ALLEN PARK: Residents squabble over fence, gas line, sprinkler system

By Dave Herndon Twitter: @NHDaveH

ALLEN PARK A dispute between two neighbors over the placement of a gas line has been resolved, though it will end up costing the cash-strapped city a few extra dollars.

The dispute was between the owners of a pair of houses in the 9600 block of Manor Avenue. The owners of one house, Courtney Vavro and Kevin Abdelsalam, have lived in their house since 2009 and wanted to put a fence up before making other improvements to their backyard. Thats when they discovered that their neighbor, John Kozuh, had his fence, sprinkler system and a gas line on a section of their property.

Abdelsalam said Friday that Kozuh, the former city engineer, should have known better. Kozuh said he had the permission of the former owner of the property.

Its not something that happened overnight, Kozuh said. That sprinkler system has been there for about 30 years, and the gas line was run about seven years ago.

I had a gentlemans agreement with the former owner, he said. He told me that I could put the sprinkler system and the fence right up to the driveway.

The fence, which has also been up for several years, was between 15 inches and about 4 feet over the property line. It was installed at an angle, taking up less of Abdelsalams yard in the back than in the front. The fence ran up to the edged of the garage. A space of about 15 feet wide from the edge of the fence to the front of the property was also in question.

When we moved in, we didnt know where the property line was, Abdelsalam said. When we had the property surveyed we were shocked to see how much of the yard he was taking.

Kozuh said he spoke with the couple before they bought the property and told them of his agreement.

Kozuh said as part of the agreement with the former owner, he took care of that section of the yard because it looked like it was part of my yard already. Hes been watering, fertilizing, cutting and raking the grass in that area for years.

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ALLEN PARK: Residents squabble over fence, gas line, sprinkler system