I had an extremely frustrating time dealing with Niantic appeals as this is my second time appealing this nomination and the team came back with the exact same copy and pasted response. The nomination in question is a Little Free Library and keeps being rejected for being on private property, even though it is not. I sent resources such as the City of Vancouver Property Map website where you can clearly see that it is on public property. I sent instructions on how to exactly see the property lines and provided additional information as well. This is just an extremely frustrating experience as I have tried as much as I can to prove that this nomination is located on public property yet it seems that the Wayfarer Team just does not know how to click links and read instructions? I wasted TWO appeals on this already and I just don’t want to waste even more. Every time I submit it too it just gets auto-rejected by the AI system which adds another layer of frustration. I have wasted so much time and resources into this nomination which is clearly a valid nom. I had no trouble with any other nomination and this is the first time I have been this frustrated with the Wayfarer team after over 5 years of nominating. I am just speechless and tired of this whole system. Any help into seeing how and why this nomination is not acceptable is welcome.
Nomination:
Title: Woodstock Little Free Library
Desc: A little free library located along Woodstock Avenue in the Oakridge neighbourhood.
Supporting Info: This nomination is located on PUBLIC PROPERTY, which is indicated by the RED LINE in the supporting picture. The property line is BEHIND the fences and shrubs, located throughout the street, and the little free library is located in front of said line. Visit the official COV website to verify. This nomination is publicly accessible and culturally significant. It is visually unique and promotes outdoor exploration.
Appeal Info: This little free library is NOT ON PRIVATE PROPERTY. I already appealed this nomination once before and it got rejected for it being on private property, which IT IS NOT. In the City of Vancouver, the property line is easily recognizable by a fence or shrubs which is the case with the entire north side of Woodstock Ave. In the supporting image, the property line is clearly visible, with the strip of grass between the sidewalk and fence line being CITY-OWNED PUBLIC PROPERTY. If you need even more evidence, visit the official City of Vancouver property line map viewer at: ArcGIS Web Application and enable the basemap (window icon in the top right) to be “imagery with labels”. With the satellite imagery you can clearly see the strip of grass visible in the supporting information. The imagery however is outdated as it is from 2020 and will not show the library. Additionally, this nomination is visually unique and culturally important in the Oakridge neighbourhood, promoting community connectivity and reading. It is a great place to explore in this area, as it adjacent and easily accessible by the Ontario Greenway and bus routes along 41st Ave and Main Street. This is a great nomination and will benefit the community greatly if it is accepted.
Image of the City of Vancouver Property Lines Map
(Red is city-owned public property, blue dot should be where the nomination is)
“…If a LFL is placed on eligible property in such a way that any visitors may obstruct the entrance, may encourage trespassing, or may present danger from nearby traffic, they should be considered ineligible.” (emphasis added)
Does this encourage trespassing? Opinions will vary.
(And yes, the cut and paste appeal responses are very frustrating!)
The issue I’m seeing here that’s likely causing problems for you is that those stones on the ground look like they were placed as part of the garden, and the LFL is located in the stony area.
If it is indeed public land (which I do agree with you that it would make sense, given how all the adjacent property boundaries all line up), then the homeowners shouldn’t really be placing decorative stones on that side of their property boundary. By doing that, it’s giving the impression to the appeal reviewers that the land is actually part of the property, and that the LFL is therefore also part of the property.
It’s a shame they didn’t just put the LFL on the opposite side of the footpath.
Yeah I mean it definitely could, but if you were to use it you wouldn’t really go past the Little Free Library since it is accessible by the sidewalk. There’s really nothing past it.
I mean in the City of Vancouver homeowners put gardens on these types of land and the City does not really care at all if you do that. I’m just frustrated that Niantic of all people should be able to see that the property lines do match up and put the effort into verifying what I am saying. Even without the rocks, the property map says it all and clearly Niantic did not even bother checking the link to see if it is on public property or if it isnt.
Yeah but in this case it was appealed twice and rejected by the Niantic Wayfarer Team, not the general public. I would be fine if it was rejected by the public but if it is from the Wayfarer team it is just a whole different story. The team should be looking deeply into each appeal to ensure that their decisions meet their own criteria and in both of my appeal cases it seems like they didn’t read my appeal at all and just reviewed it like a normal nomination. Heck, I just got a Little Free Library similar to this one, where it is between the sidewalk and property line, accepted by the community, not even the Wayfarer Team. At this point I’d trust the community more than Niantic to properly and professionally review each nomination to ensure there are no mistakes that happen.
