Need Some Help. Neighbor (Environmental Atty) Filed Complaint

[maple1]

Hi All,
Thank you for taking the time to give me your feedback. The latest update is I have a meeting with the BOH tonite at 7pm. I will provide more updates after the meeting.

I was seriously looking into replacing my wood stoves with pellet stoves, knowing full well that it doesn't provide as much heat but I'm tired of having to look for seasoned woods. With this complaint, I think it will even harder to find seasoned woods under 20% MC as most, if not all, wood dealers don't really check their MC. I told the neighbor that I was considering going to pellet but he still filed the complaint anyway. Now, I have zero incentive to switch to pellet and I intend to fight this tooth and nail.

I am along the line of thinking with some of the responses that this will end up badly for me as the regulation is written as to discourage burning. As with anything, this is a politic game and I must play along. I'm pretty sure I know how the meeting with the BOH tonight will turn out. They going to want my assurance that I will only burn woods under 20% content. The next step would be an inspector coming out to observe my process from start to finish. I intend to buy a couple bundles of kiln dried woods from the local market and burn them at the inspection. After that, if my some miracle, they allow me to burn again, I will look to buy seasoned woods. I don't expect I can find any at this of year. As someone suggested, I'll try the compressed wood logs. I'm sure even then, the neighbor will find another issue to complain about but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Can't wait until spring so I can start burning outside using my fire pit, if you get my drift. LOL

I think if you have been and are and will be depending on being able to buy wood already seasoned to 20% or under, that might be why you are where you are now & will continue to be there in the future. I suspect it would be a rare thing to find. And is destined to smoke. IMO the only way to dependably burn the 'right stuff' is to assume it is green when you buy it, and do the seasoning yourself.

Good luck - also following to see the outcome(s).

 

[Dug8498]

Suppose they were holding their parties every week? Or five nights per week?

The wood stove may be smoking 24/7.

You stated "If people suspect that a neighbor is breaking the law, they are entitled to call public authorities with a complaint as a first cut at a problem". I think that's a rough way to exist with your neighbors. If they were holding parties every night of the week and I could hear them as I was trying to go to sleep, I would go talk with them several times before calling the cops. I would even warn them that I will need to call the cops if we can't resolve this on our own, but that I don't want to do that. i don't disagree that there are times that calling someone in is necessary, but it wouldn't be my first course of action.

You also said that calling the authorities is an excellent way to resolve conflict. I think most people do that because they are too afraid to speak with their neighbors one on one so it becomes easier to hide behind "the authorities". When we start doing that we lose the amazing sense of community that can be had with good neighbors; Riverside_eng just talked about it. I snowblow my neighbors driveways if I'm home and they're at work, and vice e versa. That neighbor that has a few parties a year lets me borrow their huge ladder whenever I want. etc etc... I wouldn't forfeit those relationships unless i really had to.

I highly doubt the OP's stove is smoking 24/7. it's a highly efficient cat stove and I'm sure once the cat is engaged it's barely smoking at all. It's probably smoking for 30 min to an hour a couple of times a day whenever he loads up. I also highly doubt with the windows closed during the winter that it's actually effecting the neighbor's quality of life. I'm also equally sure that a compromise could have been met without calling the authorities.

 

[macattack_ga]

Calling public authorities is an excellent way to avoid conflict. Lots of people would rather fight than switch, or change.

If people suspect that a neighbor is breaking the law, they are entitled to call public authorities with a complaint as a first cut at a problem

Your obligation as a neighbor is to AVOID BREAKING THE LAW. If you are doing that on a regular basis, don't be surprised if someone calls the cops. Don't like it? Tough.

You're not wrong. I wish you were, but this is where our society is and because of this behavior, the public authorities will just make more laws in an effort to legislate manners which will give credence to more complaints. And around and around we go.

 

[PaulOinMA]

I'm west of Boston and so-far-so-good. Lots are an acre-plus. Had more land in NJ, oddly enough.

I burn just about every night in season. I also have a BBQ smoker.

Neighbor diagonally through the woods behind me has a Jotul. Neighbor across the street and one house away goes through 6 - 7 cords. Next-door neighbor has a fire pit by her pool in the summer.

Hope all works out well for rook_ki! Looking forward to hearing how it went last night.

 

[wooduser]

. If they were holding parties every night of the week and I could hear them as I was trying to go to sleep, I would go talk with them several times before calling the cops. I would even warn them that I will need to call the cops if we can't resolve this on our own, but that I don't want to do that. i don't disagree that there are times that calling someone in is necessary, but it wouldn't be my first course of action.

You also said that calling the authorities is an excellent way to resolve conflict. I think most people do that because they are too afraid to speak with their neighbors one on one so it becomes easier to hide behind "the authorities". When we start doing that we lose the amazing sense of community that can be had with good neighbors;

We have already lost that sense of community. That is reflected in your comment that people "are too afraid" to speak with their neighbors ----and often for good reason. At best it is often futile, and at worse can be dangerous.

And keep in mind that the reason you suggest people need to talk to their neighbors is that they are already chronically breaking the law with a lack of concern about their neighbors.

Within a couple of blocks of my home in the City of Seattle are four or five people living in their RVs ---one for 4-5 years now. That's totally illegal, but the cops are instructed not to enforce the law. Not much farther away is a guy who has been completely occupying 40-50 feet of sidewalk on an arterial so that pedestrians have to walk out on the traveled part of the street to get by. Are these my "neighbors" to whom I owe a sense of "community"?

 

[Dug8498]

We have already lost that sense of community. That is reflected in your comment that people "are too afraid" to speak with their neighbors ----and often for good reason. At best it is often futile, and at worse can be dangerous.

And keep in mind that the reason you suggest people need to talk to their neighbors is that they are already chronically breaking the law with a lack of concern about their neighbors.

Within a couple of blocks of my home in the City of Seattle are four or five people living in their RVs ---one for 4-5 years now. That's totally illegal, but the cops are instructed not to enforce the law. Not much farther away is a guy who has been completely occupying 40-50 feet of sidewalk on an arterial so that pedestrians have to walk out on the traveled part of the street to get by. Are these my "neighbors" to whom I owe a sense of "community"?

I'm sorry to hear that your community is like that. But this isn't indicative of how my neighborhood is, or how it sounds like the OP's is (sounds like he was fine until that one neighbor moved in).

I've never found it to be futile or dangerous to talk to a neighbor nor am I afraid to because again, I guess I have a different view of people. I think most people are inherently good and reasonable. Maybe it's the people that live near me, maybe it's my perspective, who knows. I'm sure that Seattle is a lot different than the southern NH burbs that I'm in. We are mostly law abiding respectful folk

And the things that I/ the OP are talking about are local town codes, I dont think anyone is talking about chronic law breaking. I dont know, I wouldn't consider the occasional noise past the legal cut off/ wood smoke from a chimney to be "law breaking" with lack of concern for neighbors. These sound like minor nuisances. Again, where I am, people don't need laws enforced to get along and do the right thing. People just generally do the right thing and are respectful. I hope to not get away from that. Again, it sounds like your experience is very different from mine which is probably why you feel differently than I do. I hope some of those things you mentioned near your home can be eventually resolved.

 

[Supersurvey]

I sure hope this was resolved last night especially with these cold tempedatures.

 

[c Hardy]

Well. Here we are waiting for the News. LOL.
I hope it works out for him. One thing i did not notice in this thread is if any Actual air readings were taken.
Or was it just someones opinion of "It's too smokey"
I would go in with a attitude of wanting to correct the issue. If any. I'll have the stove cleaned and checked by a professional.
Perhaps improve my wood supply and burning habits. ETC.
But "If they are not nice" You would Need Evidence not an Opinion to shut me down.
Always start out nice. An old saying is that You get more with Sugar then with Shite

 

[SpaceBus]

Well. Here we are waiting for the News. LOL.
I hope it works out for him. One thing i did not notice in this thread is if any Actual air readings were taken.
Or was it just someones opinion of "It's too smokey"
I would go in with a attitude of wanting to correct the issue. If any. I'll have the stove cleaned and checked by a professional.
Perhaps improve my wood supply and burning habits. ETC.
But "If they are not nice" You would Need Evidence not an Opinion to shut me down.
Always start out nice. An old saying is that You get more with Sugar then with Shite

I think it goes "You will catch more flies with sugar than vinegar/piss"

 

[Boxer]

[QUOTE="wooduser, post: 2325149, member: 62343"

Within a couple of blocks of my home in the City of Seattle are four or five people living in their RVs ---one for 4-5 years now. That's totally illegal, but the cops are instructed not to enforce the law. Not much farther away is a guy who has been completely occupying 40-50 feet of sidewalk on an arterial so that pedestrians have to walk out on the traveled part of the street to get by. Are these my "neighbors" to whom I owe a sense of "community"?[/QUOTE]

Maybe you shouldn’t be afraid of these people and ask them if they need some help or is there anything they need. This is what we should be doing in society instead of complaining and calling the government to tattle about things we don’t agree with.
Have you ever spoken to the person taking up space on your sidewalk? To answer your question, in my opinion yes these are your neighbors that you should be concerned about.

 

[Petstang]

Hi,
I'm in central MA. New neighbor moved in a few months ago. I have 2 BK Princess inserts installed back in 2013. Never had any complaint before previous neighbor Board of health contacted me saying neighbor complaint of smoke and odor from my burning. 99% of my firewood are red oak. I split and stack them fairly small 1-2" diameter because I do not have the space to store 2 years. Their usually seasoned only 1 year. Please help me with a few questions.

1. How much smoke should I see during initial burn?
2. How much smoke should I see once stove is hot enough to engage the combustor?
3. Talking to a couple of local wood dealers, they're say it's not possible to get seasoned firewood under 20% moisture content because seasoned firewood will reabsorb moisture and rain water. They said I would have to purchase kiln dried firewood to achieve under 20%. Anyone in the northeast can confirm or disprove what they told me?
4. Are there anyone local on this forum who would be willing to show me their setup and the operation of their stove?
5. Anyone local who has firewood under 20% would be kind enough to sell me 1/2 or a cord?

Thank you.

Regarding Question 3: it is possible to get the moisture content below 20%. I live in CT and cut my own wood, split, stack and store it outside top covered. It will take a year or two but I can get the moisture content down to 15% consistently. Problem is, most sellers don’t want to stack and cover their spilt wood and wait two years to sell it.

 

[Chas0218]

You have a certified EPA stove? Is it installed to manufacturer specs? If yes to both nothing anyone can do. Are you within town limits? I think that would be the only thing that might be an issue even then in NY my town and many around don't have any laws against burning wood for heat only open burning (i.e. fire pits).

Sounds like your new neighbors are jerks and just need something to complain about, look at their tax map and any new additions to their property and make sure they are all accounted for along with any structures and sizes. Report them to the proper municipalities and get them where it counts...in the wallet. In NY if you build something without a permit you are fined by the square foot. I would be the biggest prick if this happened to me, if someone has a problem with me or my property come to me first. As a neighbor I am one of the nicest guys that would give you the shirt off my back or go out of my way to help but piss me off and it's done no 2nd chances.

EDIT:How would they be getting so much smoke in their house? They leaving their windows open in the winter? This only when they go outside?

 

[Supersurvey]

If it is completely legal to heat with wood at his locations, he should make adjustments as others have mentioned and continue burning.

 

[timfromohio]

I just don't understand why a town would allow you to legally install wood stoves that cost thousands of dollars only to revoke your ability to use them without providing any course of action to correct your burning practices.

I would have a very difficult time not being extremely vindictive with that neighbor. I would probably be thinking about plopping my lawnmower next to the property line to let it run all day every day within the hours that noise is allowed. Maybe start the chainsaw up early every day just to make sure it's working....

I understand it would probably make the situation worse... but one can dream

b/c the permits are a revenue and control source.

 

[Rob711]

Take up rebuilding 2 stroke dirtbikes. Be sure to tune them on property line while this neighbor is outside.
Leave a older standby generator running. Does he have pets or children? Perhaps notify authorities about the screaming for help from basement. Find out where he works. A letter from his mistress mailed to the house is good.

 

[Dug8498]

Take up rebuilding 2 stroke dirtbikes. Be sure to tune them on property line while this neighbor is outside.
Leave a older standby generator running. Does he have pets or children? Perhaps notify authorities about the screaming for help from basement. Find out where he works. A letter from his mistress mailed to the house is good.

Lol, letter from his mistress. That’s some good vindictive stuff right there


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[Bad LP]

I always approach a problem with my S&W Model 29 in one hand and an AR 15 slung over my shoulder. Nobody talks back to me.

Seriously when did men start wearing panty liners? I didn't get the memo.

 

[Don.S]

Or maybe you were the bad neighbor in the first place smoking people out and maybe when he first approached you maybe you should have apologized and found dry wood. In my opinion it's pretty rude to live 30 feet apart and burn wet wood and smoke everyone out.

 

[SpaceBus]

I always approach a problem with my S&W Model 29 in one hand and an AR 15 slung over my shoulder. Nobody talks back to me.

Seriously when did men start wearing panty liners? I didn't get the memo.

I can get people to not talk back to me without guns or intimidation, but that's just me.

 

[SpaceBus]

Or maybe you were the bad neighbor in the first place smoking people out and maybe when he first approached you maybe you should have apologized and found dry wood. In my opinion it's pretty rude to live 30 feet apart and burn wet wood and smoke everyone out.

Indeed, respect is a two way street.

 

[Dataman]

Never had any problems out of my Next Door Neigh over Wood Smoke. Over firing guns in Target Range. I did it every time the Grandkids were out screaming outside. They would bring them inside then. Firing my gun made things peaceful! The renters are gone and place vacant for almost 2 years. Not Livable.

 

[timfromohio]

I always approach a problem with my S&W Model 29 in one hand and an AR 15 slung over my shoulder. Nobody talks back to me.

Seriously when did men start wearing panty liners? I didn't get the memo.

Remember, this is occurring is MA. I think there is a waiting period there for the little rifles that shoot the cork on the string

 

[timfromohio]

I always approach a problem with my S&W Model 29 in one hand and an AR 15 slung over my shoulder. Nobody talks back to me.

Seriously when did men start wearing panty liners? I didn't get the memo.

I like the panty liner comment. Will have to remember that. I was going to suggest that the neighbor call the wahhhhbulance.

On a serious note, did the neighbor provide more detail to the complaint? Did he smell the smoke in his house or only when outside? Continuously? I read through most of the thread and don't recall these details.

 

[SpaceBus]

I can see why so many of you have jerk neighbors, you antagonize them and insult them... If I had neighbors like some of the people on this forum I would call the authorities as well.

 

[Dug8498]

I always approach a problem with my S&W Model 29 in one hand and an AR 15 slung over my shoulder. Nobody talks back to me.

Seriously when did men start wearing panty liners? I didn't get the memo.

You’d get arrested real quick doing that where op lives; mass isn’t a super gun friendly state: I’ve got no problem pulling out a firearm if my mine or my family’s safety is in question. not sure how appropriate that course of action is for a simple neighborhood spat.....

Damn I really want to know how this turned out


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