Ask most Ottawa residents to describe the city they live in and they'll tell you all about the good things: lots of green space, friendly people, and generally a high quality of life.

But there's another side to this pleasant Parliamentaryville. It's the ugliness that emerges when neighbours get on each other's nerves.

Mimi Golding started her first free library box four years ago and has added three more as demand grew. (Laurie Fagan/CBC)

On Thursday, we heard about a local family whose mini library was being shut down because of a bylaw complaint made by, presumably, a disgruntled neighbour.

It got us thinking about past conflicts that made headlines.

Who could forget the time a man near Britannia Park set up concrete barriers to prevent snow from being shoveled on to his driveway. His neighbour to complained about the barriers, which led the man to, in turn, make a bylaw complaint about his neighbour's garden?

Don't believe we're a city of complainers? Check out our original Snitch City piece from 2011.

Record number of Ottawa residents are calling 3-1-1 to complain about neighbourhood problems, the CBC's Jeff Semple reports 3:51

While city bylaw officers are often called upon to intervene between feuding neighbours, it's not always the case. Earlier this year, a home daycare operator in Bells Corners was the target of a phoney Kijiji ad encouraging people to take the toys from her front yard.

This Google image shows the toys and play structures on Heaven Stewart's property before they were inadvertently stolen by people who read a false Kijiji ad. (Google)

Heaven Stewart, who has lived in the neighbourhood for seven years, had her suspicions about who might have placed the ad. She said a bylaw officer once investigated a complaint about the front yard full of toys but told her they weren't an eyesore and no action was taken.

Know of some other neighbourly vendettas and disputes you'd like to share? Has someone maliciously called bylaw on you for personal reasons? Email us at cbcnewsottawa@cbc.ca.