Sometimes it doesn’t pay to vex your neighbor. How would Mr. Rogers have solved this neighborhood squabble?
Utah city councilman Mark Easton had a beautiful view of the east mountains until a new neighbor purchased the lot below his house and built a new home.
The new home was 18 inches higher than the ordinances allowed, so Easton, mad about his lost view, went to the city to make sure they enforced the lower roof line ordinance.
The new neighbor had to drop the roof line at great expense.
Then Easton complained to the city that his neighbor had installed some vents on the side of his home. He didn’t like the look of these vents and asked the city to investigate.
When they went to Easton’s home to see the vents, they found a legal depiction of an unusual Utah bird…
Conversation questions
1. Have you ever had a spat or a full-blown feud with a neighbor?
2. Did you find a peaceful resolution? If you had to deal with it all over again, what would you do differently?
3. What did you learn from the whole thing, other than to choose your neighbors carefully?