Ravenwood - 07/24/03 05:20 PM
"If I had my way, I would say, 'You can't do that,' " -- Mary Norwood, Atlanta city councilman, expressing her desire to regulate the size of people's homes.
That kind of attitude is what makes me refuse to join a homeowner's association. Sure, my neighbors sometimes had unmowed grass, and I had no recourse if one of them decide to put a rusted out old truck up on blocks in their front yard. But the other extreme, is that nosy neighbor that walks down the street with a ruler, measuring the height of people's lawns. (My parents actually had a neighbor who did that.)
Maybe it's just the libertarian in me, but I really don't worry about what somebody does with their own land. I realize that property values are a product of the neighborhood, but I still think freedom is worth more than the price of your home. If you are really worried about your property values, than you should buy more land. If you have several acres, a buyer isn't likely to care what your neighbor's house looks like.
Then again, it's much easier (and cheaper) to just use the police power of the government to exert control over your neighbors. After all, telling someone "You can't do that" is free, right?
"She said she can tell when a house is too big for its neighborhood just by looking at it."
And she probably can't define porn - but knows it when she sees it.
A home is a person's castle - and if someone wants to build one the size of a castle, and has the money to do it, then that is their business and no one elses!
Posted by: bogie at July 25, 2003 7:16 AMThe "environmental" movement poses the biggest threat to freedom of property. After all, what is an "environmentalist" but someone who thinks he knows what everyone's property should look like and what everyone should and should not be able to do on their property and is willing to use the power of the state to enforce his opinions?
Posted by: Robert Speirs at July 25, 2003 8:43 AMThis is why I like prefer deed restrictions to zoning. With deed restrictions, you sign a contract when you buy your home saying what you can and can't do with the property. If you don't like the terms, you can live in another neighborhood with different restrictions, or none at all.
And then if some busybody comes and tells you not to do something with your property, you have a contract saying you can.
With zoning, however, the restrictions are imposed on you by a distant municipal government that isn't bound by any contract. They can make up bizarre restrictions, and then have you arrested if you don't comply. Instead of a small, voluntary assocation, you get tyranny of the majority on a massive scale, and it can ruin an entire city.
Posted by: Owen Courrèges at July 25, 2003 1:10 PMAnother shot in the envy war. "That person is doing too well/ has too much etc..." Instead of aiming higher for themselves or others you are (apparently) supposed to just try to legislate success, and with it, freedom away.
Imagine a world where people minded their own business and practiced "live and let live".
I don't know if a breakdown is available but I'd like to know: of those 954 or 9% in the poll that said size doesn't matter how many were women?
Posted by: tom scott at July 25, 2003 8:34 PM(c) Ravenwood and Associates, 1990 - 2014
