Office of Inspection and Code Compliance
June 12

Dear Mr. Nora:

In reviewing our files in regards to the current building project at your homesite, it has come to the attention of our office that you are in NONCOMPLIANCE with Section A, Subsection IX of the Building Code which states that “prior to beginning any construction and/or improvement on any structure and/or building, whether existing or new, whether privately or professionally contracted, and if the cost of that construction and/or improvement shall be estimated at a total at or exceeding $500.00, the said owner and/or contractor shall be required to obtain a Building Permit (Form BP-3r).”

I am sure you are aware that violation of the Building Codes is a serious offense punishable by severe PENALTIES AND/OR FINES. Please rectify this situation immediately. A permit may be purchased at the Office of Inspection and Code Compliance at any time during the hours of 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Monday – Friday.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Sincerely,
Samuel P. Asham

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Office of Inspection and Code Compliance
July 15

Dear Mr. Nora:

Regarding your letter of June 17, I must inform you that you are still in NONCOMPLIANCE with the Building Code. The permit you purchased from our office and which you refer to in your letter as proof of your compliance is a Form BP-3m, not a Form BP-3r. Form BP-3m is a permit for “movable and/or mobile structures of a temporary nature not fixed or intended for permanent placement.” Form BP-3r is for “residential structures located in new and/or existing subdivisions or other incorporated lands of the city.”

I must repeat my warning that violation of building codes is a serious offense punishable by severe PENALTIES AND/OR FINES. You must cease and desist all further construction at your homesite until this situation has been rectified.

Sincerely,
Samuel P. Asham

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Office of Inspection and Code Compliance
August 28

Dear Mr. Nora:

Pursuant to our conversation of August 23, I am writing to detail those things we discussed when I visited your homesite. I am hereby giving you written notice that unless the following areas of NONCOMPLIANCE are immediately rectified, our office will have no alternative other than to take legal action against you. In the meantime, you are ordered to CEASE AND DESIST all construction at your homesite.

As we discussed:
You have not obtained a Size Restriction Waiver for your subdivision. As you are aware, dwellings are limited to 2,000 square cubits in your subdivision. My inspection revealed that your dwelling vastly exceeds the restriction set forth in your subdivision covenant. In order to comply with the Building Code it is necessary to follow the following procedure:

*You must obtain a covenant variance petition drafted by the chairman of the architectural committee of your subdivision.

*This petition must be signed by a minimum of 3/4 (75%) of the property owners in your subdivision.
*The signed petition must be submitted to the Office of Inspection and Code Compliance along with an Application for Variance of Deed Restriction (Form DV-31) and a check for $100.00 to cover administrative fees.
*Within 60 days of receipt of your application the Office of Inspection and Code Compliance will place advertisements for public hearings to be held within 14 days of the appearance of the initial advertisement.
*After public hearings are held the Office of Inspection and Code Compliance will issue a ruling (not exceeding 60 days from the date of public hearing) on your request.
*If a favorable ruling is given, you may then submit an application for Size Restriction Waiver (Form DV-31-srw) to our office.

You have still not acquired the proper Building Permit (Form BP-3r). Your argument that the building on your property is not a house but is, in fact, a boat and therefore covered by Form BP-3m is a tactic that will not (you will pardon the pun) hold water. Having served in my capacity as Chief Inspector for over 14 years, I can assure you that it is the function, not the shape, of a building that determines its categorization. Admittedly, your home does resemble some sort of large barge; however, the fact that there is no body of water within miles of your site effectively precludes your argument.

All plumbing in your structure must be brought up to residential codes. This, of course may not be done until you have complied with the above-listed items. My inspection of your dwelling revealed numerous deficiencies (detailed on Inspection Report Form IR-B-21, copy attached).

Make no mistake about the intent of this letter, Mr. Nora. We at the Office of Inspection and Code Compliance will not tolerate scofflaws. Do not think you can manipulate the codes by deception and trickery. This is your FINAL WARNING. If you continue to ignore these directives, our office will be forced to take legal action and you will be subject to the JUDGMENT OF THE COURT.

Sincerely,
Samuel P. Asham
cc: David Levy, City Attorney

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Department of Health and Public Safety
September 30

Dear Mr. Noha:

In response to a memo sent to us by Chief Inspector Asham of the Office of Inspection and Code Compliance, I visited your place of residence on September 21. I apparently missed you, for your wife told me you were away on business at the time of my call, but I am writing to voice my very real concerns about the conditions I found at your home.

You may not be aware of the Health Department regulations concerning the keeping of livestock in the area where you live. For your convenience, I have enclosed copies of the pertinent sections of the regulations and I call your attention particularly to Section C, Article 3 that details the conditions under which “farm animals” may be kept. Your current holding facilities are much too small for the large population of livestock you have acquired. There are also a number of species of animals in the pen that I am not familiar with. These will have to be evaluated on a “case by case” basis to assure that they do not pose any type of threat to the health of the community.

I am sure that you will want to cooperate with us in protecting your own safety as well as that of your neighbors. Please come by my office at your earliest convenience to discuss the situation.

Thanking you in advance for your swift attention to these matters, I am

Sincerely yours,
Joshua Abrams
cc: Samuel P. Asham

p.s. I must compliment you on the striking design of your new house. Who is your architect?

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Department of Health and Public Safety
November 12

Dear Mr. Noha:

I must say that I am puzzled and dismayed by the cryptic note I received from you yesterday. It was my hope that you would be willing to cooperate with our office in moving toward a voluntary compliance with the Health Department regulations regarding your farm population. Instead I have learned that you have continued to gather more and more animals in direct defiance of my letter. And now this “note of explanation” which you send in which you attempt to convince me that you have some sort of Divine mandate to ignore the laws of the land. Surely “God” has not told you to gather this loud and foul-smelling menagerie to the detriment of your neighborhood. Your actions are endangering the public health, Mr. Noha, and will not be tolerated any longer.

I have also been in close communication with Mr. Asham at the office of Inspection and Code Compliance and he informs me that you have been very uncooperative with his department, as well. I must insist that you stop all further activities until these matters are settled. Your letter to me indicated that you are on some sort of pressing time schedule, but I assure you that it will not be the end of the world if you suffer a slight delay in your plans in order to clear up these matters. In the final analysis, this will definitely be to your benefit.

Looking forward to your immediate response, I am

Sincerely yours,
Joshua Abrams
cc: Samuel P. Asham
David Levy, City Attorney

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Office of the City Attorney
December 28

Dear Mr. Noah:

On behalf of the City I am writing in response to the letters you recently forwarded to Mr. Samuel P. Asham at the Office of Inspection and Code Compliance and to Mr. Joshua Abrams at the Department of Health and Public Safety.

In light of your continued refusal to obtain the proper Building Permits and to comply with the zoning and safety regulations for which you have been cited for violations, I have been instructed to proceed with judicial action against you. Unless I hear from you within three days from your receipt of this letter we will petition the Court for an injunction against all building and/or farming activities at your homesite.

You should also be aware that your recent letters to the officials named above in which you claim that “God will wipe mankind from the face of the earth” constitute, in the eyes of the law, a threat. Article XXVI, Section 13.2 of the Criminal Code states that “Verbal and/or written threats of bodily harm to any public official in the context of the performance of his duties will be punishable by fines and/or imprisonment commensurate to the nature of said threats.”

Our office has turned over your letters to the Office of the District Attorney for further investigation.

Respectfully,
David Levy, City Attorney
cc: Samuel P. Asham
Joshua Abrams

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FROM THE DESK OF SAMMY ASHAM

January 3

Mr. Nora–

By now you have received notice from the City Attorney of our intentions. I warned you that the government will not tolerate scofflaws. Since you chose to ignore my warnings, we intend to prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law and to seize that monstrosity you’ve constructed in your yard. I tried to be nice about this, but now we’ll see who gets “wiped off the face of the earth.”

S. A.

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Office of the City Attorney
February 3

Dear Mr. Asham:

This letter is to inform you that we have successfully petitioned for and received an injunction barring Mr. Noah from continuing any construction at his homesite. Due to the extremely poor road conditions at present we have not been able to serve the injunction, but be advised that it will be delivered as soon as the rain lets up.

Respectfully,
David Levy, City Attorney
cc: Joshua Abrams

© 2009 Peter C. Marcantel