A man and his fire truck bring some strife to the neighborhood

Peter Mitchell's setup -- a fire truck parked in his driveway that draws water from his swimming pool to fight fires in a hydrant-less neighborhood -- might have been viewed as a public service.

Turns out, a public menace might be the prevailing view of some people who live near Mitchell in an unincorporated area near Schaumburg.

They see Mitchell's efforts as a disruption to the peace and neighborliness some had enjoyed there for decades.

Some also suspect the work he did on his property, most of it in the past year or so, is the cause of flooding next door. And many neighbors said Mitchell has been simply abrasive and stubborn.

Cook County inspectors -- and even prosecutors -- have had to intervene to try to resolve numerous issues over how Mitchell is using his property.

Good fences?

Next-door neighbor Amie Dinelli said relations with Mitchell quickly soured when he removed bushes along their shared property line.

Dinelli says it wasn't yet clear where the line was and that despite agreeing to determine that before taking action, Mitchell instead simply removed the shrubbery without further discussion.

Mitchell counters that it's been clearly established that all changes he's made have been confined to his side of the platted property line.

But Dinelli is convinced the water she gets in her basement after a heavy rain is the result of Mitchell re-grading his yard to install his pool.

"We never had water coming to our property in that volume until that pool went in," Dinelli said. "His property is higher than mine. I can't stop it."

Mitchell also denies that assertion, and county officials have not determined that the two issues are related.

But that's merely one problem the neighbors have with Mitchell.

Dan Tuma, who lives on the other side of Mitchell's two houses, was annoyed by the sight of the fire truck Mitchell bought and parked outside his property.

The fire truck was indeed in violation of the county ordinances. But Tuma is less than thrilled with the large garage taking shape on Mitchell's property in which to park the truck.

Tuma said Mitchell would sometimes leave the truck idling outside, and its exhaust would irritate the lungs of Tuma's ailing mother, who's lived there since the 1950s.

Laws, not manners

Audrey Mitchell -- no relation to Peter Mitchell -- has lived on the other side of the Tumas for 45 years.

She agrees with Tuma and Dinelli that county officials are falling short of their responsibilities to other residents of the neighborhood.

She thinks wistfully of all the decades when it was neither codes nor inspectors but simple respect for what others wanted that kept the neighborhood together.

"Why do you move into a neighborhood and try to change it?" Audrey Mitchell said. "He's not taking anyone else into consideration."

But no matter how brazen Peter Mitchell's neighbors believe him to be, Cook County inspectors and the state's attorney's office have found very little of what he's done to be impermissible.

Most of his proven violations are that he's made some of the changes to his property without first getting a permit, or with a slight deviation from submitted plans.

The one thing that was a clear violation was parking the fire truck in the driveway, Assistant State's Attorney Jayman A. Avery III said.

Mitchell says the engine was intended only as a water source for firefighters until the so-called "dry hydrant" system he designed was complete. But the engine has since acquired sentimental value for Mitchell.

In his mind, the issue has been put to rest through his recent permit to build the 900-square-foot garage in the backyard.

But Tuma says the tall garage will block his view and change the openness of the neighborhood, he said.

Tuma is among the neighbors who complain about the very fact that Mitchell owns two homes on their block. Mitchell says it's not up to his neighbors how he spends his money.

Dinelli, meanwhile, is still seeking relief from the flooding problems she says Mitchell's work has caused.

County can't help

Cook County inspector Donal O'Grady challenged Dinelli's belief that construction of the pool caused the flooding on her property. He said he'd need more proof than the mere existence of the pool to make such a call.

"I don't know how the pool caused it," O'Grady told her. "There's nothing I can do about it. I can't perform miracles. The only thing I can think of is to file a civil case against him."

Mitchell still has one potential citation against him: that the overflow part of his pool was an addition to the permitted plans.

County officials are expected to review the impact of this change in time for a status hearing before a judge Feb. 29. But O'Grady said he couldn't see any possible link between this issue and Dinelli's problem, either.

Another citation against Mitchell that was dropped at a December court hearing was over an 8-inch gap beneath part of his fence. That was dropped when it was shown he'd corrected it.

"I just don't understand how people can do things on their property that affect other neighbors," Dinelli said. "If this is how the county works, maybe I should just build a big berm and come to court once in a while."

As for the fire-fighting system, Roselle Fire Marshal Thomas Biscan said it's proven difficult to allay neighbors' fears that Mitchell's dry hydrant isn't a threat to the underground aquifer.

Roselle firefighters actually received training on the system at Mitchell's property -- in case it ever needs to be used -- but Biscan said the training has ceased because it upset the neighbors so much.

The department does have an understanding with Mitchell that his dry hydrant and engine would be used only as a last resort, not a first line of defense, Biscan said.

Mitchell, who said he'd offered to let firefighters use his system if other area homes ever caught fire, thought that would appease his neighbors.

He says he once extended the hand of friendship to them but was rebuffed.

And he says having to go to court over gaps under his fence and the harmless addition of a pool overflow is the result of their increasingly frivolous complaints.

"We've crossed a line from code enforcement to code harassment," he said.