Chapter 6 - The Compliance Table
The county set a formal compliance meeting. Six of us around a conference table under bad fluorescent lights. Brandon and his attorney on one side. Me, Paula, and Dennis on the other. The county engineer at the head with a stack of maps.
No shouting. No courtroom. Somehow that made it heavier.
"We're here to resolve three issues," the engineer said, laying out the maps one at a time. "Boundary encroachment. Pool setback. Drainage easement obstruction."
Brandon's attorney raised a hand. "We dispute any characterization of intentional encroachment."
The engineer nodded. "Intent isn't the primary question for today's determination. We're concerned with where the structures physically sit and whether they comply with the recorded restrictions and the approved plans." He paused. "That said, there is documentation showing the property owner was informed of the boundary requirements before construction."
He put the email up on the screen.
I watched Brandon's face. He didn't look angry anymore. He looked cornered.
"You asked whether the fence could go along the landscaping edge," the engineer said. "The county told you no. You wrote back, 'Understood.' And the fence went in roughly eight feet past the boundary anyway."
"I thought my contractor knew where the line was," Brandon said.
The engineer looked at him for a long second. "Then why did you email us the question?"
Brandon had no answer. His attorney leaned over and whispered something.
The engineer moved to the next map. "The pool plan was later submitted using the correct boundary. Your approved setback was measured from the actual property line. The construction crew appears to have measured from the fence. That created your second problem."
His attorney sighed. "Can we talk about a correction schedule?"
"Yes," the engineer said. "We can."
The county issued a written compliance order. The fence had to be relocated to the surveyed line. The pool layout had to be corrected. Anything obstructing the drainage easement had to be removed or modified. Construction stayed suspended until revised plans were approved. And Brandon paid every dollar of bringing his property into compliance.
Outside in the parking lot, Brandon stood by his truck. For a moment neither of us spoke. Then he said something I never expected.
"I was wrong. I should've moved the fence the day you first showed me that survey."
"Yeah. You should have."
"I figured if I finished everything, nobody would make me tear it out."
"That's basically what you told me. 'Too expensive to move now.'"
His face changed. He remembered saying it.
"You weren't protecting an investment," I said. "You were betting I wouldn't fight. And you lost."
His eyes dropped. "I know."
I walked to my car. But Paula caught up with me halfway across the lot.
"Ryan. There may be one more problem."
"What now?"
May you like
"The HOA covenants. Brandon's fence isn't just over your line and the easement. He built eight-foot privacy fencing. The community maximum along a side or rear boundary is six feet."
I actually laughed out loud. Everything Brandon had built to make his yard look better than mine had turned into a stack of violations.
