Bob's caboose build

[bobhenry]

Well the zoning folks finally got tough. The caboose has to go or a 150.00 dollar a day fine will be levied against me. If I don't comply after that I could risk forfeiture as they will remove it. I had a meeting with the zoning commissioner yesterday and placed in his hands copies of our state code exempting my project from both the building and the zoning code. He dismissed it completely. I asked that it be taken to court so I would have a right to defend my position and he replied they did not have to do that. So I bow to their whims with NO LEGAL REPRESENTATION ??? I thought it was rich when he threatened incarceration if I did not comply. I told him I was relieved as the weather is cold in my storage barn and a cot and 3 hots sounded great to me as long as I could get work release to be able to pay the fines. He was not amused. Here is a copy of the state code pay particular attention to paragraph D at the end......

IC 36-7-8-3
Establishment of building, heating, ventilating, electrical,
plumbing, and sanitation standards; ordinances
Sec. 3. (a) The legislative body of a county having a county
department of buildings or joint city-county building department
may, by ordinance, adopt building, heating, ventilating, air
conditioning, electrical, plumbing, and sanitation standards for
unincorporated areas of the county. These standards take effect only
on the legislative body's receipt of written approval from the fire
prevention and building safety commission.
(b) An ordinance adopted under this section must be based on
occupancy, and it applies to:
(1) the construction, alteration, equipment, use, occupancy,
location, and maintenance of buildings, structures, and
appurtenances that are on land or over water and are:
(A) erected after the ordinance takes effect; and
(B) if expressly provided by the ordinance, existing when the
ordinance takes effect;
(2) conversions of buildings and structures, or parts of them,
from one occupancy classification to another; and
(3) the movement or demolition of buildings, structures, and
equipment for the operation of buildings and structures.
(c) The rules of the fire prevention and building safety
commission are the minimum standards upon which ordinances
adopted under this section must be based.
(d) An ordinance adopted under this section does not apply to
private homes that are built by individuals and used for their own
occupancy.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.27. Amended by P.L.8-1984,
SEC.125.

Ought to be fun soon.

[godskid]

I wonder if it's safest to move the caboose so you don't lose it, while casting about for a lawyer who feels like doing a pro bono case to set new precedents in this area. On the other hand, does the caboose being there give you some amount of clout that moving it removes? Still, I think I'd rather have the caboose safe in my own possession than in theirs ......

Bummer. "May you live in interesting times" usually isn't a blessing, is it?

[S. Heisley]

I wonder if it's safest to move the caboose so you don't lose it, while casting about for a lawyer who feels like doing a pro bono case to set new precedents in this area. On the other hand, does the caboose being there give you some amount of clout that moving it removes? Still, I think I'd rather have the caboose safe in my own possession than in theirs ......

Bummer. "May you live in interesting times" usually isn't a blessing, is it?

I agree. Could you move it behind your rented barn until you can get this all settled for good?

[Catherine+twins]

Hi, Bobhenry

My BFF and I have talked about having tiny houses next door to each other when we retire (we are both mid-50s now), so I have been following your saga closely. How is your hand? Are you staying warm?

What's up, man?

My BFF's son tried to get the county to house him over the winter when he was un-homed. He was charged with public drunkenness (he actually was going into a diabetic coma), arrested, hospitalized, jailed, and finally told to call a bail bondsman to get himself out. (Why do you have to pay someone to get you out of jail when you never committed a crime in the first place???) He said no, he was happy where he was. They were feeding him, clothing him (in stylish orange), giving him a place to sleep, taking him to the hospital when his brittle diabetes took him down. He had been couch surfing for months before his arrest, and jail was not perfect, but it was stable.

They dropped all charges (being diabetic and disorderly?) and showed him the door.

Keep upright and healthy.

Catherine

[bobhenry]

His arrest would be funny if it were not so sad. Both my little brother ( who died of diabetes ) and my little sister still has it . Some how I escaped. I watched Greg go nose down and yes you would have thought him drunk as a skunk. Low blood sugar make you silly at first and dead if it persists.

I presented the facts on 2 court records on similar attempts to ignore the State statute. ( The home builders won in both cases)

I also provided a copy of the 36-7-8-3d state statute and have heard nothing in almost two weeks. I am starting to think they understand I am serious about seeing this thru.

My Index and middle finger on my left (non dominate) hand are a bit shorter but still useable. They get cold real easy and are sensitive yet but each day it is so much better. At best I just have 2 less finger nails to clean and trim. I consider myself real lucky. Thanks for asking.

[bobhenry]

Well didn't sleep much all weekend got the court papers on Friday with fines and court dates. The letter below is a copy of the ones I am sending out soliciting local legal help. It pretty much says it all.

My social security check is $1243 and the fines are about $1500 a month this will get interesting real quick.

This letter is a blanket request for legal representation in Superior court action 12D11412SC000871.
I am seeking a lawyer to represent me in a zoning issue. Perhaps if you investigate tiny house zoning on the internet you will become better acquainted, with my problem.
I am desirous of finding representation with regard to Indiana Code 36-7-8-3d “the log cabin rule”. I have built my own home and placed it on my own land yet I am unable to reside there. I have a 3 year history of the effort of trying to work within the current zoning guidelines. After all avenues were exhausted I found myself with no other storage options but to place the tiny house on wheels on the property. The move was performed the morning of June 11th the day of the sherrif’s sale of my Linden home of 25 years. I have exhausted my savings in building the home and purchasing the ground and now find myself homeless. It is not currently utilized as a residence in compliance of the zoning office rules despite paragraph 2 stating it is a “residence” . It is also described as a mobile home. It is not registered by the Mobile Home Manufactures Association.
I have received no formal order to remove and as recently as 12/8 in a meeting with Mark Mills at his office it was still a suggestion I remove it. I find it curious that the fines were levied on 10/11/2014 . I am also curious how photos of the offending tiny house were taken on 5/29/2014 as shown on the court documents when it did not arrive until 6/11/14. Without the necessary funds to keep up with the fines levied I am at a loss as to where to turn unless I can avail myself of the log cabin ruling.
The county is represented by the law office of Ryan, Moore & Cook so anyone with association with this firm may find themselves in conflict. I have registered with the Legal Aid Corporation of Tippecanoe Co and The legal services Program of Northern Indiana without a response other than they had received my request. I do not have $3450 dollars to comply with the fines to date so a favorable ruling is my only hope. If you find it an interesting case and can provide me with the representation I so desperately need I am all but certain your fee will be somewhat less than the $5750 in total fines due by Feb 3rd of 2015.
I can be contacted at 765-538-2580 or P.O. Box 895 Frankfort, IN 46041
Sincerely,

Robert L. Henry

Any one have any creative ideas?

[bobhenry]

I have been here several years and helped who I could and it is with a real sense of embarrassment I am asking for a tiny bit of help from as many of you as possible.

I am being fined $50.00 a day for having the tiny house on my property. It will not come to trial until Feb 3rd of 2015. At that time I will owe $5750.00.

My current Social security check is $1243 a month so $1500 a month in fines will be impossible to keep up with. What I would like to ask of any of you who can, is to donate a days or a weeks pocket change to flood the Clinton County Indiana's clerks office with tiny pain in the ass checks from here and there and everywhere. It must be referenced 12D11412SC000871 and addressed to the ....

Clinton County Indians clerks office
265 courthouse square
Frankfort, IN 46041 with the reference on the check of 12D11412SC000871

The other option is to address them to my P.O.Box 895 Frankfort, IN 46041 but still paid to the clerks office. I will track the donations that come to my attention and should I get a favorable ruling all donations traced back to the web site listed will be donated to the forum site.

I am in hopes the flood of teenie, tiny checks will show the support nation wide for the tiny house concept. Perhaps we can yet be the land of the free and the home of the brave too bad we have to resort to civil disobedience to force the change. I am hopeful that the Indiana Code 36-7-8-3d will be upheld by the court. This law allows a person to build his own home on his own property without government interference with regard to zoning or building codes. It is a throw back to the pioneer spirit that built our country.

My deepest thanks to any who may make this tiny effort to help me make a stand and show there are those of us who feel that our home on our property should not be against the law.



Bob Henry

[bobhenry]

bump the spammers

Bump Bump

[bobhenry]

Well today will be spent trolling for a lawyer.
I have 18 names and addresses to mail today in hopes of getting some legal representation before the 2/3/15 court date.

[Gold5one]

It's courageous of you to defend your property rights, but they government doesn't make it easy to go up against them. Lawyers are agents of the court, so don't expect them to help you overthrow the system that is sucking the $$ out of you.
20 years ago I learned about "without prejudice, UCC-207--) I got a new driver's license and wrote that next to my name on the application. a year later the state police stopped me for going 15mph too fast on the Interstate. The officer looked at my license ( sees the ucc-207 I wrote next to my name) and threw it back at me. " I want to give you a ticket, but I can't"- boy was he was upset. When my license came up for renewal- guess what? The state of Indiana license clerk refused to accept that "without prejudice" notation again-"We're not allowed to do that anymore", she said. I had learned how contract law is the unwritten ball and chain that government uses to keep you in your place. I have an interesting IRS story - but that is for another time.
That said,
My city doesn't allow RVs to be parked outside your house- will they leave me alone with a camper that has a Harbor Freight utility trailer tag, not an RV tag? I hope so, but if not, I will take the wheels off and put it on a dolly and roll it into my garage.

(Look up Robin Speronis and see how her battle to live off the grid is going.- my city)

[VijayGupta]

I think I've found Bob's kindred spirit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuYOIq0mxUA

[bdosborn]

Bob,

You've already got a ticket and a court date to fight the county, why not move the Caboose now and save on the additional fines? Besides, I bet people would rather contribute to a pay-the-laywer fund rather than pay penalties?

Bruce

[deleted]

Bob I'm not sure if either of these examples can be of help to you in dealing with the city officials but here are two cities who have embraced the tiny house movement specifically for the homeless in their communities:

http://mlf.org/pave-the-way-home/

http://www.opportunityvillageeugene.org/

[dales133]

Bob,

You've already got a ticket and a court date to fight the county, why not move the Caboose now and save on the additional fines? Besides, I bet people would rather contribute to a pay-the-laywer fund rather than pay penalties?

Bruce

I agree with this entirely Bob and I'm contemplating building my own tiny home at a future date.i think your wasting your money and energy now you already have your day in court ending up with more stress and penalties.
You'd be far better off getting a fighting fund to do your battle actually in court where it counts.
It's plainly going to get you nowhere gaining more fines .
With you bro 100% but fight the fight where it counts

[bobhenry]

I have invited 18 local lawyers to assist me in the problem want to guess how many have responded. I have been advised of UCC 301.6 and am trying to find any lawyer who will advise me how to use this international law to my benefit.

http://truthpills.wordpress.com/2009/02/03/without-prejudice-ucc-1207-1-308/

It seems complicated and not very welcome among the BAR association but I am investigating its possible use. Any lawyers out there that can guide me a bit???