still more woes for Big Mo

[franksolich]

The fat one:

KittyWampus (47,252 posts)    Wed Oct 8, 2014, 01:37 PM

30. So fix the issues and be done with it. I read the article and it can all be dealt with

relatively easily.

Fix the issues, get the inspector in and then wait til next year.

Cause I do remember your thread about reporting a tenant who was neglecting their children. So if this is retaliation, it won't happen next year.

[franksolich]

Autumn (17,552 posts)    Wed Oct 8, 2014, 01:10 PM

24. I have coyotes, skunks, racoons, fox, snakes, hawks and falcons.

My chicken coop is well built and I have never lost a chicken when they are roosting or laying in it.

The city seems to object to the truck and getting rid of that is one less issue for them to complain about.

You can walk right next to my chicken coop and smell nothing stick your head inside and that's when you smell it and even then it smalls like chicken, straw and hay. I agree with you on the flowering weeds, some of them have nice blooms and I water them

The fat one, again:

KittyWampus (47,252 posts)    Wed Oct 8, 2014, 01:35 PM

29. Several sympathetic DU'ers have suggested getting rid of the pick-up eyesore and building

a real coop. Including me.

So maybe, just maybe, you actually are not helping yourself in this situation.

A little give and take might help you.

[franksolich]

surrealAmerican (8,945 posts)    Wed Oct 8, 2014, 01:44 PM

31. It would seem like the zoning change would be a good place to start ...

... that, and building a proper chicken coop.

I was thinking more about a symbolic sale, but I don't know if that would matter.
 
It might be worth consulting a lawyer about what you need to do to keep the city off your back.

jberryhill (35,171 posts)    Wed Oct 8, 2014, 01:17 PM

26. They are not nuts, they are fruits

"This is just nuts," said Mo Cahill, 60, standing among her apple, pear and plum trees, tomato plants and raspberry bushes"
 
I question her farming ability if that's what she think.s

[franksolich]

Alittleliberal (64 posts)    Wed Oct 8, 2014, 01:51 PM

32. Farming is dirty

I can't believe on a liberal site I'm hearing people bitch about urban farming. Ohh, it's an eyesore? It stinks? I'm sorry that you now have to know what it takes to produce the food you eat. Functional gardens don't have to be pretty. They have to produce food.
 
I also can't understand why people are harping on you for your recycled truck. Has anyone seen a ****ing junkyard lately? Last year Americans decided they didn't want roughly 14 million cars. Does anyone know where all that metal, plastic and rubber go?

 

[67 Rover]

Wow all that and her husband still decide to divorce her.  Go figure.   

[franksolich]

Big Mo did a pretty good job in attracting an audience.

Gormy Cuss (28,998 posts)    Wed Oct 8, 2014, 02:37 PM

40. And that's one reason why farming has been zoned out of high population density areas.

An urban farm by its very nature must mitigate negative impact on the surrounding community and that includes reducing odors and keeping it a bit tidier than a rural farm.
 
Urban gardening/farming means that one must live with zoning laws that aren't designed for low population density areas. One can work to change them, but in the meantime getting cited for violations is just something to be expected. I live in an area with fairly lax zoning for an urban area. I can have chickens on the property but I am responsible for making sure they're not a nuisance. That means no roosters, no strong odors, and I'm guessing no junk car as the structure unless it's concealed from view. Likewise, I can and do compost but am not allowed to do an open pile. I don't know what the OP's other violations were, but I'm not surprised that Chicago zoning calls both the truck coop and debris pile violations.
 
There are other zoning prohibitions for my area that limit what I can do on my lot, but it's up to me whether I try to conform or try to change the zoning, but flout the zoning, expect citations.

mopinko (42,339 posts)    Wed Oct 8, 2014, 02:44 PM

46. except that those are lies. there is no odor. there is no debris.

there are hugelkultur raised bed. if it is a "debris pile" how do you explain 150 lb of tomatoes?

and the truck is in my backyard, not in view of jack shit. it isnt a "junk car". it isnt a car at all.

Gormy Cuss (28,998 posts)    Wed Oct 8, 2014, 03:02 PM

54. If it's lies, it should be easy enough to get rid of the code violations.

Is hugelkultur legal in the city limits? If yes, does your bed conform to the zoning laws for hugelkultur? If the city code doesn't recognize hugelkultur as an acceptable practice, it doesn't matter what you call it, the city will view it as debris. As for the truck (which is a vehicle like a car, you know) it's not being used as a vehicle. As a coop it may be covered by code for appurtenant structures even though it has inflated tires.
 
I don't pretend to know the code in your city, but you were cited for seven violations so at least one qualified individual thinks your lot is nonconforming. I realize that bringing the lot and the structures up to code is a PITA and probably expensive, but as a property owner you are obligated to conform to the zoning laws or face the consequences. (and FTW, I've been mad every time I had to spend the time and shell out more money to bring something up to code so I understand the frustration.)

mopinko (42,339 posts)    Wed Oct 8, 2014, 02:51 PM

51. and the city's official policy is to encourage farming and gardening.

they are giving away vacant lots so that people will farm them. if i wanted the zoning changed to farming, i could do that. it comes with its own grief, and i am not at the point where i am producing enough for it to be a business.

when that time comes, i intend to do that. but in the meantime i am not flouting jack shit. i am well within my rights.

H2O Man (50,497 posts)    Wed Oct 8, 2014, 02:41 PM

42. Fight the Good Fight.

If there is any way that I can assist you, please let me know.

mopinko (42,339 posts)    Wed Oct 8, 2014, 02:45 PM

47. thank you.

i am still hoping someone comes to their senses and it just goes away.

judging from this thread, tho, senses are hard to come by.

KamaAina (54,554 posts)    Wed Oct 8, 2014, 02:43 PM

44. Take this viral*

Your man Rahmbo will hate the bad publicity.

*trust me, the DUmpster's trying.....

[Carl]

Response to mopinko (Original post)

Wed Oct 8, 2014, 03:48 PM

yellowcanine (25,986 posts)
66. This lady is not an "urban farmer"

She has a small flock of backyard chickens and some garden vegetables and a few fruit trees. She sells none of it. It is an insult to real farmers to call her garden a farm. No real farmer is going to house a flock of chickens in an old pickup truck. The place actually sounds like a dump, with only some of the citations relating to "farming" activities. Sorry but this is bs.

 

[fatboy]

She has a skid-steer in the background, assuming it is not some sort of lawn ornament, she should use it push the garbage in her yard into a dumpster.

It looks like there is a fence gate. But no fence. Reminds me of the toll plaza in Blazing Saddles.

Would not a progressive city like Chicago require a licensed union skid steer operator? Would not the skid steer need to be certified safe and environmentally friendly? With registration, safety inspection and insurance? Lie a good neighbor, State Farm is there! Run on propane or hybred?

[67 Rover]

former9thward (11,869 posts)    Wed Oct 8, 2014, 12:15 PM

21. There has not been a Republican in Chicago in decades.

Except in the far NW section of the city, 41st ward, which is filled with police and firemen and which looks like a leafy suburb compared to the rest of the city.

Democrat run city you say.  Hmmmm.

[fatboy]

A pickup truck chicken coop. Isn't that a tad bit redneck? I'm a little disappointed that the truck isn't seen on the google street view. Even where I live, out in the country, near real farms, we have to keep our place sort of tidy. Our chicken coops are kept clean and neat and look like chicken coops. And you have to be in the back yard to see them.

And if a vehicle is not in a garage, it must be registered and inspected. People who have cars that they use for a demo derby have then inside or put a stockade fence around them. And this is a rural township in NE PA.

I hope Big Mo takes it to the limit because she will loose on most of the complaints.

[Bad Dog]

I hope Big Mo takes it to the limit because she will loose on most of the complaints.

It certainly seems that she wants to.  In spite of the good advice from several DUmmies (which is rare indeed).

The OP about her day in court should be most entertaining. 

[GOBUCKS]

Finally the fire marshall showed up, ran his hand through several layers of the compost pile, wiped his hand on a rag, smiled and said, "Gosh, what a beautiful plum tree - and with a nourishing compost pile likethis one, it is no wonder."
 
And then he went on his way.

Wait. What? You don't believe that?

[BattleHymn]

Chicago, you big dummy! 

That lot looks just fine to me! 

[GOBUCKS]

It sounded like an rsmithnumbers bouncy.

[BattleHymn]

To get the full effect of what Mo did to the lot in question, be sure to check out the street view from 2011:

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.0125731,-87.6775268,3a,75y,175.19h,85.44t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1saNEOArHxY1_Zy1IzfgDPPQ!2e0 

[Carl]

A look at the pigsty it has created.


http://wgntv.com/2014/05/15/chickens-in-the-city-urban-coops-growing-in-popularity/

[BattleHymn]

A look at the pigsty it has created.


http://wgntv.com/2014/05/15/chickens-in-the-city-urban-coops-growing-in-popularity/

Back in Rogers Park, Mo’s girls lay eggs in shades of brown, pink, and green. Her ultimate urban farm goal is to build a better chicken. “How’s my Whitey, huh?”

[sharkhawk]

A look at the pigsty it has created.


http://wgntv.com/2014/05/15/chickens-in-the-city-urban-coops-growing-in-popularity/

Mo seems to be on the road to showing up on the show "Hoarders", that yard is looking like a mess.

[ChuckJ]

mopinko (42,339 posts)    Wed Oct 8, 2014, 02:44 PM

46. except that those are lies. there is no odor. there is no debris.

there are hugelkultur raised bed. if it is a "debris pile" how do you explain 150 lb of tomatoes?

and the truck is in my backyard, not in view of jack shit. it isnt a "junk car". it isnt a car at all.

How many chickens does she suppose to have?

When I was growing up we had a few, but we didn't have the "there is no odor" kind.

[BattleHymn]

How many chickens does she suppose to have?

When I was growing up we had a few, but we didn't have the "there is no odor" kind.

Fifteen or sixteen, I believe.

Only someone who is experiencing odor blindness could claim that many chickens have no odor.

[franksolich]

Well, it looks like a tenant, or an ex-tenant, ratfinked on Big Mo:

LeftyMom (47,012 posts)    Wed Oct 8, 2014, 07:46 PM

94. There are a ton of urban farms near me. They're great.

Even in their shabbiest offseason months they don't landscape with Home Depot buckets and abandoned vehicles. What an eyesore.
 
And more of the code violations were in your rental property. You need to fix that shit.

mopinko (42,354 posts)    Wed Oct 8, 2014, 08:01 PM

103. zero were in my rental property.

that is why my tenant had to complain about the farm. there was zero to report in the building.

<<<am accumulating quite a lengthy enemies' list, of primitives being disrespectful to Big Mo.

[thundley4]

mopinko (42,354 posts)    Wed Oct 8, 2014, 08:01 PM

103. zero were in my rental property.

that is why my tenant had to complain about the farm. there was zero to report in the building.

Is Mo the one that talked about reporting her tenant for child neglect?  Maybe that tenant reads DU.

[franksolich]

Is Mo the one that talked about reporting her tenant for child neglect?  Maybe that tenant reads DU.

Yeah, the one and the same.

But anyway, something here stinks, and it's not the chickens.

In real life, Skippy and the great-aunt of triplets are good friends, good pals, good chums, of Big Mo; whenever Skippy's in Chicago visiting his idol, William "25 Million Dead" Ayers, the three primitives get together and have a good old time.

But one looks in vain, for Skippy and the great-aunt, to show up and defend her.

[GOBUCKS]

Big Mo has had it.

LeftyMom (47,013 posts)
104. Is this the tenant whose child you wanted to steal?

You're lucky she only called code enforcement.

Wed Oct 8, 2014, 08:04 PM
Star Member mopinko (42,355 posts)
105. im going to delete this thread.

i wasnt expecting a whole lot of support, but i didnt expect to be quite this pissed on. and i didnt expect du'ers to go and piss on me on local boards.
i guess i should have.

this place has turned into a swamp. i really cannot imagine this reaction to having this story posted about a complete stranger here.

pat yourselves on the back, trolls. you win this round.

[Big Dog]

Wed Oct 8, 2014, 08:04 PM
Star Member mopinko (42,355 posts)
105. im going to delete this thread.

i wasnt expecting a whole lot of support, but i didnt expect to be quite this pissed on. and i didnt expect du'ers to go and piss on me on local boards.
i guess i should have.

this place has turned into a swamp. i really cannot imagine this reaction to having this story posted about a complete stranger here.

pat yourselves on the back, trolls. you win this round.

They are not trolls, Chicken Witch. Those are your fellow DUmbasses. They're inbred hyenas, and they smelled blood.

You've been the hyena yourself a time or two, so all I have to say is "karma is a bitch".