No more boy scout or girl scout events, no more church camping events, no more sleep overs with the neighborhood kids, no more overflow sleeping for guests – tents in your back yard, or anywhere in the city, are illegal and you will be violating zoning code and could be written up if you don’t comply. I didn’t really believe that the City of Madison was going to get this crazy but . . . they did. Of course, it might only apply to homeless people, the rest of you 98%, they will look the other way . . .
RECENT INCIDENT
This is a friend’s description of what happened:
A tent in a back yard with a SIX FOOT PRIVACY FENCE SURROUNDING IT. Only two days for a letter from the city threatening fines, and another threatening letter from the neighborhood association right after that. Plus a visit from the police, asking if the people camped in the back yard were “associated with Occupy Madison.”
And yes, the city really did send out a notice. Noting that no permits can be obtained for camping.
My understanding is that a couple, a single guy and his dog were staying in the back yard. For two days before the notices arrived. Then they went back to the campground and started paying $17 a night – which is $500 or more per month and they can’t afford that with the small odd jobs that they get. One person is finally old enough to get SSI, so that is helping, but he can’t pay for everyone.
THE OFFICIAL WORD
In April, I asked this:
BK: If someone put up one tent, would they be in violation of the zoning code?
Or two?
Or three?Zoning: Depends. I think if a tent were indeed an accessory use/activity (like camping in your backyard overnight) it would be fine. I suspect that is not what you are asking……
BK: Well maybe, what if it were agriculture land and two weekends a month people were there for the weekend. The rest of the use was farming.
Zoning: From a code standpoint, this probably would not be legal. From a practical standpoint, I doubt we would even hear of such activity, because it would be over/gone in a very short time period… unless it isn’t.
The reason I was asking is that every 14 days people have to leave the campgrounds and I was looking for a way to save $104 every weekend by not having people go to Middleton where they only have electric sites and have to pay $26/night per site.
Apparently if you’re going to do this, you need to do it on the weekend when the zoning inspectors are not working.
Here’s the official word from the city on this incident:
BK: I hear that a person was threatened with tickets for allowing a tent in their back yard out by Portage Rd, why? What ticket?
Zoning: Our office responded to a complaint about a person or persons living I tents in the backyard of a home. The zoning code does not allow this use at a home. We inspected, observed the camping activity and issued an “official Notice of Violation, with a final compliance date by which the camping activity must cease. We will reinspect shortly after that date, and if the violation persists, we can issue municipal citations or refer the case to the City Attorney’s office for prosecution, with the goal being compliance (stop the camping activity).
BK: Have there been any others since the new zoning code? If so, could I get copies of those as well?
Zoning: We handle just a few of these types of cases a year, probably around 5 or so. People living in tents, people living in campers in a person’s driveway, the like. A copy of the current case notice is attached.
There has been one other cases that I can think of (except of course for the occupy Encampment during March- April on Mr. Vang’s property on Portage). The other case was for a fellow living in a tent at the Union hall at 1201 Post Road, far south edge of town.
NOT A GOOD REACTION FROM CITIZENS
My friend that I work with quite a bit had this to say:
It really is official, IT IS ILLEGAL TO BE HOMELESS IN MADISON.
My facebook page exploded. Over 40 comments and 17 shares as of this morning. Here’s a taste of some of the comments:
– They can’t count as a guest? Is it unlawful to pitch a tent in your back yard?
– Cite me for what exactly? That’s ludicrous.
– Yeah, I’m curious as to the language of the ordinance they would be citing for, and whether it’s really enforceable. I ain’t no lawyer, but I’m pretty sure I can invite whomever i want over for a sleepover in my own damn yard that i own.
– If there’s such a law, it’s just there to harass the homeless. Seriously, I’m saddened people actually huddle together with ideas like this. Anyone I allow to sleep on my backyard can sleep there and the City of Madison can kiss my ass.
– So… I should call the city because the neighbor kids camped out in the backyard last night?
– But are they saying that if I pitch a tent in my own yard and sleep in it, or if my teenage son and a few of his friends do so, that’s a zoning violation? Seems like there’s some vagueness there regarding the definition of camping.
– NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO. No I have NOT ever heard this. This can’t possibly be. If this is true, the authority to do this must be eliminated immediately. We all need to start inviting anyone we see out on the street to get a tent and put it up in our backyard.
– That’s bullshit. Let’s abolish the “zoning administrator” position and use the funds to help the homeless who’s been constantly harassed by them. What a waste of a government position.
– in Nazi germany, anti-Semitic laws started with “small zoning ordinances”…
– It’s my @#$% backyard. If I choose to invite a homeless person to sleep in a tent in my backyard, without permanently altering the house or the grounds, invite them to use our bathroom, so there’s ahem no environmental degradation, then it’s my own @#$% business–not the neighbors’ business or some @#$% City staff person’s business.
– wow. Who is making the judgement call to do this?
– Doesn’t the city need permission to come on to the property in the first place to “inspect”… Or it would be considered trespassing? How can the castle doctrine fit in here?
– In essence, the city is making the rather novel argument that unless an activity is specifically authorized by the zoning code, you can’t do it on your own property. Under this interpretation, since playing badminton is not mentioned as a permissible activity on property zoned residential, I am in violation if I put up a badminton net. Again, I’m not a lawyer, but what am I missing about their position?
– OMG!
– If the ‘concern’ is a PERMANENT encampment of multiple people–let’s say, 6 or 8 or more people, for let’s say 60 days or 90 days or more, whatever, I could see debating what the time limit should be to leave multiple tents pitched in a single backyard –but if I choose to let A homeless person pitch a tent in my backyard for a few nights, that is–and should be–my business.
– As Thoreau said, civil disobedience is a duty.
– Parents! Do NOT let your kids “camp out” in your back yard!
– WTF??? That is SUCH CRAP!!!
– Did you know there were internment and POW camps in Wisconsin during WWII?…yikes!…let’s not give them any ideas….
– Shame shame shame. I guess people are trying to strip them of everything. Ugh.
– Hmm — do they plan to check tents to see if it a family member having a back yard “camping trip” with their pre-schoolers or what?
– Jeez. How much is the city spending on this? Wouldn’t it be cheaper to just figure out a safe way to shelter the homeless?
– How about neighborhood camp outs — sounds like a fun way to better know your neighbors and cause some enforcement thorns..
– What if my daughter and I camp in the backyard? Ticket?
And from the shares:
– how does one make an angry face?
– That sounds so wrong! Freedom of assemblage? Does one have to be awake to assemble?
– These liberal social engineers aren’t the new reactionaries, they’re the good guys, just ask them.
– Yep, but you can put a tent up in your back yard for your kid and leave it up all summer or build a playhouse and leave it up all year. I’m zoned R4 (I think, at least I was). Wonder if that makes a difference. What about a camper or tiny house in the driveway?
– So if I own my home and I want to put a tent in my back yard to invite anyone I want to sleep in it. It is not ok with the mayor!
– Sick 🙁
– What about our kids who like to camp out in OUR backyard. This is dumb.
– Not sure how they’d argue the person is “homeless,” and not your guest. Must be some back story here.
– Is Madison a progressive community or not?
– They know how many soon will not have place and they don’t want tent cities in people’s back yards, great solution! Not…well there are always those empty buildings up at the Fort that FEMA refurbished, just waiting for the word to be used…this is all a bad
– Now Madison speaks with forked tongue like Boulder CO
– This from the mayor, running in the last election as the former mayor, who campaigned on more can be done for the homeless. It is turning out to be the case of more can be done TO the homeless. This is just shameful.
– Shameful.
– This shit is insane.
– Witnessed first hand at UW how homeless people are treated in that town …
– Let a homeless person pitch a tent in your backyard and the City of Madison is *ON IT*.
– James Degenhardt Really? Well what the fuck?
– So, if your kid pitches a tent in the backyard?
– Unbelievable.
– Here in the Emerald City, things just keep getting better (note sarcasm), and thank you Brenda Konkel for making sure people know about this.
– I checked, Chickens still OK, whew!
CAMPING NOT LIVING
I want to point out, the notice if for CAMPING. That means all camping, not just camping by people with no homes. That means that when the boy scouts want to camp out in any parks in the City of Madison – its illegal. That means that if churches want to have the youth group camp out on the lawn – its illegal. I fully expect this to be fully enforced – that the County Parks Department will not allow it and that next time your kids set up a tent in the back yard and intend to sleep there over night – think twice.
CONTACT YOUR ALDER
Anyone who is outraged by this, email your alder (allalders@cityofmadison.com and make sure to include your address) and the mayor (MayorGeneralMailbox@cityofmadison.com). Personal emails sent to alders at districtx@cityofmadison.com most effective. (x = 1, 12, 20, etc) Ask them to fix this silly law.
http://www.constitutiondefender.com/you_can_fight_city_hall.htm
Yeah tell me about it, heh… the City here is always after me because of my tent hobby, and so, here:
Yes! You Can Fight City Hall… and Win!
by Bill Price
Shutting down tyranny with the ABC’s of Due Process
“No man’s life liberty or property is safe while the legislature is in
session.” Mark Twain
By Bill Price
Our elected and bureaucratic officials have refined scamming into an art. But,
all scams feed off of the public’s ignorance. A few years ago a friend of mine
received a barking dog citation from a township ordinance officer. $80 was being
demanded for the offence. Apparently a complaining neighbor, who my friend just
happened to be in a protracted property dispute with, began phoning complaints
into the township office. Mark, the dog’s owner, asked me if I knew of
anything he could do about being fined for the alleged offence. Well, it just so
happened that a couple of years earlier I was arrested as a result of a
misidentification. Naturally I pleaded not guilty, but my county sheriff’s
department and the prosecutor were only interested in having someone pay the
associated $500 fine for the alleged offence. They refused to drop the charges.
Two months later, the very night before my jury selection, I got a call from the
County prosecutor’s office informing me that they had just issued a Writ of
Nolo Prosequi (unwilling to prosecute). The County’s attempt to
“administer” justice finally ran out of steam. Due Process was my salvation.
The 7th Amendment in our Bill of Rights guarantees a jury trial to anyone
accused of an offence over $20. Since having gained a little on the job training
regarding due process I was able to discuss the typical omissions in City
Hall’s ordinance scams with my friend. Mark’s dog barking dilemma and his
township’s intention to administer a dose of “justice” illustrates how low
our officials will go. Let’s take it from the beginning.
Number one, when it comes to the law there are only two governmental bodies that
we citizens must concern ourselves with. One of them is in Washington D.C and
the other is in the state capitol where our respective state legislatures
convene. Counties, cities, villages and townships cannot make law. These little
political subdivisions have no elected legislators. Thank God! Mark twain was
not joking when he quipped about the governmental fleecing of his fellow
citizens.
The first thing that one must know in order to defeat ordinance scams
perpetrated under “color of law”, like dog barking, seatbelt, garage sale,
junk car, etc., etc., is that your due process can and will protect you. Local
ordinances must actually be in compliance with a State law that prohibits the
alleged illegal activity. More and more, an ignorant public are seen as walking
opportunities by money hungry officials. City councils and county boards etc.
can easily violate a citizen’s rights when passing/enacting ordinances that
have money and/or jail time remedies. Even though federal and state lawmakers
are no strangers when it comes to fleecing their citizens, you will find that
local officials have made a virtual industry out of “ordinance enforcement”.
Local governments have grown exponentially as a direct result of the dollars now
pouring in. Mark’s citation as the owner of a barking dog will serve to
illustrate how the ordinance scams work.
I asked Mark if his citation cited, by reference, a State law. Guess what? There
was no state law named on his citation. It was therefore totally void. Mark then
notified his township that he was not accepting responsibility for the alleged
wrong doing and demanded the first step in his due process, a pretrial hearing.
At the pretrial hearing just prior to his court appearance, Mark pointed out to
the prosecutor that his citation lacked a reference to a state law. The
Prosecutor then slyly “dropped” the charge.
Another friend of mine was cited for parking in a handicap parking spot. The
Livonia prosecutor’s office sent him a threatening letter, stating that he now
owed $130.00, and would not be able to renew his driver’s license. A bench
warrant would be issued for his arrest if he did not pay up immediately. My
friend checked his citation to see if it cited by reference a Michigan Compiled
Law (MCL). He brought the citation into work and we could see that an MCL was
listed on the citation. So we looked it up (findlaw.com) to see what it said and
all appeared to be in order. There was a problem however. The state law quoted
on his citation referred to yet another state law. When we looked up that law we
found that specific stipulations limited the action that could be taken. Only
public property or private properties designated for public use were counted as
offences according to this law. The handicap parking citation was left on the
windshield of my friend’s vehicle, while he temporarily parked in order to
take groceries up to his 3rd floor apartment. When he returned a few minutes
later to move his car he had found the citation, left there by the Livonia
police. After talking it over, we came to the obvious conclusion. His alleged
law breaking did not occur on public property or private property designated for
public use. For example, could a non-tenant park in his complex area while
taking a walk to a nearby park, or go shopping at the mall? Of course not!
Parking was provided for tenants and their guests only. Those handicapped spots
were designed by the complex owner as a voluntary reminder to his tenants and
their guests to not use them for permanent parking places. No State law
prohibited the momentary use of those handicapped parking places. And, no law
was violated. My friend sent the prosecutor a letter stating that he was
innocent and intended to plead not guilty to the alleged wrongdoing. He stated
that the law was being misapplied. He also demanded a pretrial hearing, as part
of his guaranteed constitutional due process rights.
Ladies and gentlemen, our accusers must provide probable cause. The cities
threat to fine my friend and forcibly take his liberty can only be done upon
probable cause. A judge or magistrate judge can sign an arrest warrant only upon
the presentment of probable cause, sworn to by someone with actual first hand
knowledge of the alleged violation. So, how is it legally possible to issue an
arrest warrant when no probable cause existed?
One of the tricks used by unscrupulous officials is to threaten an arrest
warrant or claim that one already exists, like they did with me in my case of
“misidentification”. When I demanded it (a copy of the arrest warrant),
under the Freedom of Information Act, they simply refused by claiming that it
was a court document that they had no access to. There never was an actual
arrest warrant…a common trick employed by the growing number of over-zealous
prosecutors. When we insist on our due process by demanding our pre-trial
hearing, justice begins to work in our favor. Anyone charged with an offense
that makes a demand on their money or liberty is entitled to a pre-trial
hearing. The problem grows hugely for our officials when a jury comes into the
picture. So, don’t be afraid to demand your pre-trial hearing…it cannot be
denied. You can ask the prosecutor questions. What state law was violated?
Demand a copy of the law they intend on using to prosecute you with. If the
prosecutor refuses your demand, motion for a dismissal based the prosecution’s
denial of your due process (information necessary to make a defense). Remember
to take a prepared list of your demands at your pre-trial hearing including the
items mentioned above. Also take a witness. They cannot deny you witnesses, and
if they should try, demand the state law that they are using as their authority
to deny your demand. There is no state law that denies such and an ordinance has
no power unless it is adopted from a state law. So don’t fall for their
tricks.
There are adoption procedures for political subdivisions to follow. The purpose
of these procedures is to give local ordinances actual force of law. Without
satisfying those adoption procedures local ordinances have no actual force of
law. Illegal ordinance enforcements are common and executed under color of law.
These are common because people do not know the ABC’s of their due process
guarantees. Enforcement actions without the authority of a state law are
criminal by nature. Commonly practiced violations by local officials all over
the country reveal a plague of pilfering through the “administration” of our
“due process”. The prosecutors knew in the above cited cases that the
alleged “violations” did not violate state law, but “color of law”. This
has been good enough for 99.9% of “we the sheeple”. If these officials
really didn’t know, then things are even scarier yet. The Ingham County
Sheriff and Prosecutor knew within hours of my arrest that I was not the person
they were looking for. Mark was being threatened with an increasing fine for a
dog barking violation that had absolutely no basis in law, and no law was
violated by the man using the handicapped parking spot while transferring his
groceries to his apartment.
Violations like the ones described are routinely committed by law enforcement
officers, ordinance agents, prosecutors and other officials, are felony crimes.
These crimes have names, like extortion, operating under “color of law”,
fraud, and conspiracy to mention just a few. Officials are being granted
immunity in order to protect the ordinance industry.
Remember our “officials” take an oath of office to defend the Constitution
and uphold the laws of the United States. Presently, the men in black have found
it beneficial to enable our accusers, by issuing dismissals to valid complaints
against these perpetrators under the guise of immunity. Tyranny is here to stay
in good old USA unless enough good men do something, like using their guaranteed
due process rights. The next time you are charged with a violation, demand your
pre-trial hearing. If the prosecutor refuses to provide your demand for a copy
of the state law and the sworn oath statement (probable cause) that is being
used as evidence of an alleged wrongdoing, demand a jury trial and a discovery
order from the judge after your pre-hearing. The discovery order compels the
prosecutor to provide the material you have demanded for your defense.
Finally, if you don’t believe me concerning the corruption in City Hall, I
suggest you read Judge Anthony Napolitano’s tremendous book Constitutional
Chaos. The picture I have painted here will seem relatively rosy by comparison.
Here is a brief formula for stopping tyranny:
Check your citation for a reference to the State law allegedly violated.
The political subdivision citing you must provide a copy of the State law they
intend to prosecute with. So be polite, but don’t take no for an answer. They
are required to keep these ordinances for public inspection and can only ask for
a small fee to reproduce them, e.g. 10 or 20 cents a page.
Demand a dismissal if a State Law is not referenced in the ordinance.
Ordinances by political subdivisions only have force when citing/referencing a
state law and the purpose for such law.
Review the State adoption procedures.
Your political subdivision is actually violating your constitutional rights if
it makes any demands on your property or liberty without following the
procedures enacted by the State. In Michigan townships for example those
procedures are in Act 246 of 1945, Chapter 41, 181-85 (findlaw.com).
After being cited for an offense that you believe you are not guilty of, notify
the clerk that you are not accepting responsibility (pleading not guilty)
Demand your pre-trial hearing, a necessary first step in your due process.
Find a trusted friend or two to accompany you as a witness Prepare a statement
with a list of your demands.
Demand, number one, a copy of the State law you violated.
Demand, number two, a copy of the oath statement made (probable cause).
This statement must provide a summary describing the violation you allegedly
committed, and be sworn to (signed) by someone with firsthand knowledge of the
wrongdoing. You will be able to cross examine that person under oath at trial.
If the prosecutor refuses to drop the charge at pre-trial demand a jury trial.
The 7th Amendment guarantees a jury trial remedy for any offense of $20 or more.
You will be taken before the judge, at that time notify the judge you require a
discovery order to obtain the documentation necessary for your defense. This
order will allow you to compel your accusers (police, ordinance official’s
prosecutors etc.) to provide the documentation they claim to have in order to
gain a conviction against you.
If any of these steps is denied, you should demand a dismissal based on the
denial of your constitutionally guaranteed due process rights.
I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice, its free speech. This stuff
should have been taught to all of us in high school.
Bill Price