I'd stay on top of it and if the city does not revoke the permit promptly I would get my attorney to write a letter.

You dont appear to be able to win much lately Kerry !! Did you break a mirror or something??!! :D

Good luck with your latest battle!!

It sounds a lot like some one did a shady deal at city hall.
Is there an objection process for permits over your way?
Is the guy/city hall required to advertise his application before its granted?
Just a couple of thoughts

Variances to the building codes need to be publicly posted with a hearing where objections can be made, In this case, I don't think zoning would even allow a possible variance since building on top of city sewer lines is simply forbidden. It's a mistake. I don't know what would happen if the guy started construction today. In addition to the city approval, I live in an Historic District and the permit had gone thru the process and been approved by the Landmark Commission. Changes to the permit wont be a simple thing because I'm pretty sure it will have to go thru the Landmark Commission again. It's a royal ****-up.

There is a lot of "Who You Know" involved in many cases.

My brother and aunt owned a couple of <1000 sq.ft. seasonal lakefront cottages that they bought from my grandfather (fairly rough but usable) on a narrow lot that shared a well (which actually belongs to my other aunt who owns the cottage next to these two), driveway and stairway down to them. They wanted to sell them separately but were told by the town that they couldn't be split up as they were a non-conforming property to begin with. So they sold them as a pair at a price that was considerably less than what they could have gotten for 2 separate properties. We all knew it was more of a location sale than anything else and most likely the cottages would be replaced with something newer and modern.

Flash forward a year and the guy who bought the property tore both of them down, built very nice approved for year-round use 2000 sq.ft. cottage/houses with driveways leading down to them separately and had one of them for sale for more than he paid my brother and aunt for both of them. I suspect the other one will be for sale this summer at for similar money. Either he knew the right people or his lawyer knew how to work the system because the property was indeed subdivided after they were told it couldn't be.

I dunno, an temporary injunction might not be that hard to get if you can show the judge there is an obvious violation of the law, that's one quick trip to the courthouse. Once you have that, it would give you some negotiating chops.

You have to know the zoning regs just as good if not better than the city.

The city usualy won't be of much help to a homeowner that wants to subdivide the property. They need a good attorney that knows the zoning regs or someone else who does.

I have seen this a lot, where the city tells the homeowner no and a few months later my uncle is building a house on it. Or the city tells them its only one lot and 2-3 houses pop up on it.:D

This might work. I would also suggest you call the town/city solicitor and ask him what to do. City's paying him.;)
This might be a snafu case, or as someone suggested, a back door deal.;)

I had to steer thru a particulary long and ugly homeowner battle on my zoning board. Guy went to the construction office to take out a building permit to rebuild his bayfront house. The process broke down when the construction office failed to forward the application to the zoning office for review. He also ran a business on the site. Dual use not permitted. Guy geta a building permit without the zoning permit, builds the new and much larger house, & improves and expands his business building.
Neighbor goes ballistic, sues, case drags on to the zoning board for many months as we hear the entire history of the property. Discovered was the fact that the owner knew he needed a zoning permit and was told that twice in letters by his architect and once by his lawyer. This ended up in Superior Court, but the homeowners clearly flaunted the law, and lied thru their teeth to the board.:eek::mad:

If the municipality or county authority owns the sewer line, the last thing in the world they want to do is give someone a permit to build over it !!!!!!!!!!:D
It's gotta violate construction regs.--- either local or state. Call the construction office and inquire about the law. Or go visit it and look up the construction code.

Meanwhile, press the issue with the the Wastewater authority. Ask to speak to the Supervisor or executive director. Write a letter to the authority, write and call your town solicitor. Write or email your mayor and council. ***** ***** *****. The squeeky wheel gets the grease.

I also suggest you keep the new neighbor informed of what you are doing. Better for her to know now, that get red flagged after the cement truck drives away after pouring the slab!;)

She won't be happy, but she'll be a darn site more upset if she has to remove her site work, then sue the seller for misrepresentation and costs.

The city doesn't "try" to revoke the permit...........it just does it and issues a "stop work" order.

The homeowner then must cease all further construction.

The homeowner then sues the municipality for all costs associated with the construction to the point where the work was stopped.

The municipality settles with the homeowner for something like 50% of his claim. If he doesn't take it, the municipality ties him up in court for about 10 years until he takes it.............or dies............whichever comes first.


Attempting to beat a municipality is usually an exercise in futility...........they have unlimited resources...........you don't.

Talked to Wastewater this am. They said permit has been revoked and 'Maria is supposed to call the homeowner."

:thumbsup:

Cool!

Good news!!

x2...

Can you get that in writing or a copy of the revocation notice?
;)

Good question. I was skeptical about the "Maria is going to call...." part. I'll call the City Building Dept to make sure they know the permit is revoked. Don't know if it's possible to get anything in writing.