My question involves civil rights in the State of: Virginia
Last year, a county zoning inspector told my husband that he needs to fix or remove two vehicles from our property or we will be fined $10,000 (their cost to remove the vehicles!).
According to the county code, and a lawyer I spoke to, the law indicates we can put these vehicles behind an enclosed fence or in an enclosed shed. My husband did both of these things to comply with the law. A judge signed off on this and everything was fine.
But a neigbor called in early this year to complain about a third inoperative vehicle after our 20 year old car broke down in our yard. My husband had to disassemble part of it there to try to fix the gearshift. An inspector came out and told my husband that we can't have any of the cars on our property!
The law clearly states that up to three inoperative vehicles can be stored behind an enclosed fence, in a shed, or garage. My husband hired an attorney despite the fact that we can't afford one and he said to go ahead and get that third vehicle either in the shed or behind the fence. I asked whether the inspector can remove the vehicles from the property and he said to just put the vehicles behind the fence and we'll worry about that part later.
Over the last month or two, the lawyer has stopped taking our calls. We paid him a small fee, but he was mostly working pro bono (he strongly believed we could win a lawsuit against the county inspectors and he took the case with the agreement that he would get part of that money). I think he still plans to file a suit, but just got tired of this particular situation. I don't know.
After making tons of calls, we found someone who works for the county in another capacity to act as a go between. He assured us that we would have a certain amount of time to work towards being in full compliance with the law. He told us the deadline which was set for early 2018. However, the inspector called us late this afternoon (Friday - right before closing time) to tell us that today is the deadline. They will take action by Tuesday morning. There are no legal documents and they were supposed to send them to us before taking action.
They are saying that they can legally take what's in those sheds or behind the fence - and not just the cars, EVERYTHING. I asked how they can do that if we were permitted before to have the cars. He said that even though they were permitted in the past, this is a different judge and the sheds and fence aren't legal. I told him I have signed documents from his department stating they are. He said the sheds and fence aren't legal because they "don't look right". The law clearly states what is allowed and under the law, what we have is legal. The law hasn't changed and everything was legal before. I don't understand this. It feels like to me that everyone is purposely jerking us around.
Is there anything we can do immediately to stop this?
At this point, there's not even time to get rid of the cars, but if the inspector has them towed away and takes other items, that could cost up to $50,000! Can the inspector legally remove these vehicles? I don't understand how he can go against what the law states? Is that legal?
Last year, a county zoning inspector told my husband that he needs to fix or remove two vehicles from our property or we will be fined $10,000 (their cost to remove the vehicles!).
According to the county code, and a lawyer I spoke to, the law indicates we can put these vehicles behind an enclosed fence or in an enclosed shed. My husband did both of these things to comply with the law. A judge signed off on this and everything was fine.
But a neigbor called in early this year to complain about a third inoperative vehicle after our 20 year old car broke down in our yard. My husband had to disassemble part of it there to try to fix the gearshift. An inspector came out and told my husband that we can't have any of the cars on our property!
The law clearly states that up to three inoperative vehicles can be stored behind an enclosed fence, in a shed, or garage. My husband hired an attorney despite the fact that we can't afford one and he said to go ahead and get that third vehicle either in the shed or behind the fence. I asked whether the inspector can remove the vehicles from the property and he said to just put the vehicles behind the fence and we'll worry about that part later.
Over the last month or two, the lawyer has stopped taking our calls. We paid him a small fee, but he was mostly working pro bono (he strongly believed we could win a lawsuit against the county inspectors and he took the case with the agreement that he would get part of that money). I think he still plans to file a suit, but just got tired of this particular situation. I don't know.
After making tons of calls, we found someone who works for the county in another capacity to act as a go between. He assured us that we would have a certain amount of time to work towards being in full compliance with the law. He told us the deadline which was set for early 2018. However, the inspector called us late this afternoon (Friday - right before closing time) to tell us that today is the deadline. They will take action by Tuesday morning. There are no legal documents and they were supposed to send them to us before taking action.
They are saying that they can legally take what's in those sheds or behind the fence - and not just the cars, EVERYTHING. I asked how they can do that if we were permitted before to have the cars. He said that even though they were permitted in the past, this is a different judge and the sheds and fence aren't legal. I told him I have signed documents from his department stating they are. He said the sheds and fence aren't legal because they "don't look right". The law clearly states what is allowed and under the law, what we have is legal. The law hasn't changed and everything was legal before. I don't understand this. It feels like to me that everyone is purposely jerking us around.
Is there anything we can do immediately to stop this?
At this point, there's not even time to get rid of the cars, but if the inspector has them towed away and takes other items, that could cost up to $50,000! Can the inspector legally remove these vehicles? I don't understand how he can go against what the law states? Is that legal?
Land Use and Zoning: How Much Notice Must Zoning Officials Give Before Removing Property from Your Land
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