Woman evicted and house condemned for using solar power

I think the main thing that bothers me about this is that the city code requires a running refrigerator. What if your diet doesn't consist of items that need to be kept chilled? Or you have a root cellar? Or some other alternative a running refrigerator?

Same with the temperature, she has to have enough power to keep it running to those temps, but what if she chooses not to?

I can understand the reasons for some of these things in regards to rental property or when children are involved. However a single adult should have the right to live any way they damn well please in their own house as long as it does no harm to others.

I fail to understand what is going on here, I got obvious questions:

1. If she simply remained hooked to the power grid, would that then satisfy the condition, I quote: "to have enough electricity to power a refrigerator"?
   
2. Does just being plugged have expenses, that is can you get a $0 bill?
   
3. Similar to the above, does the law require you to use any electrical devices?
   
4. If answers to above questions are yes, no and no - then what is the purpose of the law, except perhaps forcing people to live according to predefined atmospheric conditions?
   

I don't currently see point of the law. If the city considers that a person's lifestyle does not fit high standards then it enforces the law by eviction/jail/fines.

Originally posted by spookfish

Originally posted by blair56
t. I've worked in real estate and kicked out many ppl for not having there utilites turned on and i would have done the same thing to this lady. And her complaining about not being given a notice in an adequate amount of time is ridiculous. YOU DON'T HAVE YOU ELECTRICITY ON. its pretty common sense of whats going to happen

In bygone days I used to treat realtors/landlords like Spookfish in the same manner as they treated their tenants. If a landlord wanted to screw their tenant over I would keep them in Court paying legal fees at $150/hour until they saw the error of their ways.

Sometimes due to unfortunate circumstances, people do have one or more utilities cut off. Sometimes people choose to have one or more utilities cut off. That is THEIR choice, and is not any of the landlords business. For a landlord to persecute a tenant merely because said tenant is not living up to their standards is beyond heartless.

Sometimes people who have the upper bargaining position tend to forget the Golden Rule of... "Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you.".

I daresay that if the City Manager of Avondale Arizona, was kept in Court paying legal fees long enough, that a proposal to change the Code would be presented at a City Council meeting in short order. I have found that when various entities have paid out between $5,000 to $15,000 of legal fees, they tend to start seeing the light.

[edit on 28-1-2010 by Longbob]

Someone mentioned you can be turned in by the electric company for using too little electricity, they will also forward your name to the authorities if you use too much electricity. They fear you may be growing contraband vegetation in your home.

and, then there's the matter of well....if you happen to fit into the certain criteria set forth by the dept of social services and is seen as needing help, well, you can eat all the big macs you want and waste your money as you see fit, and when they come to turn off you electricity, well, just call your caseworker, and well...all will be fine... no electricity cut off, no homelessness, ect. na, that is just for the idiots who chose to work and be taxpayers!!!

at least that was how it was when I was living in ny...knew of alot of people who couldn't afford their bills, just call the caseworker, and emergency funding would be on it's way!!

This woman needs to sue the holy crap out of this company. What they are doing is unlawful and shameful and it makes me sick to read about it.

this is a violation of her rights and i hope she sues the pants off those assholes. there is no law saying you cant use solar power.

This case is a reminder of a couple of points:

1) Government officials will always be able to find utilitarian excuses for tyranny.

2) Abuse of power that negatively affects the freedoms of individuals isn't reserved for the federal level but also occurs at the local level as well. The expression 'give them an inch and they'll take a mile' comes to mind; while some regulations may be needed for public safety, public officials have here stretched their authority well beyond what is warranted. We need to keep city council members, mayors, state reps and governors on a tighter leash and make sure come election time that we only vote for those that have a history and a commitment to advocate for the principles of freedom and liberty. And if there are no candidates that advocate populist libertarian values then we should run for office ourselves.

Originally posted by butcherguy
Someone mentioned you can be turned in by the electric company for using too little electricity, they will also forward your name to the authorities if you use too much electricity. They fear you may be growing contraband vegetation in your home.

But why if you're just growing vegtables and not mary J? (I realize that's what you are implying right? They think said person is growing marijuana?) Then do they rescind? I KNow its OT... Anyway, I didn't know they could turn you in if you didn't use enough electricity? I live in Fl and as you well know a lot of homes here are snowbird homes and they're likely not to use electricity for 2/3 rds of the year. I never saw anybody from our snowbirds get turned in for the failure to use their electric thos 2/3rds of the year.

[edit on 28-1-2010 by ldyserenity]

Welcome to the corporation of the United States Of America. Just an example of more corporate control fused with government. I believe Mussolini's definition of facism was the marriage of government with the corporations. I guess this is 21st century America.
Ps. hope there is some young lawyer willing to fight for this woman non gratta. Good luck

reply to post by Zanti Misfit



Dude you have the creepiest avatar ever...

I do have to admit this sound bitter. Living conditions are vital and she may not have had adequate power available

now...with that said

If she can't afford to power her home then how did she buy solar panels?

-Kyo

Originally posted by Cabaret Voltaire
The thread title is misleading. She was not evicted for using solar power.

The city has codes for housing in order to prevent slum conditions. For instance, a landlord could rent a place to you with no electricity. That is not good. So the city has these codes in place. It is about maintaining a decent dwelling that is not too hot or too cold. Plus you need to be able to refrigerate certain foods so they don't spoil.

Also think about children who might be subjected to bad conditions.

If she did things according to code, then she could have solar power all she wants.

And living in a convertible Mazda Miata? What is that about? Is she mental? The photo makes her look bitter. Why wasn't she in her house?

What if I dont need a frig? What if I like to eat out? What if i dont want to be on the grid? Why should I have too? And dont tell me because you have to go by codes, because telling me that only assures me that you are not for self sufficient living. Only tells me that you are part of the system. What if I dont need any heating? What if i provide my own water? Slum condition? Slum condition is out in certain places in 3rd world countries. Thats slum conditions, hell our homeless have it better then most out there. But because we are not paying into the system we get sued, or we get removed or disposed of if you will. Thats insane and it pisses me off to no avail!

Peace!

Originally posted by QtheQ
This case is a reminder of a couple of points:

1) Government officials will always be able to find utilitarian excuses for tyranny.

2) Abuse of power that negatively affects the freedoms of individuals isn't reserved for the federal level but also occurs at the local level as well. The expression 'give them an inch and they'll take a mile' comes to mind; while some regulations may be needed for public safety, public officials have here stretched their authority well beyond what is warranted. We need to keep city council members, mayors, state reps and governors on a tighter leash and make sure come election time that we only vote for those that have a history and a commitment to advocate for the principles of freedom and liberty. And if there are no candidates that advocate populist libertarian values then we should run for office ourselves.

That's a start, but we should also use the law as it is made available to us and somebody in Avondale should use their inherent political power as one of the people and go to the Sheriff's office and file a verified complaint upon the city official who acted beyond the scope of their jurisdiction, filing charges of acting under color of law, simulation of legal process, malicious prosecution, and obstruction of justice to name just a few laws on the books that were broken by the city officials who condemned this woman's house and through fraudulent means, convinced her she could no longer live there until she...oh yeah, extortion would be another crime this official, who acting without jurisdiction can not claim immunity from prosecution since without jurisdiction that person acted as a private citizen and is as liable for these crimes as you or I would be.

it wasn't that she wasn't using enough electricity, they came, inspected her home and decided that there wasn't any way for the solar panels she had to meet the electrical needs that would be required for their vision of a perfect world to exist, namely air conditioners running keeping your home a nice cool 88degrees or whatever it was, and a nice refrigerator keeping the food you have in it cool (I wonder if they will kick you out of the home if they find your fridge is empty because you dropped your last few dollars onto the electric company to keep the fridge running??)

Originally posted by dawnstar
and, then there's the matter of well....if you happen to fit into the certain criteria set forth by the dept of social services and is seen as needing help, well, you can eat all the big macs you want and waste your money as you see fit, and when they come to turn off you electricity, well, just call your caseworker, and well...all will be fine... no electricity cut off, no homelessness, ect. na, that is just for the idiots who chose to work and be taxpayers!!!

at least that was how it was when I was living in ny...knew of alot of people who couldn't afford their bills, just call the caseworker, and emergency funding would be on it's way!!

And they are penalizing someone who is IMO a survivalist, and independant, someone taking matters into their own hands and Fixing their problem LOGICALLY, instead on depending on handouts. That' crazy...I really think it is the government's missions to make sure that the populace will be weak so as not to be self relient, and why would they want a country of those kind Of people?

reply to post by SuperSlovak


No, but there is a law saying you have to have adequate electricity to your house. That is the issue, not where her meagre electricity was coming from.

Originally posted by JIMC5499
I fail to see the problem here other than the woman's stupidity. Run your solar cells and batteries to your heart's content, but, leave your power hooked up. They only bill you for what you use, if you don't use any, then no bill. From what I read, it says that you must have the capability to run a refridgerator, heat and cool the house, it doesn't say that you have to do it. As far as the power company is concerned, this law should work both ways. They shouldn't be allowed to disconnect service, they should be required to provide power that meets those standards as well.

If you don't want to get charged money from the power company you have to be disconnected from the grid. Even if you use no power what so ever, the power company will still charge you money, just for being connected to the grid. I'm not sure if this holds true for all areas. Ever wonder why a lot of solar panel companies are actually the same companies who sell gas? The oil cartel and the energy cartel are one in the same. Those who control the energy, control the user, simple as that. They have to make an example out of those who wish not to be under that control.

This is the same reason why 99% of the population is still using medieval cannons for car propulsion..That's really what a gas engine is...A cannon..The more wasteful and inefficient, the more gas you require to go the same distance. Why aren't we using solar powered derived hydrogen for fuel? Because that wouldn't make enough money for the oil cartel.

Originally posted by davesidious
reply to post by SuperSlovak

 

No, but there is a law saying you have to have adequate electricity to your house. That is the issue, not where her meagre electricity was coming from.

There is a city ordinance that serves as evidence of law, whether or not it is actually law is a question the courts should decide. If it is law, then there is a crime that has been committed. If there is a crime committed then there needs to be a victim shown to prove this crime was committed. Who is the victim in this scenario?

reply to post by ldyserenity
They can't bust you for growing 'regular' veggies. I just think it sucks that on the word of the electric company, they can get a warrant to search your home because you use too much or too little electricity! I heard of a guy that had his home searched because he was buying too much fuel oil for his home. Turns out they were right, he was fueling a diesel generator to run grow lights to grow illegal drugs. But how do they get search warrants with info such as this. Our governments, local, state and federal, are out of hand. Our freedoms are GONE! Sorry for getting off topic.

I have a friend who built a house way back in his 240 acres of woods. Did it all by the codes but when he went to move in they wouldn't give him the final permit because he wasn't grid connected. never during the whole building process did they bring it up. He's been living it for 15 or so years now and it's never been brought up again and he pays no taxes on it because the paperwork was never finalized. Strange world we live in.