If you spend any time on social media, you likely know how quickly networks such as Facebook and Twitter can become platforms for venting about life’s travails. Sometimes these matters involve news on the national stage, other times they recount incidents in our own back yards. Or front ones.
Take this recent post for example:
“Dear neighbors,” one woman wrote on a Naperville neighborhood Facebook page, using the “Frustrated” emoji to convey how she was feeling. “Please pick up after your dog(s) as you walk by our yard. We don’t own a dog and never have. We have to pick up after your dog droppings before we mow. Thank you.”
Polite, and effective, this note later hit home for me when, while standing near the curb in our front yard, a friend observed that our yard and been so defiled. What made this all the more perplexing was that at that very time, there sat a very large, clearly marked trash receptacle in our driveway which would have served as an ample depository for said droppings. In fact, when walking by it earlier that day, I’d seen that some other pet owner had done that very thing – clearly scooped their dog’s business, tied it in a bag and disposed of it in that same receptacle.
That one would not remove their pet’s deposit from a neighbor’s yard is mind boggling to me, and can mean one of only three things:
*They normally do pick up after their pets, but forgot a bag this time and could not do so (discourteous, but forgiveable; you could at least come back with a bag later and clean it up).
*They never pick up after their pets, leaving animal doodie strewn about town in their wake (downright rude, an offense worthy of forfeiting one’s right to be a pet owner).
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*Or, they always pick up after their pets, except when passing by my yard, which through either spite or indifference seems to be calling to them with a virtual sign declaring “pets poop here!” (not true; we display no such virtual signage at our home, though I cannot attest to the presence or absence of Pokemon).
When we’re all not instructing our neighbors to please keep their pets’ excrement off of our lawns, sometimes we’re kindly reminding them to please cut theirs, such as in this post on a neighborhood Facebook page a while back:
“A friendly reminder with all of the rain we have had this spring,” the poster wrote. “Let’s keep (our neighborhood) looking great! Keeping your lawns mowed not only looks nice, it prevents unwanted wildlife from invading all of our properties!”
She then went on to cite Naperville code enforcement on the matter, which, if you think about it, often goes unheeded at many properties around town:
“Section 4-3-2.1 of the municipal code states that grass / weeds may not exceed eight (8) inches in height in the right-of-way and eight (8) inches in height on private property. This section also states that any weeds such as jimson, burdock, ragweed, thistle, cocklebur or other weeds of a like kind are not permitted to grow or remain anywhere in the city except in designated natural landscape areas. To report a grass and/or weed violation, please call (630) 420-6693.”
Just how bad does a grass or weed violation have to be that one would consider reporting their neighbors for it? Likely pretty bad, and yet I’ve nearly been driven to that point at times. Perhaps you have too.
Or in winter months, have you been tempted to call the city about that homeowner down the block who stubbornly refuses to shovel the snow or remove the ice on the public sidewalk in front of their home? From Naperville code enforcement on that one:
“Property owners must keep clean and open for public passage any sidewalk or sidewalks abutting on or adjacent to their lot or parcel of land. The sidewalks should be cleared of snow and ice within 48 hours following the weather event. Please note that it is unlawful to remove snow or ice from private property and deposit it upon any public street or alley or any part thereof.”
How about removing one’s garbage cans from their driveway?
“Garbage containers may be placed at the curb the evening before the day of collection and must be removed from the curb by 7 p.m. the day of collection.”
You’ll recall this as a recent topic of great debate in Naperville about whether the cans should even be stored in public sight when not at the curb for pickup, never mind not even removing them from the curb at all.
Barking animals. Early-morning lawn mowing or construction work. Overnight parking of vehicles on the street. Placing trash or yard waste for pickup in the street rather than on the yard side of the curb. The list goes on and on. And on.
There are seemingly countless actions – intentional or not – we all likely make at times that somehow get under the skin of nearby homeowners. There must be, or else they would not be addressed so extensively in municipal code, most if not all of it intended with public safety and/or aesthetics in mind.
To paraphrase a very popular insurance slogan, “Like a good neighbor …” we can probably all be a little more vigilant about picking up after our pets, cutting our grass in a timely manner or shoveling that front walk more quickly after a snow.
And lest we forget, it’s easier than ever for our neighbors to send us a friendly social reminder when we don’t.
Rob Manker is a freelance writer who lives and parents in Naperville.
Twitter: @RobManker