Another Reason to Vote for the Republican--Conservative Candidates this Year

I was talking to a local business property owner who told me that he had found a buyer for his building and that a closing a had been scheduled for “a few days earlier.” However, a day before the closing was to have taken place, he was notified that the sale "could not move forward” because of an issue with the Town. The closing was then postponed. Upon further checking with the Town to determine the nature the problem, he was told that the weeds in front of the building were 14” high in violation of the 10” maximum town law. He was forced to go cut the weeds down below 14” to be in compliance with the code. And now, he will have to wait for the building inspector to come and inspect the brush to make sure it’s in compliance before he can proceed with the sale.

Gee, I wonder if this is just the beginning—and is this how the new property maintenance law will be? What happened to “Friendly Saugerties"?

Residents of Saugerties are only permitted to have the grass and/or weeds to grow 10” and anything over 10” is a violation of the law.

As a follow-up, the property owner asked why the property’s next-door neighbor wasn’t cited since he has a business with grass and/or weeds much higher than 14” and was told, “He’s not selling his business, you are.” What? Does the law actually say that? I've been told that during the public hearings regarding the implementation of this law that it was brought out that even town properties are not in compliance with these ridiculous regulations. I have a call and text message in to the building inspector but as of the time of his message, I have not gotten any response. What this all tells me is that someone must have complained specifically about this property. It means that someone from the Town had to physically make an inspection—with a ruler—to measure weeds. How petty! This sort of occurrence will only lead to selective law enforcement and pit neighbor against neighbor.

Let me share my experiences with you as a “former” law enforcement officer with more than 38-years of service. Laws are meant for everyone equally. If the town law says that grass and/or weeds cannot be higher than 10", that should apply to everyone… There should never be selective enforcement. In those 38-years I never saw one single person in this town cited for having grass/weeds more than 10” high.

I fear this is precisely what's going to happen in Saugerties after this new property maintenance law is passed. I’m sorry but this law, in my opinion, will be abused and will pit neighbor against neighbor. It will be selectively enforced, just as in this case (unless there's a specific provision in that law stating that a property must be in "weed compliance" in order to transfer it).

If and when the building inspector gets back to me, I’ll post any changes. In the meantime, this is what happens when we have Democrats in charge. Think of this when you vote this election. And make sure you get out and vote—every vote counts. If this disturbs you, please pass it around to everyone you know.

George Heidcamp,
Chairman