk" who moved to the country. Some of us know what a farm looks like and this is more suburb than rural. You want rural, I'll show you places in northern PA, the southern tier of NY and out into the mid west that are rural. Counties where the livestock vastly out numbers the humans and there is one McDonalds to service 5 counties

 

[officeguy]

Review the blight ordinance.

https://www.municode.com/library/md...ode_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIIGELE_CH248PRMAST

Your description sounds like the situation clearly fits the definition, and if so you have the opportunity to file a complaint with the County. Specifically: "open storage of trash, garbage, debris, junk", "Wrecked, dismantled, inoperable or unlicensed motor vehicles visible to the general public", "Which may be reasonably concluded to significantly depreciate the economic value of properties in the neighborhood".

Note that this applies to 'neighborhoods'. Further down in the ordinance, it states:

No provision herein shall be construed to prohibit the preservation, protection, development and improvement of agricultural land, the production of food and other agricultural products, and the right of the farmer to farm as set forth in The Right to Farm Ordinance codified in Chapter 254 of the Code of St. Mary's County, Maryland. The provisions of this ordinance shall not apply to any parcel of land or combinations of parcels of land, or improvements thereon, all or part of which parcel or combination of parcels is assessed as agricultural for the purposes of taxation of real property.

Also, this refers to junk and old cars visible 'to the general public'. Junk and old cars only visible to an adjoining property owner would not qualify under that definition.

 

[BernieP]

so here's my advice to the OP, C4. That will be my advice to all difficult to resolve problems, when faced with an immovable force, blow it the hell up.

 

[CandaceMM]

Yeah - I'm screwed. The land is zoned as agricultural. I don't think that there is much that I can do.

I'm considering throwing some bamboo down on the property line so I don't have to see the mess, but I don't want to piss any of my neighbors. It's highly invasive, but I wouldn't see the mess.

And officeguy - by no means am I a HOA nazi. I leave my neighbors alone, I don't report the ladies on my road that have cat colonies and refuse to get them spayed/neutered, I don't bitch about my neighbors daughter stands outside and screams at the top of her lungs at her kids, dogs, anything else in sight. I don't complain that another neighbors revs his racing car engines all hours of the night. I don't report that my next door neighbor parks in their yard and has a dilapidated barn on her property. I'm friendly, help my neighbors when they need help and generally keep to myself. I am beginning to get upset that the neighbor behind me is neglecting their property and possibly causing damage to the waterway that runs through our property and the horses that he 'rescues.' My problem simply isn't that his property doesn't look pretty (yes, this irritates me) but there's more to the story.

 

[Goldenhawk]

I'm considering throwing some bamboo down on the property line so I don't have to see the mess, but I don't want to piss any of my neighbors. It's highly invasive, but I wouldn't see the mess.

That sounds like the best solution. Would take a year or two to grow in, but you'd preserve the relationship. If the invasive nature of bamboo is an issue, tall cedar shrubs (American Arborvitae) are a pretty, fast-growing, and very dense alternative. A double-row of those will provide a complete privacy line in a few years.

 

[CandaceMM]

That sounds like the best solution. Would take a year or two to grow in, but you'd preserve the relationship.

FWIW, I don't have a relationship with said neighbor. He lives behind our house and there are trees dividing the property. We don't see the property until the fall when the leaves fall off of the trees. He's accumulated quite a bit in one year.

 

[officeguy]

This >> is not typical for any agriculture or livestock operation, it's not blight, it's a home for vermin. So please stop with "city folk" who moved to the country. Some of us know what a farm looks like and this is more suburb than rural.

St Marys is a rural county. While there are some large metastases of suburban living, the majority of the county is still rural. And I agree, it is neither typical nor necessary for a ag operation to look blighted, but at the end of the day it is a fundamental freedom to run as messy and dilapidated of a farm operation as you wish.

I am beginning to get upset that the neighbor behind me is neglecting their property and possibly causing damage to the waterway that runs through our property and the horses that he 'rescues.' My problem simply isn't that his property doesn't look pretty (yes, this irritates me) but there's more to the story.

Even though the blight ordinance doesn't apply, there are a couple of avenues how you may be able to address the problems:

Is his 'horse rescue' properly licensed and if they are, does he adhere to safe practices when it comes to keeping his horses. The Maryland horse industry board regulates rescues and has inspectors. You may want to contact them with your concerns:

http://mda.maryland.gov/horseboard/Pages/regulations.aspx

Also, if you believe the horses are being neglected, you may be able to get St Marys county animal control involved. They dont usually get into the business of true farms, but if someone is keeping domestic animals in an unsafe manner, they may intervene.

http://www.stmarysmd.com/est/animalcontrol.asp

Another avenue would be to look at whether his junk pile and old cars/boats are part of a bona fide farming operation or whether what he has is considered 'solid waste' and as such covered by MDE regulations:

http://mde.maryland.gov/programs/La...edFacilities/Documents/Open_Burning_Facts.pdf

MD is really hard-ass when it comes to streams. Non-navigable waterways are for the most part under the purview of MDE. If you believe that he is polluting a waterway, you may be able to get MDE involved.


HOWEVER, whenever you get 'the man' involved, make sure that everything on your property is up to snuff. Lets say, 10 years ago you replaced a 50 year old 6in culvert with a 12in pipe and dumped some broken concrete as rip-rap to protect the inflow. Did you get the stack of permits required for this action ? If no, are you ready to spend $20,000 in lawyers fees to fight the $60,000 fine MDE is going to levy on you ?

Either way, you are not going be able to force him to make things look neat. At best, you can keep him from creating a condition that directly impacts your property. At worst, you are in for a long legal fight with him.

 

[NorthBeachPerso]

Note that this applies to 'neighborhoods'. Further down in the ordinance, it states:

No provision herein shall be construed to prohibit the preservation, protection, development and improvement of agricultural land, the production of food and other agricultural products, and the right of the farmer to farm as set forth in The Right to Farm Ordinance codified in Chapter 254 of the Code of St. Mary's County, Maryland. The provisions of this ordinance shall not apply to any parcel of land or combinations of parcels of land, or improvements thereon, all or part of which parcel or combination of parcels is assessed as agricultural for the purposes of taxation of real property.

Also, this refers to junk and old cars visible 'to the general public'. Junk and old cars only visible to an adjoining property owner would not qualify under that definition.

I'm glad you posted this, I would have done so earlier but was pressed for time.

I'm waiting expectantly for the thread when the neighbor fires off that 40 foot wide burn pile.

 

[Goldenhawk]

I'm waiting expectantly for the thread when the neighbor fires off that 40 foot wide burn pile.

 

[GWguy]

Yeah - I'm screwed. The land is zoned as agricultural. I don't think that there is much that I can do.

I'm considering throwing some bamboo down on the property line so I don't have to see the mess, but I don't want to piss any of my neighbors. It's highly invasive, but I wouldn't see the mess.

And officeguy - by no means am I a HOA nazi. I leave my neighbors alone, I don't report the ladies on my road that have cat colonies and refuse to get them spayed/neutered, I don't bitch about my neighbors daughter stands outside and screams at the top of her lungs at her kids, dogs, anything else in sight. I don't complain that another neighbors revs his racing car engines all hours of the night. I don't report that my next door neighbor parks in their yard and has a dilapidated barn on her property. I'm friendly, help my neighbors when they need help and generally keep to myself. I am beginning to get upset that the neighbor behind me is neglecting their property and possibly causing damage to the waterway that runs through our property and the horses that he 'rescues.' My problem simply isn't that his property doesn't look pretty (yes, this irritates me) but there's more to the story.

My solution would to be to get the hell out of that area.

 

[GregV814]

some people move into a home next to the airport and then complain about the noise...I guess in this case the junk pile popped up overnight.

 

[nutz]

FWIW, I don't have a relationship with said neighbor. He lives behind our house and there are trees dividing the property. We don't see the property until the fall when the leaves fall off of the trees. He's accumulated quite a bit in one year.

Maybe it's time to be a better neighbor. Go over and offer to help. Maybe they are overwhelmed and could use and extra couple of hands

 

[CleanTheSlateInSMC]

I'm in the process of looking, but does any one know of any code or ordinances in St. Mary's County regarding junk in lawns?

We do NOT live in a neighborhood.
My neighbor has 5 abandoned boats, about 7 abandoned cars, a burn pile of junk about two stories tall and about 40 feet wide. It's simply out of control and a massive eye sore. He runs a horse rescue and has horses on the property (the barn is located less than 100 feet from said boats/cars/junk.

Are there any ordinances/codes that would force this man to clean his property and stop collecting junk?

You know that junk yard just before the TJ bridge? It's illegal, but the County ignores it cuz the owner is a good ol boy.

Good luck fighting your battle.