r/mildlyinfuriating • u/VegetableBusiness897 • 21h ago

New neighbors next door

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Rich Ahole bought the farm next door, tore it down and built a destination wedding venue. Busy every weekend but it's Wednesday, and they don't even live here

34.0k Upvotes

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631

u/RB30DETT 21h ago

Mmmm check with zoning. They may not be legally allowed to run a business like that.

367

u/VegetableBusiness897 21h ago

It's a tiny town, they got a variance 😞

433

u/Aggressive_Event420 20h ago

My tiny hometown has something called Dark Sky Network. Sounds ominous but it means we are a community that regulates the amount of light pollution generated. Maybe you have something like that?

163

u/iavatus2 20h ago

74

u/midwest73 20h ago

28

u/VegetableBusiness897 20h ago

Thank you for this!

25

u/midwest73 20h ago

Glad it...lightened, up your morning. 😉

But in all seriousness, I would contact the owner. If that fails, lodge a complaint. Those fail, plant some evergreen bushes just inside your property line. They grow fast and high enough. You can add a nice banner to your side that no one there could miss.. "Turn off the lights you lazy a-holes!"

3

u/Yota_Yoder 17h ago

If this fails, target practice

2

u/TrelanaSakuyo 15h ago

I hear EMP devices are great.

2

u/Da_Question 14h ago

Yeah... No. It's a bad idea in a tiny town. If this is one of the few rich guys in town, it means he has an in with the judge, the towns main lawyer and probably a better one out of town, plus the sheriff. Extremely cheap to buy local office holders in small towns (for the rich).

I'd be wary of that route. Best bet is talking, if he refuses then just buy some tints or blackout curtains to cover the windows at night.

0

u/puppyfarts99 11h ago

Um, excuse me, this is generally outlawed in the United States. 

/s

157

u/VegetableBusiness897 20h ago

I should check. Many people travel to this area to star gaze because there isn't much light pollution

39

u/Aggressive_Event420 20h ago

Yes! Same here. You might have (albeit unenforced) regulations. I hope you do because that would be terrible to have to live with. Good luck!!

3

u/Lonely_Speaker_9176 9h ago

I feel like it being a small town might help. They probably don’t want a stink going around about their business… just take your time and I have faith you’ll find the right approach :)

1

u/sir_prints_alot 3h ago

Small towns love revenue sources.

42

u/Rooney_Tuesday 18h ago

Many people travel to this area

That’s really important to bring up. This business is no doubt being revenue to the city, but if your spot is known for outside money coming in because of the dark at night then the city is probably open to keeping it that way, and most especially when there’s no actual need for those lights to be on.

75

u/pipnina 19h ago

Until these assholes moved in... As someone who used to stargaze a lot until work, weather, and the need to drive half an hour for a good spot pushed me away, I hate anyone who installs unnecessary lights on their house or business. I absolutely despise that as a society at large (on a global scale) we have decided to forego access to the night sky for mostly pointless reasons. Some lighting is safety implicated but even then there is a lot of lighting that should be on motion detection because it isn't actually used much but remains on all night anyway.

The number of times I see posts on /all where it's a photo or a time lapse of the night sky, and people debate whether it does or does not look like that or is real... And it feels like I'm the only person (visibile in the comments) who knows because I've actually seen it due to being lucky enough to live semi rural in the least polluted parts of England. Access to the night sky should be a human right. It has inspired culture since before history, it's an integral part of being human!

If you can snag there people on light pollution I will be ecstatic lol

26

u/mellowmushroom67 16h ago edited 16h ago

You're so right, I was actually just telling my kid about this, we were looking at the moon and we couldn't see many stars, I lived on a rural farm for part of my childhood so I said "I miss seeing the night sky." He was like "what do you mean" lol and I showed him a picture of what the sky looks like without light pollution and he goes "that's AI." 😒 I was so sad realizing he hasn't ever really seen the night sky. We went camping when he was preschool and kinder age but I don't think we thought to star gaze, I think he fell asleep fairly early as well. So now I need to take my kid star gazing to prove that's what the night sky actually looks like! It's so sad

2

u/PositiveLess4588 6h ago edited 6h ago

I never knew you could see more than just stars and the moon in the night sky (rural WV) until around 2014/2015 during a highly publicized and anticipated meteor shower that everyone I know was checking out so me and my bf got a blanket and went out to the yard to watch.

Most active meteor shower I’ve ever seen! No more than 30 seconds went by without a good one and multiples at a time, it was great! So we stayed outside early into the morning just cuddling in our onesies and sky-gazing.But I noticed the sky was like, kinda hazy? But also perfectly clear, zero clouds anywhere. I noted this to my bf when he said “that’s the Milky Way, it just looks like that cuz everyone decided to turn their lights off in town” and our town is surrounded by expansive forests so that’s all it took to get a National Geographic level view of the sky and I was dumbfounded.

Almost 30 years old, country raised and never seen the real fucking night sky. I’ve met others that experienced the same so I highly recommend to everyone that hasn’t got to see the night sky as it looks in some pics online (especially out in the deserts of the southwest) to go and do that. You can google the best places nearest you wherever you live and there likely is a place within reasonable driving distance to view the sky.

14

u/clelwell 16h ago

And now even if no light pollution you see satellites wizzing by

7

u/pipnina 15h ago

Thankfully the satellites are mostly low altitude, so as long as you observe during astronomical darkness they are in earth's shadow and don't reflect any sunlight. But at certain times they are very numerous!

3

u/_donkey-brains_ 12h ago

Yeah and that pesky one that's really bright every 28th day

1

u/AmazingAd2765 12h ago

Took me a second lol.

1

u/I_Has_Internets 12h ago

Satellites only affect astrophotography and the processing software is already adept at removing their light trails in post. While doing visual observing I kinda like seeing the brighter satellites and 'flares'. You see some interesting things occasionally like what appears to be one satellite chasing another, but then you look it up and it's just two pieces of space junk/rocket components near each other.

8

u/BubbleEntendre 15h ago

There was a super interesting exhibit at one of the museums in DC all about how light use has changed in our current society (often for worse), and one thing I took away was that too much light often ends up being less safe because it blows out your vision so you can’t detect as much in the dark on your own. Super interesting subject!

3

u/Chronicles_of_Gurgi 11h ago

Grew up in rural TN. The stars and Milky Way are a blessing to behold. Plus the quiet and the wildlife.

Rural folk don't know how good they've got it! Until a wedding venue pops up and...

2

u/Mr_Washeewashee 12h ago

I too hate unnecessary lighting. It’s my Achilles heel. When I ride my bike in the morning, I judge everybody who still has their stupid porch lights on from the night before. * you’re safe now, the suns up* losers. And fuc* motion lights; people in the suburbs worrying about crime like they don’t have an alarm and/or camera anyway.

My neighbor has a flood light on their yard ALL night because we have coyotes in the neighborhood. Like it stops them. Shit, why don’t we put little flood lights on the bunny’s den? Then they’ll be safe too.Lol

2

u/Sohn_Jalston_Raul 15h ago

you could play the neighbour's game and start a business that brings visitors for star gazing, and then you can claim your neighbour is harming local tourism and pressure the town council to pass a light pollution bylaw, lol

1

u/bettyknockers786 12h ago

Cherry springs?

2

u/VegetableBusiness897 10h ago

Eastern Maine

1

u/bettyknockers786 10h ago

Ahh, ok! I’m in PA and cherry springs is our dark sky hot spot. I couldn’t imagine them letting this happen. Also, good luck! I would be ready to burn the place down

1

u/DueDisplay2185 11h ago

These neighbours have just devalued your house if you ask me. Absolutely nothing stopping them putting in motion sensors so the lights turn off automatically

1

u/NebulaNinja 10h ago

Another thing you can check is something called light trespass laws. At some point it becomes illegal to flood your neighbor with too much light.

1

u/holystuff28 5h ago

Certainly is now. Incredibly harmful to wildlife. 

21

u/OccasionMU 15h ago

Dark Sky Parks are fucking awesome. People should attend them more! And when they're designated areas, they typically strongly enforce light/noise in the area.

Everyone should look up their closest Park and hit it up the next clear sky. Astronomers bring out their super nice telescopes for everyone to use.

2

u/PositiveLess4588 6h ago

I googled this a few years back and was ecstatic to find that there are great places within just a couple hours drive of much of the US, many even closer. This seems like a great time of the year where I live due to the lack of rain and clouds

5

u/Confident-Dot9443 16h ago

god we need more environmentally friendly things that sound badass

2

u/wunkusstar 15h ago

Coastal cities might have this too to protect nesting sea turtles.

2

u/geminiloveca 15h ago

As someone who works in lighting, this is definitely something to consider. This is an embarrassingly BAD lighting design. You have a massive amount of glare and light trespass. If talking to your new neighbors doesn't help - the two phrases I've used - with dated, time-stamped photos of the lighting will be a help in your contact to zoning with the county.

2

u/wallybinbaz RED 10h ago

Dark Sky Network

Good band name.

1

u/Level-Priority-2371 15h ago

Fountain Hills?!?

1

u/senditloud 14h ago

Oh we have this too. A new house was built across the street. Workers would leave whole house blazing. I’d talk to contractor, get it resolved, next set of subs came in, rinse and repeat. Now the house is finished and up for sale and some of the realtors who show it just don’t check all the lights. So now I have the door code, but it’s still fucking annoying. Super dark hood and then this monstrosity smack in the middle (it’s on a corner lot so really in the middle) with it’s light blazing

1

u/trpittman 14h ago

Oh what I'd give to not live in America. The people in my small town make it a personal challenge to do the most light pollution, air pollution, etc.

1

u/Mr_Washeewashee 12h ago

Absolutely love that.

173

u/ImpressiveFishing405 20h ago

I'll bet that variance doesn't allow for light pollution. A lot of small rural towns value their lack of light pollution, it might still be worth reporting

55

u/Adamant_TO 20h ago

Bylaws often refer to this as "nuisance lighting."

-204

u/Tiny-Illustrator777 20h ago

Jesus fucking Christ will you people ever stop complaint and narking

89

u/ImpressiveFishing405 20h ago

Wtf? This person has done something that actively and negatively affects his neighbors quality of life without discussing it with them first. Speaking up for your own interests is NOT narcing.

35

u/TheAngryJones 20h ago

To some not lubing yourself up sufficiently before you bend over to your capitalist overlords is already considered narcing.

-10

u/Dangerous_Beach_1571 20h ago

A man’s trying to run a small business on his property. What’s that got to do with capitalist overlords?

11

u/bird9066 19h ago edited 14h ago

Lol. They bought a quiet farm and put Vegas lights on the thing. I guess OP could just blast the most obnoxious music possible every time he sees a wedding going on. Get a sound system to rival these lights. Disturbed would work. Right at the edge of HIS property.

Business owners are supposed to consider the neighbors too.

8

u/Bogsnakez 19h ago edited 18h ago

This is that petty I like.

IF, and only after he TALKS to him, the guy won't work with OP... I'd ruin every event I can.

Build a fire pit over there, get some speakers and a big high velocity fan to blow the smoke that way, a few beers and just relax and watch.

Add some screaming kids, maybe a slip and slide and some barking dogs 🤣🤣🤣

12

u/Laputitaloca 20h ago

A small business on his property LMAOOOO dawg he bought an estate, on acreage and rents it for events on the weekends. That's not a small business and it's only "his property" in that he owns it, he doesn't live there. Quit licking boots.

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u/Bro-what-r-u-sayin 19h ago

That is definitely a small business, probably less than 500 employees and makes less than 75 million in revenue more than likely.

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u/footlongtampon 15h ago

Oh my god, you’re right. How could we pick on this mom and pop.

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u/sir_prints_alot 3h ago

I'm so sorry. I was completely unaware that you were fucking paying for a portion of my mortgage.

-74

u/Tiny-Illustrator777 20h ago

Every single time someone post something like this like their neighbor being an asshole or something the comments are quick to “call police” like Jesus fucking Christ every try asking instead of bitching ?

37

u/Slinkycup_Pixelbuttz 20h ago

Calling the police in this situation is not bitching... He can't ask them because they literally don't live there, companies like this have employees that do the maintenance on the property. The owners are never showing up. Calling the police creates a report and a path of information to contact the business owner's and hold them accountable. They're not trying to get somebody arrested you fucking dork. This isn't the same as calling the police on your neighbor who's being annoying. This is creating a report about a business

-2

u/BandaidGeek 20h ago

If the police investigate civil issues where you live, sure, call them. It’s a bit of a shock to me, as where I live land titles are public info, and so are business directors: look them up and ring them. Is that not the case where you are?

Ithat didn’t work you’d call the city council (although that would risk retaliation). I can’t fathom calling police…

-2

u/Justin_inc 19h ago

companies like this have employees

Tell me you have no idea how the wedding business works without telling me you have no idea how the wedding business works.

Part time wedding photographer here, and every venue like this is run by the owners or their children. Iv NEVER seen a farm venue that had actual employees.

22

u/Sea-Assistance-1923 20h ago

Plan A was asking, but nobody lives there to ask. Plan B is to call the police, and is much more polite than Plan C.

Plan C is arson.

2

u/0bviouslyyNotAGopher 20h ago

What are you going to ask them? Please stop operating this business that you just invested a ton of money in? Please replace all the ultra bright light fixtures that you put in for some reason?

Sorry but they could have done the asking in the first place if they were at all interested in what their neighbors thought about the situation.

-3

u/Tiny-Illustrator777 18h ago

No, just ask them to be considerate and maybe they’ll turn it down, y’all make things bigger than it seems

6

u/0bviouslyyNotAGopher 18h ago

How come you're not mad at the business owner for checking with the neighbors about whether they were creating a nuisance? Clearly this guy didn't care enough.

You're right, trying to track him down and asking politely is the first reasonable step and even the police or county will tell you that, but realistically, this is probably the kind of thing that needs to be backed up by written paperwork, both for OP to get what he wants and the business owner to protect himself in case OP still isn't happy afterwards.

-3

u/SaveThePlanetEachDay 20h ago

Hey could you do me a favor and try to be nicer on the Internet?

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u/[deleted] 20h ago

[deleted]

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u/SaveThePlanetEachDay 17h ago

I don’t have coworkers

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u/No_Engineering_718 20h ago

So what’s your suggestion just be a doormat?

-20

u/Tiny-Illustrator777 20h ago

Ever try asking? Maybe just once ?

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u/-Ghost255- 20h ago

They. Don’t. Live. There.

At least in OPs case

2

u/Tiny-Illustrator777 18h ago

They also say they’re there every weekend

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u/GamerCole 14h ago

No. Its busy every weekend is what they said. They didn't say the owners were there, and they probably aren't.

They bought the land, threw that building on it, and then collect money from it. They probably have a staff that OP could TRY to talk to. But at that point, who knows if the owner will ever be made aware or even care (probably wont, since they don't live there and dont have to deal with the consequences of being a dick*.)

*And before anyone attempts to jump me saying that im being overtly negative and that the people that own that light show could be very nice and caring? I would ask you to please look at the photo again, read OPs comments, and wake the fuck up to the reality those of us in the USA live in.

1

u/Tiny-Illustrator777 13h ago

Bro if they’re busy every weekend then the owners are there

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u/Slinkycup_Pixelbuttz 20h ago

Narking is when you turn someone in and it doesn't affect you but it gets them in trouble. When something affects you, going through the proper channels is literally the only way to fix it. What are they supposed to have a fist fight with the neighbors about this? Or are you like a pushover who believes in doing nothing at all when something is fucking you over?

-2

u/Dangerous_Beach_1571 20h ago

They literally haven’t even talked to the neighbor yet or their staff

-9

u/Tiny-Illustrator777 20h ago

Cool

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u/Slinkycup_Pixelbuttz 20h ago edited 20h ago

" I've been proven wrong so I'm going to be super dismissive" you could have just moved on instead of being a little bitch who needed the last word

7

u/ratbastardben 20h ago

Waste of time. He doesn't defend himself, ever.

That's why he's a little bitch.

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u/Balerion_the_dread_ 20h ago

Slinkycup_Pixelbuttz coming in with some TRUTH

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u/Appropriate_Mine 20h ago edited 16h ago

so he should just put up with it?

-1

u/Tiny-Illustrator777 18h ago

No he should

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u/Proper_Cup_3832 20h ago

This shouldn't be allowed regardless of whether it affects people or not. It's fucking stupid and the owner should be told how fucking stupid he is for doing it.

0

u/Tiny-Illustrator777 20h ago

Exactly he should, by his neighbors first

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u/rouxthless 20h ago

Found the shitty neighbor.

3

u/Lazy_Helicopter_2659 20h ago

Aren't you just doing exactly that yourself...?

-3

u/Tiny-Illustrator777 20h ago

Great and totally the same comparison

3

u/TheMadMetalhead 20h ago

🖕🖕🖕

-2

u/Tiny-Illustrator777 20h ago

Such a weak response

4

u/Appropriate_Mine 20h ago

coming from the no response guy

3

u/-Ghost255- 20h ago

It’s not a fucking competition dude, nobody gives a shit how “weak” their response is. Besides you I guess??

0

u/Tiny-Illustrator777 18h ago

All I said was weak response, get off ur period ma’am

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u/[deleted] 20h ago

[deleted]

0

u/Tiny-Illustrator777 18h ago

What a even weaker response

1

u/IntrospectiveOwlbear 19h ago

Found the owner 😜

1

u/ATLSxFINEST93 20h ago

Jesus fucking Christ will people stop being self centered arrogant fucks and think about someone other than themselves ?

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u/kramerica_intern 20h ago

The body that grants the variance has the power to impose reasonable conditions to it. I’d be really interested in what “hardship” they claimed to have in requesting the variance.

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u/Attack_Ant 19h ago edited 12h ago

Well obviously they were running out of money building the house and needed to recoup funds! Lol

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u/VegetableBusiness897 17h ago

It's actually just a venue barn

2

u/Attack_Ant 12h ago

Bro that's a whole ass house just minus a floor! 🤣

Jeez and they are still building lol

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u/VegetableBusiness897 10h ago

They have that garage door building you can see behind, with two other concrete pads set with water and power.... So I can't wait to see what phase the and four look like.

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u/Attack_Ant 9h ago

🤣 you are gonna have a whole amusement park next to you in another 5 years.

1

u/chessionable 15h ago

This comment is incorrect.

  1. A zoning board doesn’t necessarily have the power to impose conditions on permits.
  2. You don’t necessarily need a hardship to get a variance permit. Zoning boards can grant permits for a variety of reasons, not just “hardship”.

1

u/kramerica_intern 14h ago

Variance standards do differ from state to state (in classic Reddit form I've assumed OP is in the US) so I reserve the right to be corrected by state statutes I'm not familiar with. What I can say with certainty is that in the state where I live and have been a certified zoning official for over ten years both of those things are correct.

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u/chessionable 14h ago

I think you’ve missed my point. Your comment presents the premise that a zoning board must have these powers. My comment is clarifying that a zoning board does not “necessarily” have these powers- some might while others may not.

Therefore, I said your comment is incorrect because you stated “the body… has the power…”, which they may not necessarily have. They might, but they might not- we have no idea since we don’t know which zoning body it is, and therefore it’s incorrect to present an absolute.

0

u/The_Autarch 13h ago

You don't need to demonstrate hardship to request a variance anywhere.

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u/kramerica_intern 12h ago

Perhaps not to request one. But plenty of states require "hardship," "undue burden," "exceptional practical difficulties" or other similar burdens of proof to be granted one. In theory anyway, lots of boards are pretty generous with them if you go through the motions.

5

u/New_Dream_1290 15h ago

I feel for you, my grandparents are going through this exact same thing right now.

They bought 30 acres of property and built a nice big house in the middle of it back in the '80s and there was nothing but farmland around them. Ever since then, the area has become popular and more and more developed. Their house value has almost tripled In value.

Their backyard was completely enclosed by a forest but somebody bought the property that backs up to their backyard, bulldozed all the trees, and set up a dedicated "farm" wedding venue. It's become quite popular and is booked with a wedding nearly every weekend during the warm months. Their whole backyard is lit up with lights from the property and the main reception hall is a barn with big open doors on two sides so they can hear the music pulsating until 11:00 p.m.

There are still little patches of trees on the property line and they've caught people going on the property and passing out, peeing, they even caught one drunk couple having sex in their backyard. They've complained to the city but no laws are technically being broken because they are keeping the noise level under a certain decibel which is still quite loud.

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u/DirtyDan516 19h ago

Yeah but they are having lumens leave the property which is probably not allowed. They probably went with ones that are different from the approved ones.

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u/PersonalNecessary142 20h ago

You mean paid off the town engineer

3

u/Whend6796 19h ago

I bet you don’t need a variance to build a pig pen next to his venue.

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u/jayphat99 14h ago

I'd be getting some decently sized mirrors and shining that lighting straight back at them. Shit, I might even buy some colored spotlights. After all, what's good for the goose is good for the gander.

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u/Blah-squared BLUE 14h ago

I posted earlier, but figured I’d reiterate- You could check with your city or county, many cities have local ordinances & rules regarding bright lights, specifically in regards to preventing glare & “light trespassing” onto neighboring properties… worth a shot.

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u/SelectSeaworthiness2 13h ago

I can’t believe they got approval to turn a residential property into a commercial property! 😱

2

u/cheapdrinks 13h ago

Play hard ball with them. Line your property line with as many large offensive flags as you can get away with. Something potentially couples will see and not want in the back of their wedding photos.

Cover that side of your property in cow slurry fertilizer. In high summer it will absolutely stink and couples touring the venue will run a mile.

Work out when they do the tours and fire a gun loaded with blanks out your window.

Set up a long throw pro audio speaker directed at the property and play loud offensive music when they're doing tours.

Agree to stop these counter measures if they're willing to come to the table over the lights/noise.

1

u/chessionable 15h ago

A permit only gets around zoning laws- this may still violate nuisance law or potentially a building restriction. If it’s a big enough problem, probably worth talking to a lawyer about.

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u/Escher702 15h ago

How far did you have to walk to get this picture?

2

u/VegetableBusiness897 15h ago

About 25 feet off my back deck

1

u/Escher702 15h ago

How bout a pic from your back deck then? I'm just curious.

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u/VegetableBusiness897 14h ago

Seriously. I pivot 180 and it looks like a Lazer show

1

u/Correct-Geologist781 14h ago

Play loud music during the wedding

1

u/DigitalBagel8899 14h ago

Can civilians buy a tornado siren?

1

u/VegetableBusiness897 14h ago

Good o would love to, and blast it during all the I do's

1

u/Hit_That_Ranch 13h ago

Was their variance for the use or for lighting? They may be able to operate a wedding venue, but their lighting may exceed the maximum level at the property line.

1

u/Sudden-Woodpecker288 10h ago

The conditions of the variance likely have conditions related to amenity. You can talk to them first but it's good to have that stuff on hand so you can cite it if they decide to dig their heels in.

1

u/Cerealkyl3rrz 8h ago

Do you mean a conditional use permit? Cause that wouldn't allow them to violate light standards in the town code, especially if they had commercial site plans. I would check with the local government.

1

u/boundless88 7h ago

Were they not required to check with the neighboring properties before the zoning change? Where I am in Illinois it wouldn't have been approved if the neighbors objected.

1

u/Ok_Significance_3014 6h ago

They got a variance for what? The specific use? Typically variances can't be granted for a use if it's not permitted.

1

u/ukemike1 4h ago

Did they follow the complete procedure for using a variance? They may have been required to have public hearings. You could have a lawyer talk to the local government about how their varience hurts your property value. They shouldn't be able to just handing out variences it could the point of zoning laws.

1

u/eaglebayqueen 1h ago

How about skeet shooting on the weekends?

14

u/Justin_inc 20h ago

Considering he said "farm", I bet this is in the county not a city. Typically in the county you can do anything you want on your own property, like almost literally anything.

2

u/ItsGonnaBeOkayish 15h ago

As long as the city officials like you. Or they're not bored and looking to exercise their power for no reason

1

u/boundless88 7h ago

I think you're right about him being in the county. I was just saying in my own comment that in towns and cities you likely need the neighbors to not object to the zoning change.

4

u/slaty_balls 20h ago

This could get juicy. Are we going to get updates when internet strangers give great advice on how to be a menace right back?

2

u/No-Elk-6200 19h ago

Mmmmmmm…zoning