When a neighborhood dispute goes really bad
County will look at noise and zoning regs after gunfire erupts
A months long dispute between neighbors--both of them Anderson County residents--over a fence has turned into a volatile situation.
Two months ago, the neighbor hostility erupted with sounds of gunfire as one of the two neighbors involved in the dispute fired shots from their house into the Hillvale Road community at night.
The Anderson County Commission Operations Committee is scheduled this month during its next meeting to discuss potentially making revisions to the county’s noise and zoning resolutions in hopes of mitigating what has turned out to be a bitterly contested disagreement between two Hillvale Road residents in Anderson County over property lines and fences.
Under the county’s current zoning resolution defining what a “fence” is, a fence is not considered a structure.
“In 2002 I believe it was, the County Commission took the term ‘fence’ out of the definition of structures, so fence is no longer considered to be a structure in Anderson County. We should probably revisit the zoning resolution and consider amending it,” advised Anderson County Law Director Jay Yeager to Commissioners during the County Commission meeting on Aug. 21, in response to the discussion on the neighbor dispute.
The discussion into the neighbor dispute began when Vickie Rhue, one of the neighbors involved in the dispute, came before the Commission during the Aug. 21 Commission meeting under the appearance of citizens section of the agenda to speak publically about the ongoing problems she has been having with her neighbor, and to ask the Commission for help in finding a possible resolution.
According to Rhue, the disagreement with her neighbor began last August, shortly after her neighbor moved into the residential area of Hillvale Road when the neighbor, after purchasing the property and living there for about 14 months, reported to the county’s Public Works Department that a barn located on Rhue’s property was “too close to the property line.” From that point on, said Rhue, the neighbor would report “any minor problems with my property that did not meet county code requirements.”
“Despite multiple attempts to make peace with him he continues to harass me and my family,” Rhue told Commissioners.
But the disagreement with her neighbor is not the only problem, stated Rhue.
“Not only have I had to deal with my neighbor issues but now I’ve had to deal with the Public Works Department who has treated me both un-professionally and with discrimination because I feel I am a single woman and if I was a man I would have gotten different results,” she said.
Rhue explained she believes the Public Works Department has repeatedly “misinformed” her and on different issues, namely in making her barn compliant with zoning laws and regulations and then in the board of zoning appeal process.
During the ongoing disagreement, both neighbors have since constructed fences.
According to Rhue, when she started building a wooden fence between her and her neighbor’s property she received a notice from Public Works that her fence was somehow not compliant with zoning laws though she had gotten a permit from Public Works previously to build the fence.
Said Rhue, “I had a permit when I got notice that my fence was not compliant. Public Works said my fence was putting anyone nearby in imminent danger and I had a stop work notice posted on it. They informed me I needed to hire a structural engineer to instruct and advise me on my fence.”
She said Public Works further told her she could not use a general contractor, which would have been more affordable, and could only use a structural engineer.
So she hired a structural engineer, and the engineer inspected Rhue’s fence, said it was compliant, but also commented on her neighbor’s fence, saying the neighbor’s fence, which is approximately 16 ft. tall, was not “meeting the same standards.”
The structural engineer Rhue hired sent a letter to Public Works stating his findings and concerns.
“Why has the Public Works Department held me to a higher standard than my neighbor by making me hire a structural engineer and then why is the department disregarding safety concerns regarding my neighbor’s property that the engineer pointed out?” Rhue asked.
The motion was made by Commissioner Phil Warfield, Dist. 3, to take up Rhue’s inquiry over the fence and the way it has been handled by Public Works under the county mayor’s report on the agenda. Commission passed the motion.
Allen Roberts, another neighbor of Rhue’s, was also present during the Commission meeting on Aug. 21 to speak with Commissioners about the dispute.
Roberts told Commissioners the neighbor in question recently fired a semi-automatic rifle at around 10:30 to 10:40 p.m. into the community, and said that when he called the police to report the incident, law enforcement stated there was nothing they could do because the neighbor was not violating a noise ordinance, and would not be violating it until 11 p.m.
“I’m asking we change the noise ordinance or something to keep people from shooting in our neighborhood at 10:30 at night. There’s no reason to be shooting a semi-automatic rifle at 10:30 and 10:45 p.m. That’s crazy, and it’s going to get somebody killed. The fence is just a byproduct of everything that’s been going on up there. We all live in a very tight knit group. One ricochet from a bullet could kill someone. We need to figure out a way to stop the gunfire before somebody gets killed,” said Roberts.
Commissioner Tim Isbel made the motion to take the gunfire issue up in the operations committee for further discussion, and the motion was passed unanimously.
Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank also weighed in on the issue, and said both Rhue and Rhue’s neighbor have come to her over the dispute and that she has tried to put them both in contact with local law enforcement because it is a neighbor dispute.
Said Frank, “When the issues of Rhue’s fence came up, Mr. Crowley [director of Public Works], despite protestations from the neighbor, gave her a six-month extension. During that time I was contacted, called, and emailed from the neighbor. Ms. Rhue did come visit me and I did speak to her about the issues. The issues with the shooting of the gun that one of the other citizens raised is a concern to me. I gave her [Rhue] the best of my advice. I’m not an attorney. What I did was encourage her to meet with the District Attorney General and law enforcement.”
Frank stated that the neighbor dispute is beyond the scope of what the mayor’s office and Public Works can handle, and is one where law enforcement should be involved.
“This is a situation where neighbor is complaining against neighbor. We cannot solve all the problems in the zoning office with a neighbor dispute. The office can’t be used that way,” Frank said.
According to Anderson County Law Director Jay Yeager, whose office has also been involved in listening to the neighbor dispute, the Public Works department has previously put a stop work order on Rhue’s building a fence after she got a permit from the department to build the fence because Public Works Director David Crowley said she needed first to get advice from a certified engineer on how to build the fence to meet compliance.
Rhue has since done that, he said.
“She has spent money to have a certified engineer come out and look at the fence. He gave her some recommendations. She turned that letter into Public Works. I don’t know where it stands there. I believe all David [Crowley] needs to do is go over the recommendations in the letter the engineer submitted and lift that work order so she can proceed with building the fence,” Yeager stated.
Yeager recommended that Crowley release the stop work order so Rhue could finish construction on the fence.
According to Rhue though, Public Works has already released her from the stop work order and she is currently at work on the fence.
The County Commission’s next scheduled meeting is Monday, Sept. 11, at 6 p.m. in room 312 of the Anderson County Courthouse.
