Zoning

When I worked at the power company, I had a supervisor that was also an attorney. Nice guy and very intelligent. I always liked him alot and agreed with him on most everything. One thing we did disagree on was zoning. I am totally and absolutely against zoning. I feel that if a person owns a piece of property, they should be allowed to do with it as they please. Of course there are some things that would not be allowed because they are against the law, like running a cathouse, or making moonshine whiskey, but if it ain't illegal, then it should be allowed. He always countered my argument that owners need protection. One time I remember him offering up the example of what if someone built a nice home and then someone moved in next door and built a hog farm. At the time, I did not have a good answer, now many years later I realize that the answer to that is if you fear what your neighbor might do, move into a subdivision that has suitable covenants and restrictions and a HOA that will enforce them. Or, if you really want to be safe, buy enough property so that your nearest neighbor will be so far away that they could crap in their front yard and you still would not care.

Most folks would agree with my former supervisor. They say what can it hurt to have a zoning board to look out for the interests of the people. If you agree, take a look at this article from al.com . That is what happens when you have a zoning board. You give some people a little power and they go batshit crazing if anyone challenges it. Over the years I have had some friends in Gardendale but I don't know anybody that lives there now. If I did, I would ask them if all of the city's business was taken care of in such good shape that they had the spare money laying around to pay the legal fees required to fight a zoning battle all the way to the Alabama Supreme Court. All of this over 21 inches in variances and on top of all that they lost. Nope, my old supervisors argument may sound good, but in the real world, zoning equals trouble.