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How the "Property Owner" Free City Harassment Service Works in Sioux Falls
Anonymous phone call activates city of Sioux Falls free service, to harass and fine any property owner you do not like and want to harass. City has employees that are expert at this, do this full time and make a career of it. They can do (free of charge) and (include fines even) far better then you could ever harass on your own.Just pick up the phone, you do not need identify yourself and you can "make up" any type of complaint, no merit whatsoever is necessary.
Call often, (no matter how many times repeated) each free call reactivates and gives city zealots again, full legal clearance to "investigate property" and find any new trivolity on their own, you do not have to dig one up yourself, this is part of the city taxpayer funded service.Investigators will not ask the property owner for any information, or hear comments on anything, absolutely no input from owner over what property material in yard actually is, what it is needed for etc. what connection or function it has with your business, life or health, or project etc. What ever investigator concludes at first glance is it, acting as Prosecutor, the Judge, the Jury, and the Executioner all in one. You are fined up to hundreds of dollars solely on his impression and decision. He takes no input from you. He is all knowing "God."If you ask for an administrative hearing over legitimacy of the complaint and fine, the first thing they tell you when you come in, right off is "the burden of proof here is totally yours". In other words you are assumed guilty and already convicted, you have to prove somehow you are "innocent" of the violations charged.Prove your yard is not a "public nuisance". There is no definition of what a "public nuisance is, but your yard is it. whatever the city says it is. that is it. Many other Sioux Falls property owners have and report this same experience, I find I am not alone. No matter what property you have in your yard, why, if for example in my case it has been used for this for 18 years, why it is necessary to your business, the city inspector cares not and lists it as:
2. Abandoned property since you have not used it or moved it in weeks. If you store anything in your yard for future or rainy day use, it is considered and ruled as "abandoned", More On "Star" Of Our Abandoned Property, go here 3. Despite it being made of steel and in every part of city, in your yard it "can attract rodents". There is nothing you can put in your yard that they can not say "will attract rodents." Works every time. 4. Despite being in a fenced padlocked yard, (these same items freely available unfenced on any street around the city) yours may cause "harm to children". There is nothing you can put in your yard or store in your yard that they can not say "children" can get hurt with. Fool proof, works every time. 5. No matter how important or useful to you, It looks like "junk" pronounced "rubbish" by the inspector and he is an expert. It may look like a livelihood, essential to your business, but if it is not new and has been there for any length of time, to the city inspector it looks like and is listed as "junk" or "rubbish". No matter what you say in hearing what it is for and necessary, he says it looks like "junk" to me. His opinion is gospel. You have not proved it does not "look like" junk. 6. Besides that he proudly exhibits at the hearing that he has an 8 1/2 by 11 full color photo of a garbage can caught with sticks sticking up out of it, and without a lid. Everyone knows the city of Sioux Falls ordinance plainly says "garbage cans in Sioux Falls have to have a lid." Garbage Can Story, go hereThe administrator hearing person paid by the city, orders the fine must be paid immediately despite your notification you are appealing it to the county court. Apparently so little chance of it being over turned there, they want their "hard earned" money now. Everybody knows the appeal is going no where since you can only use what you presented here and since it was impossible for you to "prove" any of these city claims were not true you are wasting your time. Remember, the city did not have to prove or present anything proving you guilty of anything. You had to prove it was all untrue or you were staying convicted of violating this vague city ordinance. This hearing is just a ritual to make you think you got "justice" and your day in court. Any other court actions the money involved is "stayed" until final determination. Not here. This whole thing is "cut and dried" from the start.Despite our yard, padlocked 24 hours a day, being zoned commercial, surrounded by a no see thru fence exactly as they specified and demanded last year, our chances of out weighing the inspectors charges, of attracting rodents, etc or any charge at all is nil. Anything in your fenced locked yard is a public nuisance, items obviously are not brand new so it is junk, it is not used every day so it is obviously abandoned and anything at all may harm children....and then of course there is always the garbage can with no lid. If you get rid of everything in your yard, no matter what you have, you know your "vendetta" neighbor is going to make a call in the next six months, the city inspector will be back and after nosing around for days will find something. See above, it will be a repeat, no matter what is in the yard.This is the third time this has happened (same complainer neighbor) on the latest harassment.. (claims he will put us out of business unless we pay him off) (darn near right) All told 9 times on 11 properties. Upsets employees terribly.Now it has become apparent from talking with many other property owners that they have been treated even more "Gestapo" then we have and it is time someone do something about it.. they have no idea what can be done about it... This ordinance that this action is done under cover of, is blatantly unconstitutionally vague. This law says what ever the "city" says it does.If you hired the most expensive group of experts... You could not "unprove" any of this. Can not be done. You are a lamb being led to slaughter. SOLUTION: To be filed as a class action you have to prove this has happened and is happening on a regular routine basis to a lot of Sioux Falls people. All we are asking you to do is basically "stand up" for constitutionally protected rights and be counted in the list of citizens who have had their property rights violated by the city of Sioux Falls. Come forward. We only need prove I am just one of many. If we get a long enough list, an attorney will likely take it as a class action on a contingency basis. I am not an expert on requirements, I just know the city needs a message, whatever legal recourse we can use. If an attorney wont take it, I am not afraid to take it on myself since in 32 years I have on my newspaper distribution business behalf I have learned how to and filed and completed 24 lengthy federal court cases acting as my own attorney.
own attorney. Started doing my own after an expensive attorney "lost' the first constitutional right first amendment case 30 years ago. I got that ruling overturned in the San Francisco court of appeals acting as my own attorney. That one was with the US post office involving six states and was won in the court of appeals, thereby setting a precedent of newspapers being distributed in front of post offices all over the US. My age is making it very difficult to ever see doing any of this type of thing again, Besides that I lost a first amendment newspaper case in court of appeals in Saint Louis last year. I note that with many government bodies in SD, constitutional rights mean absolutely nothing. Apparently this will go on indefinitely unless somebody takes a stand.Get on the list. please. Stand up...enough is enough... this is what our constitution is about... restraints on government running rough shod over everyone's rights. The constitution was not to protect us from each other, it was written to protect us from this type of government abuse. If no one takes action to see it is followed, the constitution and the idea of "protected rights" becomes worthless. It becomes just a piece of paper in a museum somewhere. I paid $75,000 for my yard and understood it was zoned for commercial use. I have been using the back yard as an essential part of my business for over 18 years. I am at a low point, have only 20% of what I had in the yard even 3 years ago. Now they tell me my business equipment that backs up our distribution in six states is junk, is a public nuisance, attracts rodents and may harm children, and I have to take the sticks out and get a lid on the garbage can. That I need to pay a fine for being so inconsiderate of the public. Close down my yard and the business it supports, No choice. True, I have more then enough business in other states. I am 78 years old, never been a quitter, but who needs this kind of continuous never ending, nothing but pure harassment? Maybe our hostile neighbor wins....... still up for grabs...
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