Can I get a restraining order against my neighbor or find another way to get him to stop harassing me?

You can't stop someone from making police reports. Making a false police report is a crime, but prosecuting crimes is entirely within the discretion of the police themselves. You can't force a prosecution. There are two main kinds of restraining orders under Oregon law: Restraining orders under the Family Abuse Prevention Act; and Stalking Protective Orders. You can ask the court for a restraining order under the Family Abuse Prevention Act (a FAPA order) if, within the previous 180 days, you have been physically harmed, threatened with physical harm, or forced to engage in sexual acts against your will. The perpetrator can be any person in your family or any person with whom you've had a sexual relationship in the past two years, or any co-parent of your child. It's clear that your neighbor doesn't qualify here, so yo can't receive a FAPA order against them. But there is another type of restraining order: If you've been subjected to such violence by someone who doesn't fit that description, you may instead qualify for a Stalking Protective Order. (In either case, you should also call the police to report the incident as soon as possible.) You can ask the court for a Stalking Protective Order against any person who has repeatedly (two or more times) had contact with you that made you fear for your safety, or the safety of a family member. That fear must be objectively reasonable, as determined by a judge. The procedures for both types of restraining orders are similar. You must submit a petition to the court, describing the conduct that justifies the restraining order. Your local courthouse has forms available for this purpose. A judge reviews the petition, and, if your description meets the requirements, signs the initial order. You must then have that order served upon the person being restrained (the 'respondent'). You cannot do this yourself, but any other adult who lives in the state can do it. The county sheriff's office often performs this task, for a nominal fee (usually about $35). Once the order is served upon the respondent, it is effective immediately, and that person is prohibited by law from contacting you. The first violation is punishable as a class A misdemeanor; any subsequent violation is a class C felony. Once the respondent is served with the order, they have the right to request a hearing. This is done by filing a form with the court, within 30 days of being served. At this hearing, you have the burden of proving that the allegations in the petition are true. But you only must show this by a preponderance of the evidence - a greater than 50% chance. It's a much easier standard than a criminal conviction. A restraining order petition is a lawsuit, and entitles both sides to legal discovery and the right to counsel. It's not intended to resolve non-dangerous disputes between neighbors. Based on the facts you describe, I doubt you qualify for a restraining order. I think this is something you need to discuss with the police if you continue to have contact with them. Ultimately, if the neighbor's complaints are all frivolous, the police will realize that.

I have seen elder and disabled person protective orders used between neighbors in neighbor disputes before, but that would only apply if someone was elderly or disabled, and of course there would have to be abuse. The above doesn't qualify. Stalking orders that I have seen typically haven't held up here either. I don't see those facts here either. Most code enforcement is complaint driven. The city or county may cite you based on its own observation, but usually they will respond to complaints and are somewhat compelled to pursue enforcement. That said, if these complaints from your neighbor were meritless then the city or county would start to discount his complaints. I'm sorry he's such a stickler. If there were a way to smooth it over I'd suggest that, but too much time may have passed. Be careful in dealing with him. You don't want an elder abuse ro against you for flipping him off.

To the extent that your neighbor is correct (if petty) about your being in violation of local ordinances, all you can do is either correct the violations/comply or move. Mr. Bodzin and Ms. Thorpe have covered your options for a restraining order quite well but nothing you have posted in my mind suggests you have adequate grounds to obtain one. This sort of neighbor behavior often is just a smoke-screen for an underlying resentment or problem. If you can calmly discuss the underlying offense, whatever it is, and reach some sort of resolution of it, the rest usually takes care of itself. Don't resolve it and this sort of petty nitpicking attacks will continue at every opportunity. Good luck.