My neighbor got a warning for the same thing I got a ticket for

Last Tuesday I was out watering my front lawn around 7pm and noticed my neighbor two houses down doing the exact same thing. We both have the same odd-even water schedule in Phoenix. He's been watering on odd days for weeks. I did it once on an even day back in June and got a $75 ticket. I asked him about it and he said the code enforcement guy just told him to check the calendar next time. Why does one person get a warning and another gets slapped with a fine? Has anyone else run into this kind of uneven enforcement with local ordinances?

3 comments

3 Comments

dylan4633d ago

Man that "check the calendar next time" thing gets me. I had almost the same thing happen with my HOA about parking on the street. They gave my neighbor a written warning for leaving his truck out overnight but I got a $50 fine for doing it once like two weeks later. It really is just about which code guy you get and what kind of mood they're in that day. One thing that actually helped me was filing a formal complaint with the city about uneven enforcement. I had to go down to city hall and fill out a form but they actually reviewed it and the officer had to write a report explaining why he gave me a ticket and not the other guy. Might be worth checking if your city has some kind of appeals process or ombudsman for code enforcement stuff. Also take pictures of your neighbor watering on the wrong day next time just in case you need proof the rules aren't being applied fairly.

lee6893d ago

A buddy of mine had a similar issue with his HOA and lawn watering schedules like you're dealing with, @dylan463. He ended up getting a warning while his neighbor a few houses down never got anything for the same violation. He started keeping a log of dates and times, and when he showed it to the board they finally admitted the enforcement was spotty.

olivia_lopez983d ago

Totally agree @dylan463, it's all about who you get. I had the same thing with my city's leaf blower rules. I got a written warning for using mine on a Sunday, but my neighbor three houses down uses his every Sunday afternoon and nothing ever happens to him. It's so frustrating when the rules are right there but they pick and choose who to enforce them on.