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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Lileks: adventures in local government |
| 2007-10-22 |
| The Monster House debate isn’t entirely black and white. If someone is building large houses in a declining neighborhood, they deserve thanks and gratitude. If a developer ruins the character of a healthy neighborhood with an over-scaled home, they deserve scowls and protests – but if the developer is acting within the zoning laws, it’s not as if Snidely Whiplash stole in during the dead of night and forced the Widder Johnson to sign away the deed to the farm. . . . That said, these people have every right to be concerned and irritated. Here’s the video the neighbors made to protest the effect on their block of the not-so-small house movement. Video embedded at the link. Here’s the City Council response. Behold, the dead smothering hand of procedure: eight priceless minutes of arguing about whether or not the rules permit them to watch a four-minute movie. |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #2 See also FREEREPUBLIC > VOTE NO AGZ BIG GOVERNMENT article. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-10-22 23:53 |
| #1 The McMansion or "starter castle" issue is a serious one. As someone who loves architecture, it is revolting to watch an unadorned two-story cracker box with single-pane windows spring up amongst Craftsman bungalows. While one cannot legislate taste, zoning councils can and do have the power to assure a certain degree of uniformity in appearance within a neighborhood or even a whole city. As a capitalist, it is galling to consider how zoning councils impede development on so many ocassions. However, once these towering brick shithouses are built, a priceless arcitectural heritage is lost forever. Moreover, the newer construction techniques, however more energy efficient, rarely reflect the same use of materials or decorative embellishment. A perfect example are houses that use aluminum sash windows in a neighborhood of residences that employ double-hung wooden sash windows. The difference in appearance is so jarring as to be physically revolting. If city councils cannot rise to the defense of their existing constituents, I anticipate a lot more vigilante action in the form of sabotage, arson and other untoward demonstrations of outrage. Not that I would ever condone such a thing, you understand. Far better is to VOTE OUT THESE WORTHLESS SACKS OF SHIT PARADING AS POLITICIANS. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-10-22 21:17 |