Town Uses Google Earth to Look for Illegal Pools

[Guest]

I want to know what excavation crew comes in with a backhoe and starts digging a 9 ft hole in a residential back yard without seeing a permit? Its not like you slip a pool into the back yard quietly in the night, it takes weeks if not months to build a swimming pool, and you would figure between the pool builder not wanting to get a bad reputation for shady work, the excavators, and all the subcontractors involved, not to mention the inevitable crabby neighbor who has his nose in everything, someone would have raised their hand and said "hey, where's that little slip of paper that's supposed to be stapled to the front of the house in public view, stating that this project is approved?"

Then again, I'm probably being naive. As long as they get paid, "shrug, not my problem".

It's not like they're doing an unpermitted room addition or something, this is a massive hole in the ground!

 

[Guest]

This is completely legal for the city, for Google on the other hand, they could get sued for damages from them though.
Most people don't know that almost all city's already have Aerial photos taken from planes for mapping of property boundaries and utilities, and that they are updated every couple of years. I have even heard in the past of them being used for the same purpose, but Google is a lot easier to use and search than those maps even the ones that are on a electronic databases.

Most people thing that permits are stupid, but the permit is just so they can keep track of what has been inspected and safe (and to pay for the time) they are usually very cheap and is worth it just so you don't get stuck with a fine or something done wrong causes damage or an accident and you get sued or have a large repair cost.. IN MOST CASES IT IS TO KEEP THE DUMB PEOPLE FROM CAUSING DAMAGE OR HURT OTHERS. Like the guys that put the shingles on the house upside down and when it rained they couldn't figure out why the roof was leaking... Not all people know how to do even some of the simplest things.. that is why most laws are there.. DUMB PEOPLE..

 

[garyshome]

Liberals in action. Have to get money to give out food stamps and welfare checks somehow.

 

[olin9]

Turf covered pool cover.

 

[squallypie]

ok, honestly, i dont care about the pool owner's problem... coz the penalty is kind of small and it could've been a hazard. what really bothers me is the range of application of google maps... soon they might be using those darn satellites to track EACH AND EVERY ATOM of the whole world.( i read alot of conspiracy tales )

So in 2020, ill be walking down the street and if i throw the chewing gum cover down, the satellite quickly downloads that image of me to the local police and i get fined..

And the new google street and all those google googles.. enough to make me decide to live in a forest

 

[coldmast]

I would argue the legality of this type of search, since google maps is ripe with various blending errors, as well as some inaccurate overlay of geological locations; how would one be 100% in determining the so called evidence is correct. This gives me two genius ideas, sell tarps that look like grass to cover up various 'areas', and sell tarps that look like pools for novelty.

 

[coldmast]

[citation][nom]squallypie[/nom]if i throw the chewing gum cover down, the satellite quickly downloads that image of me to the local overlord and i get summary executed.[/citation]

 

[fulle]

[citation][nom]nezzymighty[/nom]Ultimately, you can choose which laws to obey. But this doesn't preclude you from those laws. These individuals committed crimes. They must pay the penalties according to those offenses. They are harming society because they are not following the letter of the law. Case in point - if your child dies as a result of these standards they didn't follow, that inspectors would have deemed hazardous and requiring correction, then the onus falls on them who broke the law to pay the price. The law is the law.If you decide you are above the law, and start to choose which laws to obey, how many more laws will you begin to ignore as your morals degrade. As the only perfect man said when he walked this earth: "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much."[/citation]

Sheep.

 

[Guest]

If you are a moral, ethical person, you get your permits, you drive the speed limit and pay your due taxes, etc. The whiners are whining because they feel entitlement and exemption from common, reasonable societal rules. Responsible, good citizens doesn't NEED to look over their shoulders for radar, Google Earth or bill collectors; they are the best, most trustworthy neighbors you could ask for.

 

[COLGeek]

You know, there are rules and permits for a reason. The fact that Google Earth was used is irrelevant in that laws were broken and violators punished.

If you don't break the rules, you don't have a problem. If you do break the rules, be prepared to pay the price.

This is not a privacy, civil liberties, freedom, or any other issue. Rather it is people getting caught and punished for not doing the right thing to begin with.

 

[samadkins29]

[citation][nom]myriad46[/nom]Pools often decrease home value. The permit (and inspection process) are to ensure that the enclosure for the pool is up to code. That is so that when your 2 year old wanders into your neighbors yard where they just installed a pool with no fence, you won't find them floating face down.If it can't be seen from the road, it's over stepping their jurisdiction. Maybe they should buy a helicopter.[/citation]

Maybe they should be a better parent and not let their 2 year old wander into other peoples yards.......

 

[xythrax4420]

lol those images are at least 4 years old in most places

 

[jerreece]

[citation][nom]back_by_demand[/nom]As no-one was asked permission for Google to photograph from orbit, could the usage of the pictures constitute an illegal search?See you in court.[/citation]

Nope!

Did anyone illegally enter your property? They could have just as easily stood in the back of a pick-up truck on the street and took a peak over your fence from a distance. They could have flown a plane over the town.

Being as anyone can do any of these things, without violating your property, I can't see how the town can be charged with violating the 4th Amendment.

 

[figgus]

[citation][nom]COLGeek[/nom]You know, there are rules and permits for a reason.[/citation]

That reason is nothing to do with safety or any other excuse they give. It has to do with money, it's just another tax and an excuse to bump property taxes up.

 

[Trueno07]

[citation][nom]geoboy[/nom]I'm surprised they used Google Earth at all. Most municipalities carry aerial photos with much higher resolution and more recent as well. This sounds like a decidedly low-tech method, and in the near future, expect automated systems to scan aerials for check for discrepancies between what has been tallied, tagged and entered into a database and what has not. Buildings, pools, ponds, crops and even trees. Very soon people, you won't be able to hide anything in plain sight. Welcome to your future, such as it is.[/citation]

This. This is exactly how the a city found my grandpa's shed that he didn't have a permit for. (Not only was he pissed, but he couldn't understand it)

 

[maestintaolius]

I just wonder how many of those people crying foul and 'privacy invasion' over getting caught not paying for a silly pool permit are perfectly ok with warrantless wiretaps.

 

[raybob95]

Constitutional screw over anybody?

I'm surprised nobody has sued google yet for taking pictures of their private property.

 

[kingnoobe]

Ok here you go with your moral and ethics idiots. If you can't see the pool from the road or neighbors house that to me suggest they have a fence.. If it's already built, and has done lasted 3+ years it must be working pretty good.

If permits were only for safety seems like bullshit to me, and I said it once and I'll say it again just because something is law doesn't make it right. So you can take the moral arguement and shove it..

Funny add up all the taxes you end up paying a year for everything.. The people who founded this country would be rolling over in their grave.

 

[cobra5000]

If you can afford a pool, you can afford a permit. Quit thinking you are above the law. I don't really like the way they are enforcing this but these laws are there to help protect the safety and value of your home.

 

[fyasko]

"it always feels like someone is watching me!" i hope the don't see my "hemp" plants in the back yard