Seattle man faces $500-a-day fine for sandbox

BY Bob Larson  on August 5, 2012 @ 9:10 am (Updated: 6:19 am - 8/6/12 )

A Seattle father is digging in over threats by the city to fine him $500 a day because the family's sandbox is too close to the street.

Paulo's troubles started when his family moved in June to a house between Wallingford and Green Lake in Seattle. Their new house has a small yard, so he was limited as to where he could put his children's 4 foot by 8 foot sandbox they brought with them. At their old house, it was situated in the parking strip between the street and sidewalk and was never a problem.

In the two months that they have lived in the new house, the sandbox has been a place they spend many hours playing with their small children and getting to know neighbors who walk by or bring their kids over.

A couple of weeks ago, an anonymous neighbor complained to the city.

"We got a letter that said, you know, somebody's made a complaint and this is illegal and you have to move it or pay $500 a day," says Paulo.

The city considers play structures situated near the street, like the Nunes-Ueno's parking strip sandbox, an illegal safety hazard and they have an ordinance regulating how many feet away from the street a play structure should be located. Paulo was told that he would have to comply with the regulations or face the fines.

"It just seemed like a natural place for us to have a gathering spot for our kids, for the neighborhood kids, for the parents to meet each other," says Paulo. "I think the real question is how do we make our street safer, not how we keep our kids from playing in front of their houses."

"We got a letter that said, you know, somebody's made a complaint and this is illegal and you have to move it or pay $500 a day,"

Paulo went to city officials to appeal their decision, explaining the benefits of keeping a sandbox in the parking strip where neighbors can interact and share the public space.

"The city said that they were going to put together a task force to take a look at this issue, and that I don't have to move the sandbox until they make a final determination," says Paulo.

In the meantime, Paulo will circulate a petition Tuesday August 7 at his neighborhood's "Night Out" block party, which he will then turn in to the city Council. He says his family has a lot of support from neighbors who hope that the sandbox stays where it is on their quiet residential street.

"I'm going to take that on August 14th to the transportation committee of the city Council and just ask them to think more broadly about how people can use that piece of public land that's in front of their house," says Paulo.

Bob Larson, KIRO Radio Anchor
Bob Larson is a news editor at KIRO Radio. Bob grew up in beautiful Walla Walla and graduated from Oregon State University.
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Comments (27)


  • Add A Comment

  • I AM SPARTACUS wrote...
    Sandbox Fine
    August 5, 2012 10:25 am
    In Seattle it's not about the good of the public, it's about control of the public. The commissars of Seattle have decided that you are not capable of running your family and household by yourself so they must run them for you. My advice is move to some unincorporated area as I have.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Trust Me wrote...
    Sandbox Fine.
    August 5, 2012 10:57 am
    Well said. Down with the Nanny State.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • pro_steel_header wrote...
    i personally believe the "complaint" was made up by the city.
    August 5, 2012 11:07 am
    in order to excersize some sort of control over the situation. after all, they know whats best for you.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • maplefish wrote...
    Big Liberal Government
    August 5, 2012 11:16 am
    Always knows what's best for us and our children...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    Situated in the parking strip between the street and sidewalk . . . .
    August 5, 2012 11:37 am
    think about it Clowns. Who owns the parking strip. Yep the city. Clown kid rolls out of the sand sand box and get hit by car bus truck light rail. Even the mind of a 3yr old can tell what will happen next. sue baby sue.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • BikeNazi wrote...
    Don't let the government tell you what to do with your sandbox
    August 5, 2012 12:35 pm
    But let the government tell you who can and can't get married. That's excellent logic, conservative sheep.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Forrest wrote...
    What a bunch of right wing conservative morons...
    August 5, 2012 12:40 pm
    Turn a safety issue into a liberal big government rant. It's too bad for the rest of society that your parents didn't let you play in the street more when you were a kid.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • maplefish wrote...
    Like the City telling the soldier
    August 5, 2012 9:33 pm
    Who was deploying to Afganistan that he couldn't build a TreeHouse for his kids without a permit and would be fined $500 a day until he tore it down. Yep, the city lays knows what best for us stupid citizens. Forrest- you are a chickenshit and you need a good old fashioned beat down!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Beetle1977 wrote...
    Neighborhood Sand Box for Kids
    August 5, 2012 1:07 pm
    Also serves as a jumbo sized kitty litter box for all the neighborhood stray cats. This situation could be looked at as a public health issue as well. I would keep my kids out of it.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • xplanes wrote...
    you are all right
    August 5, 2012 1:19 pm
    except BikeNazi. Move the box to the other side of the sidewalk. Out of city control and away from stupid drivers. Open season on any cats in your sandbox because they are a nuisance animal creating a health hazard for your family. If the city tries to tell you what you can do on your own property tell them to shove it and find a good conservative lawyer. You'll need one to live free in America. Of course, using a lawyer to actually live free isn't free.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • roomtemp wrote...
    "_put together a task force to take a look at this issue_"
    August 5, 2012 2:23 pm
    Task force Bravo, commencing 'Operation Playground Bully'...

    Final approval of the play sand will be contingent upon passing a rigorous environmental impact study of course...

    -facepalm-

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Burn_Notice wrote...
    I agree...
    August 5, 2012 3:14 pm
    roomtemp has it right. I keyed on that right away.. "put together a Task Force".. Only Seattle or Olympia would call for a task for this.

    The property owner should just call it a ferral cat waste dispository and collection site.. You know a huge Litter Box.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    All stop, boys and girls - I ran the MLS on this property. - AND ther BING aerial.
    August 5, 2012 2:30 pm
    Yes, it's a narrow lot. And, yes there is only a VERY small front spot on the 'parking strip', but the REST of the front yard is 1 2 car driveway AND a 3rd driveway that appears gravel that they could easily have put the sand box.

    Further, from the pictures, it looks like there is a back yard! - maybe only 30x30 BUT. ......

    Now I don't like the city telling people what to do either. BUT - why can't the kids play in the back yard ???????

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • deltta wrote...
    Hey ron
    August 5, 2012 7:40 pm
    I don't know whats worse. Intrusive gov't or a neighbor who looks up public records to gossip
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    how about a news organization that doesn't investigate?
    August 5, 2012 8:58 pm
    And what part of 'public' do you fail to understand? .. Just thought I'd check things out a little before jumping to conclusions.

    BTW, I'm NOT a neighbor. The BING aerials let you see (from 300' to 1000', depending) just about any place in the WORLD. Really good of the Eiffel Tower, but now much for the pyramids of Egypt.

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