The Honeymoon is OVER

After a brief few months of cordiality, more or less, our neighbours have gone insane. Insane in an aggressive, hostile, glaring & shouting kind of way. They seem to feel that it is their right to lay claim to the street parking in front of their property and ours. Though saying they seem to is really not accurate: they made their entitlement clear in no uncertain terms. Additionally, they insisted that we move our vehicle immediately so they could park a car length closer to their home.

It's baffling, really, as we've never had trouble parking the car near the house. Nor have we been so frustrated by parking that we would harass & insult our neighbours over the issue. But perhaps for them, having to walk an extra 5 metres or, *gasp*, across the street to get to one's house is too much to bear...

So the war is on. If they are going to make me feel uncomfortable in my own home, on my own property, I will fight back. But it will not be with glaring, threats or screaming, which is their way. The first order of business is to tackle their nasty smoking habit.The smoke filtering into my home through the windows has disturbed me for months. I am not a smoker & find the smell of smoke to be quite offensive. I am concerned about the effect of second-hand smoke on my asthma, as well. However, I have not approached them directly about it, as I dislike confrontation & assumed correctly that they would not take well to any suggestion that they change their behaviour.

As you may know, the city of Vancouver recently introduced a new & stricter bylaw vis-à-vis smoking. As of October 2007, people are no longer allowed to smoke near windows & doorways to buildings.

VANCOUVER HEALTH BY-LAW NO. 9535

Ban on smoking

2.2 A person must not smoke:

(e) within six metres measured on the ground from a point directly below any point of any opening into any building including any door or window that opens or any air intake;

So, according to the bylaws, it is illegal for our neighbour to smoke directly below our bathroom window, which must be opened to allow damp air out, as it is our only source of ventilation for showers. Since we have several windows along that side of the house, it's basically illegal for her to smoke anywhere but the middle of the front or back yard.

The next question is, how do I proceed?