Can a city make you fix an error 1.5 yrs after your house is built?

[krpinkham]

My jurisdiction is: Kansas

My parents built a house that was finished in Nov/Dec of 2007. At the same time, they had an in-ground pool put in that was finished and signed-off on at the same time. The city ordinance states that a yard with a pool must be enclosed on all sides by a fence or wall at least 60" in height. They put up a fence on all sides of the yard except the back since the back of the yard butts upto a pond/lake and no one can access the backyard from there. The inspector signed-off on it saying it was ok. Now a year and a half later the city is trying to force them to put up a fence along the back anyways. Is that legal that they can make homeowners fix their mistakes?

 

[dee_dub]

Is that legal that they can make homeowners fix their mistakes?

You mean, "can they force homeowners to comply with city ordinances"? The answer is yes.

Sounds to me like the pool should never have been approved as it was. Why did your parents build it that way in the first place? Did the city tell them that would comply? Did they cite any part of the code? Your parents might have a case that they were given negligent advice by the city. But even so, they have no damages - they aren't out anything - since they would have had to comply at some time or other. They got a year and a half "easement", if you will, before being forced to comply.