ESCONDIDO, Calif. (KGTV) — For Brian Masters, the prospect of owning two vintage John Deere tractors was an easy sell.
"I’ve always had an interest," Masters said of the tractors. And when his friend recently approached him to buy her two 1932 and 1946 model tractors, he jumped at the chance.
After purchasing the tractors in July, he displayed them in his front yard with plans to have them running by this summer.
But it wasn't until this month that he was slapped with a code enforcement violation by the City of Escondido.
"I parked them out there in late July and all of a sudden someone complained about me," Master said. "When I tried to talk to the enforcement officer, he just said they have to be out of public view."
The code violation referenced "Sec. 33-96: Prohibited primary uses and structures" of the city code. The ordinance says, "All industrial, commercial and residential uses and structures not listed in this article are prohibited."
Masters said he tried to speak with an enforcement officer about taking two weeks to move the machines, but was told he needed to move the tractors immediately — a tight timeline made all the more difficult when Masters believed his antiques were welcomed.
"At Halloween, we had a line of people posing and taking pictures with them," Masters said. "I don’t know who is complaining ... They were the centerpieces of our yard, it’s a little front yard."
Masters said he is in the process of moving the classic tractors to his backyard. But in order to do so, he says he had to hack off a tree stump, modify his fence, and take down a portion of his yard's retaining yard to give the tractors enough room to be moved.
10News has reached out to the City of Escondido for possible alternatives or a solution to Masters' violation, and have yet to hear back.
