Dispute regarding trash cans for alley pick-up in DC

[Anonymous]

You're all nuts if this is what you are doing to cope with the risk of blocking an alley in DC on freaking trash day...

[Anonymous]

I would love to know how many of the people yelling about "It's his property!" live, or have ever lived, in a DC rowhouse.

[Anonymous]

I’m not convinced this is the A hole neighbor’s property.
How long has the grass been used? At least 10 years. How many years before that?
Seems the grass has become public use now.
I’m sure you can find a lawyer on your block that can push that point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m not convinced this is the A hole neighbor’s property.
How long has the grass been used? At least 10 years. How many years before that?
Seems the grass has become public use now.
I’m sure you can find a lawyer on your block that can push that point.

I believe that 15 years is the time for a prescriptive easement, and the usage has to be "open and notorious" -- that is, the people who use the land can't have been given permission by the owner, but rather just did it.

https://law.justia.com/cases/district-of-columbia/court-of-appeals/1983/82-555-3.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. This is the most entertaining thread ever, with nuggets of very helpful insights. Thanks, DCUM forum. The odd thing is we had no idea this new neighbor existed until months after he moved in, and the previous resident didn't mind us leaving them there. We didn't know there was a new occupant in that house.

We can't modify the fence because--and this is tough to explain in text--the sides and back of the fence are indeed shared with two other houses. The fence predates our arrival. If the three of us had the cash, maybe we'd collectively tear it down and start over. We all are affected by this new neighbor's position (it's not just our trash cans). He has his property deed on his side, and none of us dispute that. As for generating the good will of his new neighbors, well, that's another story...

Hold on: how do you get your trash into your garbage cans if you can't access the alley from your backyard?

By this, it sounds like multiple neighbors put their trash cans twice a week (probably all day) in the other neighbors yard. I'd be pissed to. Each neighbor needs to fix their fence with a gate or move it in enough to have room for the trashcans. Simple. Its not that expensive and you could DIY.

Maybe you'd be pissed, but you would have done due diligence and inspected the alley before purchase and realized this was going to be an issue. that's what I did before I put an offer in on the row house we have. I saw that neighbors would likely be needing to block access to my back yard with their trash cans, but I bought the house any way and we all just deal with it. People do their best to put them in a place that doesn't block my access but the trash collectors are in a rush and people are gone to work by the time the trash is picked up. Everyone takes their cans back off the alley at the end of the day so it is just a couple days a week that it is a problem. My advice to the OP-- Just put the cans in the alley (but off the neighbors grass) and hope for the best as everyone struggles to maneuver their cars around the cans while the neighbor's precious precious little strip of grass isn't marred by the cans. Eventually the new neighbor will realize that it really isn't that big a deal to just let people park their cans on his strip of grass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For 10 years living in our DC rowhouse, we've had alley trash pick-up and, on trash/recycling days, we've left our cans on a small strip of dirt/grass on the opposite side of the alley. This patch (maybe 5 ft by 8 ft?) is technically the property of the people whose house is across the alley, but this seemed to be the only option for us. It's a very narrow alley with no space to leave out the cans on our side of the alley, without obstructing the path of vehicles moving up and down the alley. Other residents with similar strips of grass/dirt further up the alley seem to be OK with having neighbors parking cans there; there just isn't space elsewhere. But last fall, a new neighbor moved into the house across the alley from us and, in brief, he says he doesn't want us leaving them there. He acknowledges there is nowhere else in the alley to put our cans, but he insists that we not leave them on his property.

Does anyone have ideas about how to handle this? He's entitled to keep others' trash off his property, but neighbors are entitled to leave their trash out for pick-up.

I'm sure there is a way for you to correct your property so you can put your trash cans in your property.
Nice bonus if the neighbors let you use their yard but I don't think you can presume that option.

We really need the address so we can all go on Google earth and get a definitive answer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would love to know how many of the people yelling about "It's his property!" live, or have ever lived, in a DC rowhouse.

i have lived in DC row houses for two decades. unless op's house literally goes all the way to the alley (which is relatively rare), she can move her fence back to make room for the trash cans in her own yard/patio/parking pad area.

[Anonymous]

DC resident with same set up here. OP, we had same issue when we bought our house. We paid a guy like $250-$300 for a day’s work to use existing fencing (had to buy a little more) to make a 3x3 cut in on alley fence line. It was so cheap because he didn’t even need to make posts with cement due to the short length and the proximity to existing posts. Easy. It looks nice and neat too. I think you’re in the wrong here. Especially with all the rodents in DC. Sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would love to know how many of the people yelling about "It's his property!" live, or have ever lived, in a DC rowhouse.

I live in one and really, it doesn't matter what happened previously, what matters is that this neighbor doesn't want it on his property now. OP can leave their cans in the alley, adjust their fence or whine about it here nonstop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would love to know how many of the people yelling about "It's his property!" live, or have ever lived, in a DC rowhouse.

Sounds like a lot of selfish-tarians to me. Who said “go back to Montana”?

[Anonymous]

without obstructing the path of vehicles moving up and down the alley

Then, obstruct. See how that works for everyone

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP:

Are your trash cans blocking the neighbor's car or access to his property?

Does he use that space for his own trash cans (or car or..)?

Do you have a lot of smelly trash in there?

Did you ask him before you put your cans there or did you just assume he'd be cool with it?

Twice a week pickup would be annoying for sure if your cans are imposing in some way. We put our cans out the night before so we're talking the cans could be sitting out there for like 20 hours (twice a week for OP).

If it's not an imposition and neighbor is really just being difficult then that sucks. We had a neighbor move in and was placing his cans directly behind our car. DH finally asked him to stop and he was all "well I don't have space for them on my property." Sorry dude but that's your problem. He figured it out and we somehow still manage to be friendly neighbors.

OP I"m sure you will figure it out without resorting to organizing a neighborhood mutiny.

-DC resident whose townhouse backs up to an alley

+1

Be an adult, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would love to know how many of the people yelling about "It's his property!" live, or have ever lived, in a DC rowhouse.

i have lived in DC row houses for two decades. unless op's house literally goes all the way to the alley (which is relatively rare), she can move her fence back to make room for the trash cans in her own yard/patio/parking pad area.

Lots can be really weird in DC. Her house could be landlocked and have a narrow passage over other lots, instead of having her own fence facing the alley. From what she's explained, it would be possible to change the fence, but all 3 neighbors would have to do it together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Lots can be really weird in DC. Her house could be landlocked and have a narrow passage over other lots, instead of having her own fence facing the alley. From what she's explained, it would be possible to change the fence, but all 3 neighbors would have to do it together.

Or OP can do a cutout on just her portion of the fence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Lots can be really weird in DC. Her house could be landlocked and have a narrow passage over other lots, instead of having her own fence facing the alley. From what she's explained, it would be possible to change the fence, but all 3 neighbors would have to do it together.

Or OP can do a cutout on just her portion of the fence.

Again, OP may not even have a fence on the alley. She may access the alley over a neighbor's lot.