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can any member provide info about municipal ordinances on keeping antique auto that i am repairing under a secure tarp and/or tent. I recently received an apparent property maintenance violation for having my 57 chevy on my driveway. can anyonr help?

in maryland, if the vehicle is not tagged or its not on a trailer , it can't be left in the driveway. i suspect the laws are even tougher in new jersey. check with the local authorities. mike

In California we must paint our plate number on the car cover nice and big for Johnny Law to see it. You might want to call the Police Dept. or sometimes your neighbors will call and report a eye sore is what they call it. I have police stopping by my house all the time when I am working on my truck. They just want to know how it is comming along. It sounds like some rookie that gave you that citation...Oscar

Around here we have the "covenant cops". These folks send out "nastygrams" if a car is parked on the street over night and do the same if a boat or trailer are in a drive way or backyard. They "encourage" homeowners to park in their garages and to keep the doors closed. Methinks they are mostly in serious need of something more productive to do other than snoop. On the bright side though they seem to help keep the thieves at bay.
37Blue

Here in Colorado, most homes built within the last 20 years are in an HOA (home owners association) or CCC (covenant controlled community) that have legal power to control the outside appearance of your home. They can make rules against overnight parking on the street in front of your house, or automotive repair activities on your driveway (changing your oil).

One co-worker had two sons currently serving in the Navy. She flew an American flag and a Navy flag. They cited her for the second flag! Her HOA rules said just one flag. They are still fighting that one.

Real estate agents tell me that about 80% of all homes sold presently are in these HOA and CCC controlled areas. I won't buy in such an area. They control the color you can paint your house, whether or not you can build a deck, and of course my detached 24' by 32' garage would be out of the question!

Jim

Yeah Jim, Many of those young couples want to move out to the burbs or onto an acreage to get away from all the big city crap, and raise the kids in the free outdoors, then they instigate a support group to pass restrictions for appearance and security, and end up moveing again when the neighborhood goes to pot!
Around here they are surprised when I offer to loan then my services, a truck and trailer to help them move out!
The only solution I can see is to buy plenty of buffer zone out of their control park several old Chevrolet parts cars between their "view" and your house! Then you can call them and tell them to keep their kids off of my "Classic cars"!

I told one of their enforcement creeps that I intend to place one of my wrecked 51 Chevys on a lighted 12 foot revolving stand and have a deco painting party as a "Grand opening to my Deco Art" piece'de resistance! Guess what? I haven't been invited to the local Neighborhood Enhancement Group meetings.

Wouldn't live in a neighborhood with a HOA or a CCC. Got to be free to do as I want with my house and property without some association or radical group telling me what I can or can't do with the color of my house, the cars that I own and where I have to park them and etc. We live out in the boondocks so that we can avoid these radical types. Heck, where I live even the Deer Dudes carry guns to ward off these idiots with their moronic ideas.

:eek:

HOA, CCC and all that crap are some of the reasons I left New Jersey 29 years ago and never looked back. Seriously, those kinds of zoning restrictions are creeping in everywhere to some extent and all of us need to be ever vigilant about them and fight them. The back end of Hemmings Motor News always has articles about proposed laws affecting the collector car hobby. Good luck to you TWO 57 CHEVYS, I hope you don't have to lose your hobby.

Hey JYD, just last week I saw a pair of deer dudes driving down the dirt road with two DFW Plastic Surgery Docs tied to the hood of an old 4x4 Surburban!

Years ago I talked to a VCCA dude in Colorado that had two parts cars in his backyard. He was using parts off of both cars to restore the car he had in his garage. One parts car was parked in the covered patio behind his house and the other car was in the backyard covered with a tarp. The entire backyard was also fenced. As I remember, his neighbor directly behind him could look over the fence and see both parts cars. The last time that I talked to him he was fighting with the city over the two parts cars because his neighbor had turned him in and the city was going to take the cars!

:(

two 57 chevys
The web address below tells you the municipal ordinances for your area. Good luck. Want to move to a small town in Ohio?

EGW


http://www.littlesilver.org/ls/Municipal%20Code

That is why I live in the woods also.

If you can have the car if it is on a trailer; that might be the cheapest way to go.

Join a car club and make friends....who live in the woods....

the advantages of country living! wouldn't trade it for anything

Same here........that is the only way to fly!

RFD all the way!!!!!! and Coop electricity,,, we used to call it the REA,, and good 16 inch chain saw to cut plenty of heating fuel!!!!!!!

Have you put in some Ridex this month?

Well guys I differ from you, I love living a stones throw from the biggest and greatest city in the world. I was born and raised a few blocks from Yankee Stadium, and would not have traded it for anything! I own three collector cars and did all of the work at my home but I too WOULD NOT TOLERATE LOOKING AT SOMEONES WRECK OUT MY BACK WINDOW. I AND OTHERS PAY A LOT OF TAXES NOT TO LIVE IN A JUNKYARD! If someone wants that then they should live where they can do that. I don't care to see it that is why I live where I do.
John

Yep, John, you are right about one thing...we are different! That is what makes the world go around, love and difference!

Come out here to the boonnies, John, and we will burn a cow, or fry a couple of blue catfish and pop a top of Colorado Coolaid! Maybe even take you out fishing!

By the way I keep all of my old junk cars inside with covers on them, just the boats sit outside.

no Ridex needed, just a bag of lime and a stack of corn cobs

If all old car guys were responsible neighbors there would be none of the laws mentioned above. But, we all know that some are irresponsible. I've had to clean up after two who moved and left broken windshields, worn out tires on split rims(cost $10 each), damaged body parts, piles of worn out tires, etc. I didn't turn them in. Next time I will.

PDXjoe,

sounds like you've dealt not with "old car guys" but with plain ordinary PIGS.

"If someone wants that then they should live where they can do that."

It is getting increasing harder to find such places because of the unsensible rules and codes put forth in many area's by those who want to control everyone and everything around them. Don't get me wrong, I too don't want to live next to a wrecking yard or see wrecked cars out my back window, and I also draw the line at what I want to look at. However, it is their property and it is not right for someone to move into the neighborhood and demand that their neighbors change their life style. Absolutely, there should be realistic rules and codes about junk cars and the like, but to appease some nosey neighbor by hauling off someone's property, especially if it is covered up in a fenced area or is hidden in a garage but is unlicensed is unrealistic. Same is true for the color you paint your house, the type and year of vehicle you have parked in the driveway, how big your boat or camper is or even if you use charcoal in your barbecue instead of propane.

Many of these rules have originated in the cities by those that want everyone to live as they do, and now these "rules" are slowing spreading to various areas around the country unfortunately.

Like John, I grew up in the big city and I loved it as a kid. I wouldn't have traded where I lived for anything at the time, but then things started to change drastically in the wrong direction. Rules and more rules became part of everyday life so I went to another state and found a place out in the country on a dead end road. I can paint my house any color I want. I can have bias tires on my car instead of radials. I can have my parts cars neatly sitting outside for easy access and they don't have to be licensed. I don't have to pay personal property tax on my cars. I don't have to put smog devices on my older cars nor get them smog tested every two years. And, I can do other "normal" daily routines as well without having "Big Brother" looking over my shoulder. I love it!!

:love:

I also live outside of town on a 10 acre piece of God's green and glorious earth and find home owners covenants nothing more than Communism. I can have a mess or as I prefer I can keep things neat, but the freedom to do so is why I love living where I do.

Videoranger. I gues one could say.."Covenant not thy neighbors junk" Eh?

No, you don't have to be messy if you don't want to but if you do want your own private mess, go fer it!

Having been to JYD's place several times I can say that it's as close to ideal as any I've seen. He's a super responsible car guy. Thousands of memorabilia items shown well and lots of cars also shown well. But in town on 50 by 100 lots there are pigs with junk cars in the front, side and back yards and parked up and down the street in front of the neighbors houses. If it's Communism to have laws to protect us from these pigs, so be it.

A more up to date "old 1-liner" comes to mind:

"Good fences (high and solid) make good neighbors"

With Freedom comes responsibility. When I lived in town my neighbor was a confirmed junkaholic that drove a station wagon that was so full of junk he could barely ride in it. He was always badgered by the city to keep his collection out of sight in the shed or the house. He eventually complied, but his house was a nightmare and the shed filled to the rafters. His lack of neighborhood responsibility and addiction to junk collecting was surely the type of thing that leads to suburban fears of trashy looking properties and establishment of covenants we see today. Sometimes the fix can become just as overbearing as the problem and even harder to live with. I am always weary of giving up freedoms and property rights to solve a perceived problem and not leaving reasonable persons a chance to compromise and show respect for social order. It's just a shame responsible auto hobbyists sometimes get caught in the unbending rules that end up sacrificing a pursuit of happiness without a chance to negotiate a reasonable and responsible solution. Be careful what you wish for because you just might get it. I am sure the Chineese are confident they are solving all kinds of social ills and find American freedoms a threat to be avoided. Just my opinion.

I have seen with some people in these neighborhood or condo boards having a problem with "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely"; sometimes they just go nuts with their ”˜power’ over their neighbors…

Before we judge people just as beings sloths or lazy or low lifes who save stuff and never throw stuff away we should realize that this many times is a symptom of several different mental conditions over which people have very limited or no personal control. Some people just can not throw anything away.

Videoranger makes a lot of sense to me. I once lived next to a guy that couldn't turn away any bargain and because of it I'm sure I could have gotten more for my house when I sold it.

I live in Jersey and to "two 57 chevys" I have to say that I know a guy that has had a 57 Belair 4dr in his driveway for about two years now. He hasn't done a thing to it all that time, but the house is nice and the driveway is not cluttered.

I guess neatness still counts for something.

Louis C is right about uncontrollable compulsive behavior that results in clutter, as my old neighbor probably had this tendency. We also should be careful not to judge others too harshly when they really mean no harm or disrespect to others. I hope two Chevies can find a solution to his dilema and be able to pursue his 57 project. My old neighborhood was a working class area and tended to be more tolerant of driveway projects that didn't get out of hand. Sometimes finding storage for project and parts vehicles means having to rent a space at a storage facility which adds extra cost to the project.