My fiancee and I moved into our rented home in the Shaw Butte neighborhood early this year. (It was our first home together and we were excited about the domestic adventures awaiting us.)
Over the short time we've lived here, we've come to really appreciate the neighborhood.
We will often take evening walks, wave at our neighbors and make friendly wagers over whose yard will be "Yard of the Month" next. The neighborhood is quiet, peaceful and seems relatively crime-free.
To supplement our income, we eventually rented two rooms of our new home to two good people.
But there are some things that have happened in the last few months that cause us concern.
I ride a motorcycle. Being new to the neighborhood, I was concerned about leaving my motorcycle on the street. Several months ago, being rather selfish (and admittedly not thinking things through), I parked my motorcycle on the sidewalk, thinking it would provide an additional level of security.
The next morning, the police came to my door and told me that there had been complaints about the motorcycle parked on the sidewalk and that it should be moved onto the street. A valid complaint and I moved the bike, but a question nagged:
Why didn't whoever noticed my mistake just come to me and point it out instead of calling the police?
No bother, as we assumed (wrongly) it would be the last time we were "tattled" on by my neighbors. Besides, neighbors solve problems together, right?
Several months later, the owner of the house was moving out, and had parked a large moving trailer in front of the house, on the street.
He didn't know, and neither did I, but apparently, you can't park moving trucks on public streets for longer than a certain period of time.
Again, instead of simply coming to us to solve the problem, the police were called.
This time, it was late in the evening on a weekday, and the owner asked if he could simply remove it early the next morning, when he went to work. The police said that shouldn't be a problem, only to return two hours later, saying complaints were still coming in and he had to move it THAT MOMENT. To make sure he moved it immediately, the police parked down the street while the trailer was relocated.
And just a few months ago, we received a letter from the City. Another of my neighbors had complained to them about our property.
It seems that someone didn't like the Volkswagen Bug that was parked in the alley by the garage.
There is a city code that does not permit "broken down" vehicles to be parked on public property, but since the Bug belonged to the owner of the house, we didn't concern ourselves about it.
Ironically, the Bug was finally sold just two days before we received the letter from the city.
In the same letter, we were also notified that our neighbors complaining about "trash" in our lawn.
This one baffles us. We know we will never make "Yard of the Month," but we can't see how the condition of our yard is anything to complain to the city about.
So there's our concern. Shaw Butte is such a quiet, wonderful neighborhood, full of welcoming, peaceful people, but at the same time, we feel uneasy. Maybe a bit unwelcome. We don't want to feel that way.
We welcome all our neighbors to stop by our house, meet Lisa and myself, and communicate with us about any issues you might have. We've got cold drinks in the refrigerator and a spot on the couch. Just talk. As neighbors and friends.
That's all we ask.
Robert
By Robert G
Over the short time we've lived here, we've come to really appreciate the neighborhood.
We will often take evening walks, wave at our neighbors and make friendly wagers over whose yard will be "Yard of the Month" next. The neighborhood is quiet, peaceful and seems relatively crime-free.
To supplement our income, we eventually rented two rooms of our new home to two good people.
But there are some things that have happened in the last few months that cause us concern.
I ride a motorcycle. Being new to the neighborhood, I was concerned about leaving my motorcycle on the street. Several months ago, being rather selfish (and admittedly not thinking things through), I parked my motorcycle on the sidewalk, thinking it would provide an additional level of security.
The next morning, the police came to my door and told me that there had been complaints about the motorcycle parked on the sidewalk and that it should be moved onto the street. A valid complaint and I moved the bike, but a question nagged:
Why didn't whoever noticed my mistake just come to me and point it out instead of calling the police?
No bother, as we assumed (wrongly) it would be the last time we were "tattled" on by my neighbors. Besides, neighbors solve problems together, right?
Several months later, the owner of the house was moving out, and had parked a large moving trailer in front of the house, on the street.
He didn't know, and neither did I, but apparently, you can't park moving trucks on public streets for longer than a certain period of time.
Again, instead of simply coming to us to solve the problem, the police were called.
This time, it was late in the evening on a weekday, and the owner asked if he could simply remove it early the next morning, when he went to work. The police said that shouldn't be a problem, only to return two hours later, saying complaints were still coming in and he had to move it THAT MOMENT. To make sure he moved it immediately, the police parked down the street while the trailer was relocated.
And just a few months ago, we received a letter from the City. Another of my neighbors had complained to them about our property.
It seems that someone didn't like the Volkswagen Bug that was parked in the alley by the garage.
There is a city code that does not permit "broken down" vehicles to be parked on public property, but since the Bug belonged to the owner of the house, we didn't concern ourselves about it.
Ironically, the Bug was finally sold just two days before we received the letter from the city.
In the same letter, we were also notified that our neighbors complaining about "trash" in our lawn.
This one baffles us. We know we will never make "Yard of the Month," but we can't see how the condition of our yard is anything to complain to the city about.
So there's our concern. Shaw Butte is such a quiet, wonderful neighborhood, full of welcoming, peaceful people, but at the same time, we feel uneasy. Maybe a bit unwelcome. We don't want to feel that way.
We welcome all our neighbors to stop by our house, meet Lisa and myself, and communicate with us about any issues you might have. We've got cold drinks in the refrigerator and a spot on the couch. Just talk. As neighbors and friends.
That's all we ask.
Robert
By Robert G
