The property had a rudimentary sewage storage solution in the form of a buried cement mixer left by the previous owners.[9] The cost to update the sewer system would be nearly double the $42,000 Heemeyer paid for the property.
City officials told Heemeyer that putting in a septic tank was a less expensive alternative, but he rejected both options and said that the government not paying for the sewage line hookup was “extortion by government fiat”. Despite these setbacks, he did not withdraw his annexation request and subsequently became part of the sewer district.[9]
By 1993, Heemeyer had abandoned plans to rent the property to a friend and instead opened a muffler repair shop on the grounds.[9] According to Heemeyer, his friend had lost interest in the property in around April 1992 because of oil spills and environmental issues.
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In 1997, the Docheff family planned to expand their business to include a concrete batch plant and were buying up the land around their current lot, hoping to lease the remaining 23 parcels to small manufacturers.[1] They were informed by the town planning commission that they needed a “Planned Development Overlay District” permit to construct the plant as part of their Mountain Park Concrete development.[1] The commission also suggested that the Docheff family ask if they could purchase Heemeyer’s plot to keep the plant away from the hotels and businesses on Route 40.[9]
Heemeyer asked for $250,000 (equivalent to $501,399 in 2025) for his property, but later claimed he had had the lot reappraised and asked for an additional $125,000 (equivalent to $250,700 in 2025). The Docheffs managed to collect $350,000 (equivalent to $701,959 in 2025), but according to Susan Docheff, Heemeyer again upped his asking price, claiming he had the property appraised again at a higher value, this time asking for $450,000 (equivalent to $902,519 in 2025).[1][9] This negotiation happened before the rezoning proposal had a public hearing at town hall.[7]
Heemeyer launched a public campaign against the planned concrete plant. His campaign was initially successful, with members of the public concerned about potential environmental impacts packing into hearings on the construction proposals. The Docheffs addressed these concerns by promising to install additional measures against dust and noise and presented miniatures of the plant to concerned citizens. Opposition to the proposal dwindled, and the plan was set to move forward again.[1][9] In November 2000, Heemeyer filed a lawsuit to block the project.
By January 9, 2001, Heemeyer had lost most of his allies in opposition to the concrete plant, and city officials almost unanimously approved its construction.[1][14][9] This made the final approval by Granby’s zoning commission and trustees in April a formality.[9]
Heemeyer tried to appeal the decision, claiming the construction blocked access to his shop.[9][15] He also complained to the Environmental Protection Agency; this resulted in the Docheff family having a professional noise analysis done.[1]
In June 2001, Joe Docheff made Heemeyer an offer over the phone whereby if Heemeyer dropped the lawsuit, they would provide him an easement to connect a sewer line to the new concrete plant free of charge; Heemeyer simply hung up.[9] Around this time, the buried concrete truck barrel that served as Heemeyer’s sewage hole filled up. Heemeyer responded by pumping his sewage with a gasoline pump into the irrigation ditch that ran behind his property.[9] Heemeyer also attempted to illegally connect to a neighbor’s sewer line, but was caught and the incident reported to the sanitation district. At this point, the sewer district started enforcing the legal requirement to have a sewer hookup or a septic tank and fined Heemeyer $2,500 (equivalent to $4,546 in 2025) for it and other city code violations at his business in July 2001, nine years after he was required to have installed either
Dude sounds like an immense jackass and I will never understand the internet worship of him.
Oh, he was. He was in the wrong, utterly. But that’s not the story. The story and the reality are not the same thing. The story is that of an individual aggrieved, facing against an unstoppable faceless bureaucracy, who took matters into his own hands in the footsteps of our national heroes of the revolutionary war and the pioneers, and built a manly and impressive machine to enact that will with his own strength.
Nearly every word of the story is factually incorrect, but the story is so compelling, so resonant with our cultural values we’ve been taught since childhood, that the story takes in a life of its own.
Everybody fantasizes about going on a rampage with a killdozer against their persecutors, real or imagined. Dude was in the wrong every step of the way, no doubt, but he took a stand in a way that really captures the imagination.
And anyone who has interacted with local government can probably understand it. Especially now that mine is run by authoritarian wankers. They have already started to ban pride events and LGBT flags.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Heemeyer
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In 1997, the Docheff family planned to expand their business to include a concrete batch plant and were buying up the land around their current lot, hoping to lease the remaining 23 parcels to small manufacturers.[1] They were informed by the town planning commission that they needed a “Planned Development Overlay District” permit to construct the plant as part of their Mountain Park Concrete development.[1] The commission also suggested that the Docheff family ask if they could purchase Heemeyer’s plot to keep the plant away from the hotels and businesses on Route 40.[9]
Heemeyer asked for $250,000 (equivalent to $501,399 in 2025) for his property, but later claimed he had had the lot reappraised and asked for an additional $125,000 (equivalent to $250,700 in 2025). The Docheffs managed to collect $350,000 (equivalent to $701,959 in 2025), but according to Susan Docheff, Heemeyer again upped his asking price, claiming he had the property appraised again at a higher value, this time asking for $450,000 (equivalent to $902,519 in 2025).[1][9] This negotiation happened before the rezoning proposal had a public hearing at town hall.[7]
Heemeyer launched a public campaign against the planned concrete plant. His campaign was initially successful, with members of the public concerned about potential environmental impacts packing into hearings on the construction proposals. The Docheffs addressed these concerns by promising to install additional measures against dust and noise and presented miniatures of the plant to concerned citizens. Opposition to the proposal dwindled, and the plan was set to move forward again.[1][9] In November 2000, Heemeyer filed a lawsuit to block the project.
By January 9, 2001, Heemeyer had lost most of his allies in opposition to the concrete plant, and city officials almost unanimously approved its construction.[1][14][9] This made the final approval by Granby’s zoning commission and trustees in April a formality.[9]
Heemeyer tried to appeal the decision, claiming the construction blocked access to his shop.[9][15] He also complained to the Environmental Protection Agency; this resulted in the Docheff family having a professional noise analysis done.[1]
In June 2001, Joe Docheff made Heemeyer an offer over the phone whereby if Heemeyer dropped the lawsuit, they would provide him an easement to connect a sewer line to the new concrete plant free of charge; Heemeyer simply hung up.[9] Around this time, the buried concrete truck barrel that served as Heemeyer’s sewage hole filled up. Heemeyer responded by pumping his sewage with a gasoline pump into the irrigation ditch that ran behind his property.[9] Heemeyer also attempted to illegally connect to a neighbor’s sewer line, but was caught and the incident reported to the sanitation district. At this point, the sewer district started enforcing the legal requirement to have a sewer hookup or a septic tank and fined Heemeyer $2,500 (equivalent to $4,546 in 2025) for it and other city code violations at his business in July 2001, nine years after he was required to have installed either
Dude sounds like an immense jackass and I will never understand the internet worship of him.
Yeah, its kind of like the succulent chineese meal guy.
He dined and dashed so much that the cops arrested him for it. The guy is also just not a good person either, as you may or may not have guessed.
Oh, he was. He was in the wrong, utterly. But that’s not the story. The story and the reality are not the same thing. The story is that of an individual aggrieved, facing against an unstoppable faceless bureaucracy, who took matters into his own hands in the footsteps of our national heroes of the revolutionary war and the pioneers, and built a manly and impressive machine to enact that will with his own strength.
Nearly every word of the story is factually incorrect, but the story is so compelling, so resonant with our cultural values we’ve been taught since childhood, that the story takes in a life of its own.
Also killdozer funny.
Everybody fantasizes about going on a rampage with a killdozer against their persecutors, real or imagined. Dude was in the wrong every step of the way, no doubt, but he took a stand in a way that really captures the imagination.
Why would he go on a planned rampage and then shoot himself, if all he was was a greedy jackass?
Because no one ever talks about the guy. We learn “guy angry at the local government builds the killdozer and gets revenge.”
And anyone who has interacted with local government can probably understand it. Especially now that mine is run by authoritarian wankers. They have already started to ban pride events and LGBT flags.
have you heard of breaking bad?
It’s the bulldozer