Anderson Township Zoning Dispute:
Toilet Planters are the new "Look And Feel" of Anderson Township!
We live on a corner lot in Anderson Twp. Ohio. Five years ago we bought this house, built in 1953, which had been vacant for around 10 years. We divided our time and money between fixing up the outside and fixing up the inside. When we purchased the house we intended to put up a 6 ft cedar privacy fence in the back yard and herein begins our tale.
In the spring of 2005 we were discussing this summer’s list of projects. We like to pay cash rather than buy on credit and we saved up during the winter for the summer projects. One morning while we were still undecided what to tackle next, we woke up to road crews tearing up sewers on the corner of our street. Curious, Allen (my co-homeowner) went out to see what was up. In addition to putting in sewers down the street, they told us they were going to put a 6 ft. wide sidewalk down the length of our side & back yard. That was news to us. Our house is in the 1950’s subdivision. The back yard boundary on our property starts the beginning of a 1980’s subdivision with bigger houses. They also have side walks back there that stop at our property line. Someone came up with the bright idea of connecting the existing sidewalk to the "Stop" sign in the front of our yard. So we looked at the "to do" list again and moved that fence to the top of the list. We already had no privacy but this would be ridiculous. We have a lot of foot traffic as well as vehicle traffic.
So we go to the Twp government offices to get a $25 permit to build our 6 ft. cedar privacy fence. Simple, right? Upon arrival, we are told that since we are on a corner, the Twp zoning says that we have two front yards, our real front yard (you know the one with the door facing the street) and our "front" back yard. (See above picture). According to zoning, any yard space set back 35 ft. from a road is your front yard and in a front yard you can’t erect a 6 ft. privacy fence, only a 4 ft. fence with 75% visibility. We could put our 6 ft. fence back 45 ft. into our back yard which is where the zoning ordinance says our back yard begins. Our back yard is 85 ft wide. Running the fence down the length of the yard there would look stupid and we would loose use of half the yard. We wanted to run the fence 21 ft. from the road, in line with the edge of the house.
The government folks said not to despair that we could apply for a zoning variance hearing so that we could put our fence where we wanted. We had to pay a fee of $250 for the hearing and the Twp runs an add in the paper announcing the hearing, sends letters to all our neighbors within 200 ft. of our property and puts a cute little sign in our front yard about the hearing. Oh yeah and we had to submit a lot of paperwork. And make 10 copies. A few days before the hearing we get an official letter from the Development Service Staff with their findings recommending to the Zoning Appeals Board that we get the requested variance because the fence would look best coming off the corner of the house. Also it would be fair to us to be able to use most of our back yard. So we go to the hearing. Let’s pause a moment to review our Twp government structure. Anderson Twp residents elect a Board of Trustees. (For interesting info on Trustees politics click here). This Board appoints five residents to the Zoning Appeals Board. Three are appointed for 5 years and the other 2 are called alternates and appointed for 1 year. This is a political appointment, "cronyism", no credentials or experience in zoning required. For instance one current board member is a veterinarian. The Development Service Staff are hired professionals who give their recommendations to the Zoning Board of Appeals. Get it? So now we are back at the hearing. First the Development guy gives his recommendation (I should get my fence 21 ft. from the road), then I present my case (simple, I want some privacy since you are running that stupid sidewalk through my yard and I want to use as much of my back yard as I can), then people who wish to speak in favor of the variance (a neighbor I didn’t know before this hearing said the place was an eyesore before we moved in, we are good neighbors, we did a good job improving the outside and give us our fence). There was no one at the hearing to speak against us. We had one letter in favor of the variance and one letter against. The letter against was from our neighbor whose house runs along the back of our yard. They have no windows or doors on the side of the house and there is a line of trees and tall brush that runs the length of the property. In other words they can’t even see the yard unless they are driving by in a car. They wanted my yard to be open because it “would fit in with the look and feel of Anderson Twp.” They wanted us to plant 6 ft. trees instead. Trees don’t give privacy and what little they do give is years away. And it’s much more expensive than a fence.
Back to the Board who asked me all kinds of questions about what kind of landscaping I was planning on planting on the outside of the fence. I had some suggestions they didn’t like and I said that I would be agreeable to what they might want to plant. They never addressed the recommendation from the Development Services people or the fact that I could choose to run the fence 45 ft. into my yard. Their decision was to deny the variance. One board member used the quote from my objecting neighbor. The "look and feel" crap.
Which finally brings us to the toilets. Around sixteen running the length of our back yard where the fence would have been. We thought we should get some decorations or else it would just be a bunch of toilets. So we turned them into yard art. Planters to be exact. But we were mindful of the concerns of the Appeals Board. When we were discussing landscaping for the fence, they wanted it to be evergreen. So we have cemented various plastic flowers and greenery to the bowls so that they can remain evergreen (and red, pink, purple, etc).
One of the FAQ asked of us is where did you get the toilets? Allen is an independent contractor, who works mostly on remodeling jobs where there are all sorts of trades people on the job. Plumbers. We called five and within 48 hrs of the hearing, we had picked up two pickup truck loads of toilets donated by people sympathetic to our cause.
And what is that cause? We the people, want our governments no matter how small, to be responsive to the needs of all citizens, not just the privileged few with access to favors. What about our rights as property owners? We pay taxes on every inch of our back yard. Why can’t I have privacy in my own back yard?
What will bring the toilets down? The Twp reversing its decision, the Twp passing a law prohibiting the public display of toilets in yard art or some other such nonsense as they may find. Or in the distant future, we might decide to move. Until that time, unless we get the fence we have many more creative ideas that can be used as yard art. Stay tuned ….
Neighborhood teens contributing to the decorating effort.
Updated Photo Gallery
UPDATES
04/19/06
B-105 Radio
Joins The Potty Protest!!
WHAT A TOILET
"Statt Man delivered our B105.1 toilet to Alan and Robin Sutton in Anderson. Zoning would not allow them to build a fence so they’ve lined their backyard with toilets. They were tickled to get ours to add to their collection. Look for pictures soon on our website. And to find out more about their story go to cincypeddler.com. Apparently the word is out their backyard has become a drive by attraction much like Christmas light displays.
04/27/06 WLWT News 5 Stops In For Another Visit
04/16/06 The Cincinnati Enquirer
Zoning Stink Wears On.pdf
Wkyc.com Cleveland Ohio
Couple protests fence ruling by placing toilets in yard
City Beat Best Of Cincinnati 2006
Picked Anderson Township Toilet's !
Best Of Cincinnati 2006.pdf
http://www.best-of-cincinnati.com/public.html
The story has now made the City Beat Cincinnati's News and Entertainment Weekly
Citybeat/Porkopolis.pdf
The Cincinnati Enquirer
news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050818/NEWS01/508180454/1056/news01.pdf
Cincinnati Enquirer Editorial Page B6
/Trees would not work well as fence.pdf
Cincinnati Enquirer Winners And Losers Editorial Page B13:
/20050820/EDIT01/508200342/1020/EDIT.pdf
The Cincinnati Enquire:
/Toilet display fails to sway Anderson zoning board.pdf
Jeff & Jenn On The WKRQ Q102 Morning Show:/WKRQ- Cincinnati's Q102.pdf
Here Is
Another Directory Of Links And Pdf Files Where The Story Has Travled
http://cincypeddler.com/anderson/links/
Anderson Clownship Page At Myspace.com
Anderson Clownship Blog At Myspace.com
The story also reported at:
04/17/06 The Bob And Tom Show!
04/17/06 Radio Interview with KMPS 94.1 Seattle
04/19/06 Story Discussed on http://www.freetalklive.com/
04/21/06 Radio Interview with WBNS 97.1 Columbus Ohio
Forest Hills Journal Cincinnati, Ohio, Page A5
WLWT Channel 5 11:00 News Interview With Courtis Fuller
WLW 700 AM Radio Interview With Jim Scott,
55 WKRC AM Radio Interview With Craig Copp,
WXIX TV Channel 19 FOX 11:00 News
Thanks!
A Special Thank's To Our Neighbors Who Donated The Three Foot Tall Plastic Cow,
Two Pink Flamingo's, Windmills, 2 More Toilets, Wooden Cow,
The "Art Lovers Honk" Sign, Lighted Flamingo, And More Plastic Flowers!
And A Big Thanks To "Big Dan" For The Christmas Lights & Decorations!
For More On The Growing Story Email Us At:
protest@cincypeddler.com
Let Anderson Township Know How You Feel:
Anderson Township
7954 Beechmont Avenue
Cincinnati, Ohio, 45255
513-474-5123
http://www.andersontownship.org/index.asp?page=Development_Services1Services1
http://www.andersontownship.org/index.asp?page=Board_of_Township_Trustees2
http://www.andersontownship.org/index.asp
"We the people want our governments no matter how small to be responsive to the needs
of all citizens, not just the privileged few with access to favors"
Allen & Robin
protest@cincypeddler.com
