column 9/28/14 Ask Policemandan: Q: My neighbor has been dismantling 2 old travel trailers a little at a time with nothing but a big hammer. Insulation, delaminated strips of plywood and some of the aluminum skin blows into my yard. He also has a dog run 2 feet from my fence and the dog chews up the old pillows and bedding they give him and this also blows into my yard. He also accumulates his trash in a utility trailer and when an animal or the wind opens some of the plastic bags that trash also ends up in my yard. He did come over several times at my request and picked up some of the insulation and cloth scraps but is now refusing to do that anymore. Are there any laws here in Twin Falls County that would require him to keep his mess in his own yard? If so, what penalties would he be subject to? Also if there are I’d like to be able to print out the regulations to give him and hopefully avoid having to bother the Sheriff’s office with this.-Roger A: Yes, you could cite your neighbor for littering under Idaho Code 18-7031. It simply reads that it shall constitute a misdemeanor for any person, to deposit upon any public or private property within this state any debris, paper, litter, glass bottles, glass, nails, tacks, hooks, cans, barbed wire, boards, trash, garbage, lighted material or other waste substances on any place not authorized by any county, city, village or the owner of such property, and is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six (6) months, or by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or both. Additionally, a peace officer or state fish and game personnel supervised public service of not less than eight hours and not more than forty hours may be imposed to clean up and to properly dispose of debris from public property or from private property with the written consent of the private property owner, as ordered by the court. I’m not sure on your county ordinance but you could again call the sheriff’s office or county prosecutor to see if there were any county ordinances that covered your issue. If you and your neighbors are dealing with this issue you could cite under the state public nuisance law but I believe the littering law would suffice. The other thing you could do here is to spend a little money and have a letter of “cease and desist” order written and served to your neighbor. This would involve an attorney or para-legal writing a letter advising that if the issue did not stop a law suit could be pending. This would also be a good way to send the littering law in the letter advising that criminal charges could also apply. The letter would probably be the best idea at first and then if things don’t change you might have to just file charges to get your point across and the trash off of your property. Officer down: Please put these officers, killed in the line of duty, and their families in your prayers. God bless these heroes. · Officer Michael Williams, New York City Police, New York · Senior Deputy Jessica Hollis, Travis County Sheriff, Texas They fought the good fight, now may they rest in peace.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 18:13:22 +0000
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