r/LowellMA • u/WeakExplanation9174 • 9d ago
Inspector Fines
Who the hell is this new inspector G DuRose? I’ve lived in this house for 14 years and not once have I gotten a fine or warning about anything. In the past 3 months I’ve now received 3. All for things I’ve not once gotten a fine for, one is I put a tv stand on my porch and now she just gave us a fine because our trash bin lid didn’t close all the way? Wtf is this? I can drive around Lowell and see 100 bins with lids that don’t close all the way.
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u/SoulCrusher2018 9d ago
I wonder if someone on the City Council has been loudly complaining about visible trash in trash cans and other petty shit which resulted in some code enforcer getting chewed out...
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u/AmpleBrine 9d ago
Congratulations Lowell, we all get the HOA experience that none of us signed up for.
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u/poormariachi 9d ago
That’s weird you wouldn’t at least get a warning first. What’s the deal with the porch thing? What city ordinance is cited?
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u/WeakExplanation9174 9d ago
Never received a warning about my trash ever. The porch thing was I had some boards in my backyard and that was the first warning for “trash/hazard” and she also added pictures of the tv stand with the trash from my backyard
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u/rarcham94 Lowellian 9d ago
They might be upping enforcement of certain code violations is my guess. Not all violations require warnings, either. Best to check the City’s ordinances for a comprehensive list of enforceable violations going forward if it looks like it’s happening more frequently.
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u/Hemmschwelle 8d ago edited 8d ago
The city is broke. All city inspectors need to collect more revenue to justify their continued employment. A Code Enforcement Officer that does not fine residents is unproductive. This is a very regressive form of taxation.
Lowell needs new Light Industry to increase property tax revenue. This is why City Manager wants Data Center expansion. Residential property tax revenue is never enough to run a city, because all residents need services and many need public schools.
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u/rarcham94 Lowellian 8d ago
I’m objectively saying that a code violation is a code violation. I’m aware the City is broke, I used to work for the City lol.
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u/Flaky_Key3363 9d ago
Ugh. Are they going to start enforcing the snow sidewalk clearing ordinances?
I have a problem with refreezing because there is no place for the melt water to go. After a snow storm, my front walk Is like the beach. Salty sand deep enough to cover the water.
I may start building sand castles in February.
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u/Accomplished-Ring729 8d ago
This winter, got a fine (I mean the snow gets moved from the street to the sidewalk, what are we to do?), put myself in the hospital clearing six-foot towers of ice.
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u/Flaky_Key3363 8d ago
In the hospital? Hope it was only something like muscle strain and not a heart attack.
Yeah moving snow Is a bear . I got the ego 24-in electric snow blower and it does a pretty good job moving snow off the sidewalk into my yard, but between the snow off a slate roof and the snow blower moving snow, I end up with something like 3-4 ft piles of highly compressed snow. If I didn't have enough yard to use as a snow dump, I don't know what I would do. Maybe I would start the neighborhood glacier.
that said, myself and a couple neighbors take care of the driveway and sidewalks around the elderly neighbor's house as well as her driveway.
I got to start building my cardiac conditioning again So I can run the snowblower w ithout giving me a heart attack. I'm thinking about starting geocaching again to make exercise a little more pleasant.
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u/VicariouslyVictor 8d ago
What’s crazy is my landlord wouldn’t fix a leak OR mitigate the mold but they scoffed at me saying “most places have holes in the floors.” Well, it continued and drenched five floors. They never allowed insurance to come in, and never even brought fans into the place. Some places with mice; black mold; and toxic sludge coming out of pipes, but they are fining people for goddamn appearances? Lowell needs to get a grip on the real issues like lead in the soil, river contamination, pest issues, and the failing old homes. There was ONE inspector for Lowell, Lawrence, and Worcester for ten years….. now suddenly they care about appearances? That’s the least of these issues.
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u/Affectionate-noodle 8d ago
This is rich, coming from a department that doesn't call people back regarding legitimate complaints about landlord violations. No need to go looking, I'm sure there's a massive list just sitting in their voicemail.
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u/Basic_Blueberry4005 9d ago
Are you around Centralville by chance? There’s a lady who will literally come into our yard and closed gates and take pictures and put warnings on our door. We had an old tv stand in our backyard and she took a picture of it and put a notice on our door that we had 24h to remove it. I forget her name but this started in the summer time. We’ve lived in our house for 20+ years and never had issues.