What Would you do?

[arctiva]

See if the pictures work LOL

Few weeks ago the bussiness behind me moved all there snow from the parking lot into a grass area on the other side of there parking lot fence, anticipateing the huge blizzard and needing more space for snow. Now that its melting its flooding there small area from there parking lot to the alley and is finding its way across the alley and into my yard and driveway. Ive been running a sump pump non stop for 3 days now too keep my garage from flooding. If they woulda kept the snow on the parking lot it would have melted and run into the storm water sewers as the parking lot is all pitched away from the alley into the sewers. Obviouslly im less than happy and thinking about a trip to city hall over the situation or even to the bussiness to see if they can come up with a better place to store there snow. This is the same bussiness that put on i belive a 50,000 square foot addition last summer and had to put in temporary well pumps to dig down 12 feet and filled it all in with sand/gravel and when they stopped pumping the ground water and now everytime it rains or this year the snow melts my yard floods and the water sits for weeks as it wont settle into the ground for sometimes weeks.

 

[arctiva]

OK now i cant get pictures to post GRRRR

 

[arctiva]

Try again
At least im bumping my post count up hey

 

[arctiva]

This is about the worst i used to get from flooding. You can see the area without grass Thats cause the water allways collected right in that little area.

 

[arctiva]

And heres what i get after they did there addition.
Even a little 1/2" rain does this now.
Sometimes it takes 2-3 weeks without pumping the yard for the water to soak into the ground. 3 years of living here and little to no issue and now seems non stop

 

[slimcake]

For sure a trip to city hall!! Happened in my town after a building changed its roof pitch causing a ladys basement to flood. Went to city. added evetroffs to building. Problem solved. Just gonna be hard to say it didn't happen before. have any neighbors that can side with you?/

 

[arctiva]

There is 3 of affected by it. I by far get the worst of it. Its really odd as the neighbor to the left his water soaks into the ground in say 2 days and the neigbor to the right is 4-5 days and i sit for 2-3 weeks. But i unlike them have a full basement with 2 sump pumps that run allmost non stop so i figuire all the water is atracted towards my house. And with the bussiness displaceng all the ground water from there addition im wondering if thats comeing towards my house now as well. Im wondering if the changed the flow of the ground water.

 

[maddogg]

for sure a trip to city hall!! Happened in my town after a building changed its roof pitch causing a ladys basement to flood. Went to city. Added evetroffs to building. Problem solved. Just gonna be hard to say it didn't happen before. Have any neighbors that can side with you?/

x 1,000,000

 

[yamahauler]

Yup, I concur...head to city hall.

 

[snow_monkey]

City hall or adopt a beaver family.

 

[jr37]

If there is no way to calmly bring this to the businesses attention then I would say that city hall needs to know. I would always try to deal with the source of the problem first, if that gets you no where, then take what ever steps you need to get things fixed.

 

[favoritos]

Do you live in Portage? If so, this is an excerpt from your city code.

" The land disturbing activity will be an industrial development proposed with a gross aggregate area of 1.0 acres or more. Sites less than 1.0 acre in size are subject to onsite detention and runoff control unless the site has more than 30 percent greenspace"

Here is the link.
http://library2.municode.com/default-test/home.htm?infobase=13668&doc_action=whatsnew
I would doubt that the business followed these rules.

Good Luck, you should not need to run a sump pump in your yard when not needing it previously.

 

[rmk4ever]

Sump pump??? You need a 3 inch trash pump... Lake front property for sale!

 

[MZEMS2]

I would definitely go to the business first and see if they're willing to work with you. Then go to the city hall and start investigating right-of-ways, run-off retention and water control, etc.....There needs to be a better place to put snow, even if they have to have it trucked away.

 

[scott_l]

I would definitely go to the business first and see if they're willing to work with you. Then go to the city hall and start investigating right-of-ways, run-off retention and water control, etc.....There needs to be a better place to put snow, even if they have to have it trucked away.

I agree I would go talk to the business ASAP (before the next big melt) and be straight forward with them. Let them know you want to work it out between you and the company but if you can't come up with a solution soon you will have to go to the city. It might help if you went and talked to the company with your neighbors (be nice don't demand any thing, if some one demands some thing from me I might have the tendency to drag my feet a little ). If you don't get any help from city hall show up at a city council meeting (with your pictures, and journal) all city council meeting have a period of time where residents can get up and talk. Ask the city council members what can be done to help solve the problem. Also most city council meetings are televised so the company might feel a little pressure to solve the problem quicker.

Also start keeping a "log/journal" when you went and talked to the company, who you talked to what you talked about. Also keep track of when you had water problems about how bad it was (pictures are always a good thing).

Good luck

 

[booondocker]

City screwed up....as the rule above stipulates. (Unless the rule was adopted after the building modifications...)

Be a stand up guy and go talk to the building owner (who is violating the rules by dumping snow "off grounds". )

Some sort of drain modification should occur here. Even though it is costly you should NEVER have to endure the consequences of :

A) poor engineering design

B) lack of oversight from the city building department


Take a ton of pictures, of the snow tossed over the fence.

Next time your yard floods from big rains, take more pictures.

Take it to the building owner, then the city and then if you get the double step .....take it to an attorney and let him do his thing. This is definitely an actionable offense.

Some day you are going to have to sell this place and if it floods like this, you will have to disclose that fact to the next guy...and unless the guy is brain dead....he will run...not walk away.

 

[jakester]

Like I told Indiana in another post, if nothing works... I gotta guy.. know what I'm talkin about.....

 

[Skylar]

You must be talking about AMPI. I guess I would head to city hall, AMPI is not just a small town local business.

It's too bad that the whole first ward is built on a swamp. Flooding down there has been happening since I can remember, and that has been since 1976 or so.

 

[arctiva]

Yes it is AMPI. Im 1 house away from who and where they had to "Legally" notify of the city meeting before they did there addition for public input. And when i asked the builder and the bussiness dureing construction questions they were very hostille and would only say were following the buiding permitt and what was approved.

They did a huge addition last summer and since they completed and quit pumping ground water seems any little bit of rain wont soak into the ground now. I would think with haveing 2 sump pumps in the basement cylcling every minute that the water would soak in but it dont. Ive been rideing the city for 2 years since the last "Huge" flood 3-4 years ago for pavement and storm water runoff on the alley and thats been on deaf ears as well.

The funny part is 3 years ago we were officially taken out of the flood plain!! LOL

 

[rakins800]

Like I told Indiana in another post, if nothing works... I gotta guy.. know what I'm talkin about.....

aahhhh,the often imitated,never duplicated Fox Lake mafia......LOL