Marion resident gets OK to put up surveillance camera

Marion resident gets OK to put up surveillance camera

Mayor: ‘ All we are doing is giving you permission to exercise what I believe you already have a right to do’

news@theeveningtimes.com

As far as the City of Marion is concerned, a resident who wants to erect a Skycop camera on his own property to cut down on crime in his neighborhood, can go right ahead and put one up.

He’s not violating any city ordinance.

But as for the city putting it in writing or incurring any costs to take it down if a neighbor should complain, that’s a whole other road that the city isn’t prepared to go down.

“The city can’t tell you what you can and can’t do on your private property,” said City Attorney James “Jimbo” Hale. “I’m not aware of any ordinance.

But I don’t think the city can give you a letter. I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s nothing personal.”

James Hudson, who lives at 152 Morningside Drive, asked the city council in January if it would be okay to put up a skycop camera on his property to help deter crime.

Hudson asked if there was any ordinance restricting the pole type or height that would prevent him from putting a pole up.

The city council last month gave their verbal consent to the pole, adding that there is no law preventing him from doing so but stopped short of putting it in writing like he had requested.

Hudson asked for the city to put something in writing saying that he wasn’t violating any city ordinance and to limit his liability if he were forced to take it down.

“My concern is that I’ve got the verbal approval of the council to install the pole, but if the neighbors came to me and said ‘we don’t like this,’ I would not want to bear those expenses because we missed something,” Hudson said.

Mayor Frank Fogleman said there is nothing in the city’s ordinances that says he can’t put a pole and camera up on his property.

However, he may want to check first to see if there are any restrictive covenants in his subdivision first that may not allow one.

“I’m not a lawyer, but you can put a flag pole up. You can put a bird bath up. You can put a tree house up if that’s what you choose to do,” Fogleman said. “But you may have some subdivision covenants that I’m not aware of. That’s a civil matter. We can’t instruct you to violate something of that nature. But as far as the city, I had somebody recently ask me if they could have a certain door color.

We don’t legislate anything like that.”

Fogleman said he is reluctant to give him anything in writing saying that it is okay because he wouldn’t want the city to get dragged into a lawsuit if the neighbors decided to sue him over it.

“I sense that you anticipate some push back from a neighbor,” Fogleman said.

“Yes, sir,” Hudson replied.

“All we are doing is giving you permission to exercise what I believe you already have a right to do,” Fogleman

added.

Hudson said he doesn’t want to go to the expense of putting the pole up and then having to pay to take it down if it violates any laws.

“I just want to make sure everything is covered so when I install it I can say I have the approval of the city council to have this installed,” Hudson said.

Councilman Cliff Wood said all the city can do is assure him that he isn’t violating any city ordinance.

“We can’t be your salvation and say you can do this,” Wood said. “We can not tell you that you aren’t going to violate some civil matter with one of your neighbors. We have no way of knowing that. If you have protective covenants, that’s between you and your neighbors in the subdivision.”

“But you’ve already given me approval,” Hudson responded.

Hale said that isn’t what the city is saying.

“What we are saying is you can do what you want on your property,” Hale clarified. “That’s your business and not ours. It’s out of our domain.”

Councilman Don Hanks, who is a neighbor, urged Hudson to go ahead and erect the pole.

“I say go for it,” Hanks said.

Hanks said the pole and the camera will only be seen by a few neighbors.

“Where it is going to be located it’s not going to affect the whole subdivision,” Hanks said. “Maybe ten houses at most will see it.”

“I think that’s my reaction,” Fogleman added. “I think Cliff said it best.”

By Mark Randall