Unruly front yard raises red flag in Carson

Now, I’d like to get back to the issues that prompted the news report to begin with. My “unruly yard” has been under fire for several years. Yes, I’ve collected many plants over the years and my yard is whimsical. That doesn’t mean I’ve broken any laws. I do not live in a Deed Restricted community or HOA. There are no sprawling, orderly, freshly manicured yards in my community. In fact, I don’t think one exists in the City of Carson. I’m not making an excuse, just stating an important fact. You see, I DO take pride in my yard and I DO take care of it. It may not be the customary or traditional way of landscaping, but it is my way of making it look nice. I shouldn’t have to “hire a professional” to “clear the clutter” in my yard. I enjoy maintaining my plants and I like to be in my yard. I have friends and family who like my yard just the way it is. As for the complaints, I want everyone to know I have COMPLIED with the City. The City will not come out unless someone calls. Ironically, the “anonymous” calls begin shortly after each time drama went down in the neighborhood. Once again, people immediately point the snitch finger at me - the meddling Block Captain CINDY SHULER! I’m not acting like the poor victim here. But I’m definitely sick and tired of getting blamed for calls I didn’t make. People don’t call the City on me because they’re truly concerned about my yard. They call because they want revenge. They don’t like me, so they think of ways to get back at me. Calling the City is the anonymous way of doing it. With that being said, I’d like to get back to the complaints that were made. Someone complained they saw rodents in my yard. The City came out to investigate and did not find any rodents of any kind in or around my yard. Someone complained about my car canopy. I complied and removed it. Someone complained about my trashcans. We complied by storing them behind a custom built trashcan privacy fence. Someone complained about a few rust spots on my wrought iron fence. We complied by painting the entire fence. We invested a lot of money in making home improvements only to be harassed by the City during the remodeling phase. Someone complained that we did not have permits. I had permits in hand directly from the County Tax Assessors Office. The complaint about the flags was not a smoke screen for anything else. I feel I am being harassed by the City because of “anonymous” complaints by spiteful bitter people. I do not want to be the person driving around taking pictures of all the other “unruly yards” just to prove my point. My point is, the City had better write warnings and citations for ALL the unsightly homes around here or leave me alone. I’ve COMPLIED and I’ve abided by the law.

I’m replying to “Prophet”, but hope that all will read -

I understand your point. However, I don't think you understand mine. The news report was vague compared to the complexity of the situation at hand. I can only hope that everyone reading this post will take a moment to understand where I am coming from. Let me explain myself the best way I know how.
First of all, I want everyone to know what my role is as a Block Captain. There seems to be a misconception so I want to set things straight. I simply relay information about crime and nuisance activity. That does NOT mean I’m burning up the phone lines complaining about everyone. I do NOT care what “activities” go on behind closed doors and I have NEVER contacted authorities based on pure speculation. I’m tired of being the escape goat or first person others think of when the City or Police come out. I’m aware people call me Nosy among other things. Some think I bring this on myself because I choose to volunteer, patrol, and get involved. That doesn’t make me the Dirty Rat here. I make myself visible (more like vulnerable) by patrolling the streets to help control illegal or crime related activities from occurring. That is part of the purpose of "Neighborhood Watch" in our community. It is a proven fact that people are least likely to engage in illegal activities if they notice someone around. I DO NOT claim to be the neighborhood crusader. I’m well aware my position does NOT give me any law enforcement authority. I do NOT consider myself above the law and I don't expect a free pass from ANYONE or for ANYTHING. I have NOT called the police about any parties going on in the neighborhood. However, it’s a different story when Rave goers enter a vacant house that doesn’t belong to them with 32 NOZ tanks! I want everyone to understand that I’m only concerned about the break-ins, vandalism, graffiti, gunshots, stolen cars left on our street, or any activity that becomes a harmful concern for me and my neighbors. That’s it - Nothing more. I’ve been accused of calling the police and City on people when it wasn’t even me who called. I’ve lived here 35 years and I do my best to assist my neighbors in keeping the crime rate down. It is a shame there are only a handful of neighbors who get involved and support neighborhood watch. I know first-hand why! Because the majority are scared and don’t want to deal with VENGEANCE. I don’t venture over property lines, spy, or intrude on anyone’s space. Some of my neighbors think otherwise. Those same neighbors know I am upfront, out-spoken, and direct. If I’m going to call the police or City, then I’ll tell you straight out face-to-face that I’m going to call. I wish people would stop hiding behind fictitious names and making false claims. Stop spreading infectious negativity and trying to pit neighbors against neighbors. I know I’ve been labeled many things -- I’m the nosy old hag, dirty pig, snooping bitch, Psycho Cindy, etc. What does that accomplish? Just a sparring match that goes nowhere.

It just does not make sense to me that the City is fabricating issues about your yard. I just find that very difficult to believe. In all fairness however, the City should tell you what exactly needs to be done and why it needs to be done.....

The City should be specific and not vague and of course provide you with the specific code section you violated. Once that is done, you should simply comply.

CJS - part 1 wrote:

I’m replying to “Prophet”, but hope that all will read -
I understand your point. However, I don't think you understand mine. The news report was vague compared to the complexity of the situation at hand. I can only hope that everyone reading this post will take a moment to understand where I am coming from. Let me explain myself the best way I know how.
First of all, I want everyone to know what my role is as a Block Captain. There seems to be a misconception so I want to set things straight. I simply relay information about crime and nuisance activity. That does NOT mean I’m burning up the phone lines complaining about everyone. I do NOT care what “activities” go on behind closed doors and I have NEVER contacted authorities based on pure speculation. I’m tired of being the escape goat or first person others think of when the City or Police come out. I’m aware people call me Nosy among other things. Some think I bring this on myself because I choose to volunteer, patrol, and get involved. That doesn’t make me the Dirty Rat here. I make myself visible (more like vulnerable) by patrolling the streets to help control illegal or crime related activities from occurring. That is part of the purpose of "Neighborhood Watch" in our community. It is a proven fact that people are least likely to engage in illegal activities if they notice someone around. I DO NOT claim to be the neighborhood crusader. I’m well aware my position does NOT give me any law enforcement authority. I do NOT consider myself above the law and I don't expect a free pass from ANYONE or for ANYTHING. I have NOT called the police about any parties going on in the neighborhood. However, it’s a different story when Rave goers enter a vacant house that doesn’t belong to them with 32 NOZ tanks! I want everyone to understand that I’m only concerned about the break-ins, vandalism, graffiti, gunshots, stolen cars left on our street, or any activity that becomes a harmful concern for me and my neighbors. That’s it - Nothing more. I’ve been accused of calling the police and City on people when it wasn’t even me who called. I’ve lived here 35 years and I do my best to assist my neighbors in keeping the crime rate down. It is a shame there are only a handful of neighbors who get involved and support neighborhood watch. I know first-hand why! Because the majority are scared and don’t want to deal with VENGEANCE. I don’t venture over property lines, spy, or intrude on anyone’s space. Some of my neighbors think otherwise. Those same neighbors know I am upfront, out-spoken, and direct. If I’m going to call the police or City, then I’ll tell you straight out face-to-face that I’m going to call. I wish people would stop hiding behind fictitious names and making false claims. Stop spreading infectious negativity and trying to pit neighbors against neighbors. I know I’ve been labeled many things -- I’m the nosy old hag, dirty pig, snooping bitch, Psycho Cindy, etc. What does that accomplish? Just a sparring match that goes nowhere.

Stubborness is not a character flaw, unless you are wrong..........

Prophet wrote:

<quoted text> Stubborness is not a character flaw, unless you are wrong..........

"Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn
hope that if you just show up and try to do
the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait
and watch and work: you don't give up." Truth is so rare that it is delightful to tell it.

Prophet -

I never stated the City is fabricating issues about my yard. The “anonymous” callers to the City "fabricate" complaints (e.g.; rodents in my yard, remodeling without proper permits, etc). These accusations are completely false. As pointed out earlier, the “anonymous”(prank) callers are merely trying to seek personal vengeance because they don’t like me as a person. Don’t you get it? The people (person) calling the City are not concerned about the “harmony of this neighborhood” or my yard whatsoever. They call the City just to swing the attention away from the criminal activities and back on to me. I’m just a joke to them – live entertainment. Read this entire blog and you’ll see what I deal with on a daily basis. I put up with the name-calling, the hatred, the ignorance pouring out of people. It doesn’t have to be this way.

On that same note, I understand my yard may not be appealing to some people. In terms of the law and regulations, PERSONAL OPINIONS have no bearing when it comes to this matter. THAT is why I feel I'm being harassed. The City comes to my house continuously nit-picking minor things about my yard. I have COMPLIED with the City. If you read my previous post you will see the so-called violations they have bothered me about. I’ve cooperated. The point I’m trying to make is that it doesn’t give them the right to harass me. My yard is NOT a safety hazard and the City has concluded that. If the City Code Enforcers are going to make a special trip to come out and cite me every other week, then they should continue the quest by citing the rest of the “unsightly” homes around the City. Don’t you agree?

Maybe the City should change their tactics by making routine drive-bys all around the City of Carson and nit-pick everybody else like they do to me. I’m not calling the City to complain about other yards that are far worse and “unsightly” than mine. Apparently, I need to justify myself by submitting photos of other properties. I don’t want to do that. It is not my job to do that. Shouldn’t the City Code Enforcers be doing that as part of their job to begin with? They will need to write a long list of violations for practically everyone. Please understand that I am still being harassed AFTER I’ve complied. The flag removal request was the final straw that broke the camels back. That is why the news media was brought into this.

It is a known fact that code enforcement officers follow the street sweeper to enforce parking violations. During those activities, they should note blighted properties in their reports for future enforcement efforts so as to get the violators into compliance. I agree, there are many yards that need to placed on notice!

The City should be chasing Gang members and Drug Dealers & not this lady if her yard is clean!