But not in this case.
See, the business next door to Trance is a post office. And because the U.S. Postal Service is a federal entity, the city's hands are pretty much tied.
YOU'VE GOT MAIL. Trance began his battle with the post office at 19th and Poplar when he moved into the house next door about four years ago. He said a tree on the post-office property knocked down a wall in his back yard.
Trance said he reached a settlement with the USPS for the damage (the Postal Service would only confirm that it took down a tree), but he had other issues. He wants the post office to do a better job of cleaning up around the trash container - he said it often smells like urine and attracts short-dumping. The city requires that such trash containers be sealed and the area around them kept clean.
Trance is also upset that some of the office's windows are broken and that red paint is peeling off the exterior.
Then there's the building's lack of lighting - especially in the rear, which Penny Giles, executive director of the neighborhood group, said is "a magnet for people who want to do things illegal."
The vehicles parked on the sidewalk are the icing on the cake.
THE POSTAL SERVICE RESPONDS. Postal Service spokeswoman Cathy Yarosky admitted that workers park on the sidewalk illegally.
She said that the office doesn't have enough space at its loading dock to handle the five trucks assigned to the facility and that workers have to "double up" trucks in order to fit them all.
And an overnight supervisor sometimes parks his car on the sidewalk when he arrives at 2 a.m. for "safety reasons." He moves his vehicle at 8 a.m., she said.
