dont no what to do

[thunderson]

im 44 years old disabled,have a dog thats pretty old and is my only source of companionship.i bought a camper to live in its 18f.a friend of mine let me park it on his small ranch on calumet rd.ive been here a year and my only source of income is ssd.the county inspector came by yesterday and said i cant live in it because its to small,and said he had some complaints,made it sound like whoever it was is real important or is conected with the city some how.my yard is clean,the weeds are a little high but not real bad and he didnt even bring it up,no loud music,and not to many visitors and i mind my own buisness.the camper has a toilet sink exe.i dont know what to do and need some advice.the inspector said i could go before a judge with the guy who owns the property but i dont know what my chances of getting a favorable ruling would be.i will lose the camper because i cant afford to move it anywhere else so i will be homeless living in my car witch is probably illegal,any suggestions would be apreaciated:meh:

[Scott]

Who was the County inspector? Did he or she provide identification? Did the inspector cite the ordinance you were suspected of violating? I have had Code Enforcement Officers in the past send me threatening letters only later to find out I wasn't even in violation and that the neighbors simply did not like what I was doing. I would do plenty of research before I made a move.

[postmaster]

Is there some type of covenant attached to your friend's property that states only one family can live on the property? I would ask the friend if any restrictions like this exist. I would then question the person who approached you and get a definitive answer as to what violations have occured. I would request any and all references to the size requirement of a trailer for one person as you mentioned he said your trailer was 'too small'. Maybe the Roswell Daily Record would be interested in a 'human interest' story and demand some answers from whomever is behind this issue. But first, find out what restrictions, if any, exist on the friend's property as I know when I purchased 5 acres there was a covenant that states I could not allow anyone else to put a mobile home, etc. on the property.

[thunderson]

i dont think so he has a mobile home up by his house,and cows, chickens,3 ostriches and the property is on atleast 20 or thirty acres and im on the far end of it.plus he has had the property for years

[Taco101]

The county (Calumet is in the county) has an ordinance that limits each 5 acre plot to one residence. A mobile home and your camper would constitute two.

Petition the County Commission for a variance. You will have to go before the Commission and explain your circumstances.....but its worth a shot.

[thunderson]

its on twenty to thirty acres and he has a house and a mobile home on one end and my little camper is on the other

[postmaster]

thunderson5.....I think the only way you will know for sure is to ask the owner to check into restrictions that were on the property when he/she purchased it. You didn't say whether or not anyone was living in the mobile home that is by the house. Evidently the person who visited you believes a violation has ocurred or someone is complaining. Does your friend have any information on the complaint? It would be worth your time to try to get some answers/info so you aren't put in a position of having to relocate your home. I believe taco is correct in his post about the one family dwelling restriction as I encountered that when I made my purchase. Maybe you could check with the county about existing restrictions on county land purchases, but here again, your friend is in the best position to know the details about his property. Just trying to throw out some suggestions for you to consider. Good Luck.

[thunderson]

it is a zoning issue,according to the inspector a camper atleast the one i got is to small for a permanent dwelling,mine is 18f.but if they press the issue i will get ahold of kbimtv.and the roswell daily.newspaper and see if they will do a human interest story plus i would see about taking them to court under the american disabilities act,and also get ahold of the aclu.there was a full sized mobile home here before and the only reason they moved it was the cows kept getting into the yard,which i can live with,and the guys wife did not like it out here.a little while ago i had to chase some cows out of here with the help of my dog and a bbgun.they just go right through the fence,but it is better than my car or a tent

[Taco101]

Call County P&Z and ask more questions.

[thunderson]

well i looked up the zoning laws today online and sure enough it says you cant use a camper any where as a permanent dwelling,not even in a rv.park.in the rv.park theres a time limit of 14 days,the same as a state park or federal park.how did they ever get to pass something so unfair.trying to get some legal advice online,waiting for a response to my question i posted on a sight for free legal advice.and now the inspector came buy today to ask my friend who owns the property if its alright to do some kind of measurements or survey to see if i am in a floodplain to prevent him from putting a bigger trailer here for me to live in.incredible

[Scott]

I wonder how it is my dad lived in a class C RV for three years on Old Clovis Highway and Atkinson (right there on two busy streets) and nobody ever said a word. He just moved away in the past few months.

[thunderson]

well a state vehicle came by a little while ago and slowed way down,stopped for a second and took off before i could get outside.dont know what they wanted but it cant be good

[saw]

Give us an idea of where you live. Do you live in the ETZ or in the county?

I know where there is a family of three that has been living in an RV for two years now in the ETZ.

There been folks living in RV's here in Roswell for years.

Has someone filed a complaint?

Who is the agency that has complained? Have they issued a written citation? If so, what ordinance did they cite?

[thunderson]

:in my origional post i state what rd.im on and i think its in the county unless they annexed.: theres a place across the road that raises horses.and my friend has cows and horses.its alright to have a bunch of animals pooping all over the place but its not alright for a disabled man who is minding his own bussiness to live in a camper?:censored2:

[saw]

You are living in the extraterritorial zoning area. That is an area that is within two miles of the city limits.

The ETZ ordinance says that a RV can not be a permanent residence and can be used only for a temporary residence for no more than six months.

Until the owner of the propertygets a written notice of violation there is not anything that they can do. When the owner of the property gets the written notice he has ten days to ask for a variance on your behalf because of the hardship placed on you.

Then the Commission will hold a public meeting to decide if they will grant a variance. If the Commission rules against the variance the owner of the property can be fined unless you move out of the RV.

I am not a lawyer, but in my opinion you can set tight until the owner gets a written notice.

[kralspaces]

Rules and rules for a reason, whether we like them or not. If I had a place out in the TMZ, I would not want a bunch of RV's park all over the place.

What may be needed here is an indigent RV Center sponsored by the County or HUD. There are many empty RV parks around town.

[Daisy]

I feel and have always felt that the owner of the property should be able to do what he wants with that property. If he has no problem with the man living in a trailer, then they should be left alone.

I think saw gave some very good advice. Can the Commission only fine the owner once, or can they keep fining every month until the trailer is moved?? Doesn't seem right.......:no3:

[Neil]

well a state vehicle came by a little while ago and slowed way down,stopped for a second and took off before i could get outside.dont know what they wanted but it cant be good

The County assessor does that here. He stops outside, takes a photo, and he's gone. My guess is they compare the new photo to last years to see if you've made any changes.
Any excuse to bump up the assessment.

[saw]

Kral: You need to get out and drive around the ETZ some. There are countless violations all over the place.

It seems most of the areas have at least four junk cars per residence. There is almost always a shack or two that is falling down, a RV or two, weeds four foot tall, etc. Of course the pecan properties are pretty fancy. Drive out on the Old Clovis Hwy. or East Pine Lodge Road, or just North of the airport, and then there is Jack Rabbit Flats.

I would just as soon see someone living in an RV as a house that is falling down and there is a bunch of folks living in both in the ETZ. By the way, a bunch of people are living in Roswell in houses that are falling down. The median value of homes in Roswell is $72,400.00 while that in the US is $181,800.00. 76.6% of the homes in Roswell were built before 1980 and 33% are over 50 years old. Check out the air base, the SE part of Roswell, and portions in each section of Roswell. Boarded up houses just about everywhere in Roswell. There are some very nice sections of Roswell but most of it is pretty rundown.


Most folks are not living in these types of house because they want to, it is what they can afford. Per capita income in Roswell is $17,901.00 while it is $26,176.00 in the US. 19.6% of Roswell's families are living below the poverty level while only 13.3% of the families in the US are. The median family income in Roswell was $37,234.00 while that of the US is $60,374.00. A higher percentage of our population is under 5 years old and over 65 years old. This means fewer folks percentage wise to put bacon on the table. The figures that I am quoting are from the 2005-2007 American Community Survey. Twelve of the thirty eight homes sold in July of this year had a price tag of less than $100,000.00. Two were sold for less than $20,000.00 and five sold for less than $50.000.00.

My question for you Kral, if we move folks out of the sub-standard housing in Roswell, where do we put them?