Comments on: Rant on Community Laws http://julieclawson.com/2008/07/15/rant-on-community-laws/ incantations at the edge of uncertainty Sat, 11 Feb 2012 03:00:47 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Bookmarks about Rant http://julieclawson.com/2008/07/15/rant-on-community-laws/comment-page-1/#comment-3379 Bookmarks about Rant Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:22:09 +0000 http://julieclawson.com/2008/07/15/rant-on-community-laws/#comment-3379 [...] - bookmarked by 3 members originally found by tamala on 2008-09-24 Rant on Community Laws http://julieclawson.com/2008/07/15/rant-on-community-laws/ - bookmarked by 5 members originally [...] [...] – bookmarked by 3 members originally found by tamala on 2008-09-24 Rant on Community Laws http://julieclawson.com/2008/07/15/rant-on-community-laws/ – bookmarked by 5 members originally [...]

]]> By: Janice http://julieclawson.com/2008/07/15/rant-on-community-laws/comment-page-1/#comment-3105 Janice Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:00:12 +0000 http://julieclawson.com/2008/07/15/rant-on-community-laws/#comment-3105 I thought that the parking regulations had to do with enabling residents to actually HAVE a place to park, protecting renters and low income people who live on multi-unit streets. For instance, in Baltimore, people who own a rowhome or live in an apartment have a sticker they place in their car window (or whatever) and THEY take up the entire street. If visitors, guests, tourists, etc park there too - where DO residents then park when they come home after a long day at work? However, I do believe that each occupant received a guest parking sticker. But just one. Other than that I guess they have to park a few streets over where there are meters or find a parking lot. I thought that the parking regulations had to do with enabling residents to actually HAVE a place to park, protecting renters and low income people who live on multi-unit streets. For instance, in Baltimore, people who own a rowhome or live in an apartment have a sticker they place in their car window (or whatever) and THEY take up the entire street. If visitors, guests, tourists, etc park there too – where DO residents then park when they come home after a long day at work?

However, I do believe that each occupant received a guest parking sticker. But just one. Other than that I guess they have to park a few streets over where there are meters or find a parking lot.

]]> By: Liz http://julieclawson.com/2008/07/15/rant-on-community-laws/comment-page-1/#comment-3041 Liz Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:54:01 +0000 http://julieclawson.com/2008/07/15/rant-on-community-laws/#comment-3041 what I am saying is I totally understand people not wanting to live next to a house full of people coming and going at all hours. And possibly having very loud parties into the wee hours. You went to a Christian college Julie. Not all college students would be as good neighbors as no doubt you and your friends were. I know I would not have wanted to live next door to me and my rowdy friends now that I am an adult. This is also where you get zoning stuff about businesses. The purpose is so that people in residential neighborhoods don't have to deal with comings and goings and having their driveway blocked at all hours of the day and night. Unfortunately, I know of several people who probably have less traffic as a result of their business than a lot of people get socially who have gotten screwed by this and had to move. It is really really hard to strike the balance between stuff that prevents the neighbors from "nuisance" and that also doesn't wind up unintentionally "getting" someone who isn't really a problem. I don't get what you mean about "valuing family" and "family living together?" I would think that the amount of people the house is capable of holding would probably not exceed the number of cars they could get in a driveway. More if its like most residential neighborhoods and has a garage. I hope this doesn't sound bad, but most people who cram a lot of family members under one roof tend to not have the kind of value system where they all need an individual vehicle either. I live in a part of the country where there are a lot of Mormons. Which means a lot of big families. I know of several houses in my neighborhood that have upwards of seven and eight people living there. When I lived on the east coast I knew a lot of families that had grandma or grandpa ensconced in a separate apartment plus a number of kids still at home. Of course people don't usually buy every single kid a car because most of them are not simultaneously of driving age. An area that her personally affected me has been the rulings against pets when I was a renter. A lot of people, especially the elderly, get screwed by this. Unfortunately, I know why landlords do this: because the few irresponsible pet owners spoil it for the rest. After you have had people move out, sneakily covering a urine spot so bad that it ate through the floor, their security deposit in hand, you will put some rules in place to prevent it happening again. The same could be said of people who have rented to a group of college students only to find the place trashed or to get complaints about police visits at all hours of the night. I have nothing against young people. I love them. But I totally get why someone wouldn't want to risk moving into a neighborhood and finding themselves next to "party central". no doubt, the party crowd has spoiled it for groups of well behaved serious minded college students who would like to rent a house in a nice residential neighborhood. I hear "college student" and my first word association is "loud obnoxious party". what I am saying is I totally understand people not wanting to live next to a house full of people coming and going at all hours. And possibly having very loud parties into the wee hours. You went to a Christian college Julie. Not all college students would be as good neighbors as no doubt you and your friends were. I know I would not have wanted to live next door to me and my rowdy friends now that I am an adult. This is also where you get zoning stuff about businesses. The purpose is so that people in residential neighborhoods don't have to deal with comings and goings and having their driveway blocked at all hours of the day and night. Unfortunately, I know of several people who probably have less traffic as a result of their business than a lot of people get socially who have gotten screwed by this and had to move. It is really really hard to strike the balance between stuff that prevents the neighbors from "nuisance" and that also doesn't wind up unintentionally "getting" someone who isn't really a problem. I don't get what you mean about "valuing family" and "family living together?" I would think that the amount of people the house is capable of holding would probably not exceed the number of cars they could get in a driveway. More if its like most residential neighborhoods and has a garage. I hope this doesn't sound bad, but most people who cram a lot of family members under one roof tend to not have the kind of value system where they all need an individual vehicle either. I live in a part of the country where there are a lot of Mormons. Which means a lot of big families. I know of several houses in my neighborhood that have upwards of seven and eight people living there. When I lived on the east coast I knew a lot of families that had grandma or grandpa ensconced in a separate apartment plus a number of kids still at home. Of course people don't usually buy every single kid a car because most of them are not simultaneously of driving age.
An area that her personally affected me has been the rulings against pets when I was a renter. A lot of people, especially the elderly, get screwed by this. Unfortunately, I know why landlords do this: because the few irresponsible pet owners spoil it for the rest. After you have had people move out, sneakily covering a urine spot so bad that it ate through the floor, their security deposit in hand, you will put some rules in place to prevent it happening again. The same could be said of people who have rented to a group of college students only to find the place trashed or to get complaints about police visits at all hours of the night. I have nothing against young people. I love them. But I totally get why someone wouldn't want to risk moving into a neighborhood and finding themselves next to "party central". no doubt, the party crowd has spoiled it for groups of well behaved serious minded college students who would like to rent a house in a nice residential neighborhood. I hear "college student" and my first word association is "loud obnoxious party".

]]> By: Julie Clawson http://julieclawson.com/2008/07/15/rant-on-community-laws/comment-page-1/#comment-3036 Julie Clawson Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:02:52 +0000 http://julieclawson.com/2008/07/15/rant-on-community-laws/#comment-3036 It seems a bit weird to me to say it makes sense to not want to have to enounter certain sorts of people. Are college students not people too? Are people from cultures that value family - and family living together - not people too? It just seems arrogant and unchristian to say that we don't want to interact with those sorts of people... It seems a bit weird to me to say it makes sense to not want to have to enounter certain sorts of people. Are college students not people too? Are people from cultures that value family – and family living together – not people too? It just seems arrogant and unchristian to say that we don't want to interact with those sorts of people…

]]> By: Liz http://julieclawson.com/2008/07/15/rant-on-community-laws/comment-page-1/#comment-3032 Liz Mon, 21 Jul 2008 02:40:36 +0000 http://julieclawson.com/2008/07/15/rant-on-community-laws/#comment-3032 oops. got cut off. What I was saying is that the problem isn't renting per se, but people who will rent to anyone and everyone because they want to rake in the money. It is a sad fact of life that the more money you make, the more you get to choose your neighbors. Other than communism, I really see no way around it. My best friend is a low income single mom. She really has no choice in the fact she lives in a condo complex (complete with dumb rules about what she can do to the INSIDE of her rental unit) In addition to some good decent folks, she also has a smattering of tweaker neighbors who cause all manner of lowlife trouble. She would be the first to tell you that because of some bad choices she made earlier in life, this is what she is dealing with now. It sort of sucks, but I am not sure I really see any solution. In our neighborhood, someone was going to put up a halfway house for newly released felons. Huge outcry. On the one hand, it is really really important to have stuff as this and I agree in it wholeheartedly. On the other hand, am I willing to go to bat for it so much that I have it next door to me? In my case: yes, but I can also see where some folks are not comfortable with that. This is why people buy in developments instead of in less regulated neighborhoods or out of city limits. And having lived on the east coast I can tell you that the parking stuff is something you just have to live with. I remember well people staking out parking places they had shoveled themselves and defending them to the point of bodily injury to any encroachers on "their" space. oops. got cut off. What I was saying is that the problem isn't renting per se, but people who will rent to anyone and everyone because they want to rake in the money. It is a sad fact of life that the more money you make, the more you get to choose your neighbors. Other than communism, I really see no way around it. My best friend is a low income single mom. She really has no choice in the fact she lives in a condo complex (complete with dumb rules about what she can do to the INSIDE of her rental unit) In addition to some good decent folks, she also has a smattering of tweaker neighbors who cause all manner of lowlife trouble. She would be the first to tell you that because of some bad choices she made earlier in life, this is what she is dealing with now. It sort of sucks, but I am not sure I really see any solution. In our neighborhood, someone was going to put up a halfway house for newly released felons. Huge outcry. On the one hand, it is really really important to have stuff as this and I agree in it wholeheartedly. On the other hand, am I willing to go to bat for it so much that I have it next door to me? In my case: yes, but I can also see where some folks are not comfortable with that. This is why people buy in developments instead of in less regulated neighborhoods or out of city limits. And having lived on the east coast I can tell you that the parking stuff is something you just have to live with. I remember well people staking out parking places they had shoveled themselves and defending them to the point of bodily injury to any encroachers on "their" space.

]]> By: len http://julieclawson.com/2008/07/15/rant-on-community-laws/comment-page-1/#comment-3031 len Sun, 20 Jul 2008 22:46:18 +0000 http://julieclawson.com/2008/07/15/rant-on-community-laws/#comment-3031 Locally we see this in laws around loitering, pan-handling, and a new "red zone" law that excludes selected individuals from a specific downtown zone for a specified period of time. All these laws have a positive and useful side; but what bothers me is the way they are discriminately applied. Pressure for the existence of these laws comes from the downtown business community, many of whom are Christian and who perhaps don't always understand the discriminate application or the way we further oppress people who are already at a disadvantage and who can't defend their own rights. Sigh. I'm hoping this next year that we can gather together a group to challenge the red-zone law in particular and specifically the way it is used. Locally we see this in laws around loitering, pan-handling, and a new "red zone" law that excludes selected individuals from a specific downtown zone for a specified period of time. All these laws have a positive and useful side; but what bothers me is the way they are discriminately applied. Pressure for the existence of these laws comes from the downtown business community, many of whom are Christian and who perhaps don't always understand the discriminate application or the way we further oppress people who are already at a disadvantage and who can't defend their own rights. Sigh. I'm hoping this next year that we can gather together a group to challenge the red-zone law in particular and specifically the way it is used.

]]> By: Liz http://julieclawson.com/2008/07/15/rant-on-community-laws/comment-page-1/#comment-3030 Liz Sun, 20 Jul 2008 19:31:18 +0000 http://julieclawson.com/2008/07/15/rant-on-community-laws/#comment-3030 this gets ridiculous. We lived in a neighborhood where you couldn't have a screen door that showed. My neighbor had to put in a sliding one that was invisible. This same neighborhood also had a very specific list of colors your house or fence could be painted, tiles on roof, etc etc. This stuff just gets stupid. Not much you can do about it. It only gets worse in condo associations. when you live in neighborhoods that aren't quite as "organized" (read: usually older houses or out in the country) you seem to escape it. Its dumb but not much you can do about it but choose not to live in those neighborhoods. I can totally see the car thing. I mean if you have a garage you can still usually squeeze four cars on the driveway? Who pray tell has more than five cars (other than a car collector?) As for the group thing: I can sorta see that. Our neighborhood is pretty lax about codes except ones that make sense. They do have stuff in place to prevent multiple families from occupying a single family unit. I don't know that I have a problem with that. A lot of families don't want the college student party thing going on next door. Nothing wrong with an individual renting a room out, but I can sorta see why they want to prevent large scale groups of students living in a group. Further, most of these groups do not OWN their property. They are renters. At most perhaps one of the parents has bought the property for investment purposes. The part of the country I live in has had a HUGE problem with people coming up from Cali and buying tons of property and doing the absentee slumlord thing. Especially with the lower end housing. They do not have a problem with renting per see. this gets ridiculous. We lived in a neighborhood where you couldn't have a screen door that showed. My neighbor had to put in a sliding one that was invisible. This same neighborhood also had a very specific list of colors your house or fence could be painted, tiles on roof, etc etc. This stuff just gets stupid. Not much you can do about it. It only gets worse in condo associations. when you live in neighborhoods that aren't quite as "organized" (read: usually older houses or out in the country) you seem to escape it. Its dumb but not much you can do about it but choose not to live in those neighborhoods. I can totally see the car thing. I mean if you have a garage you can still usually squeeze four cars on the driveway? Who pray tell has more than five cars (other than a car collector?) As for the group thing: I can sorta see that. Our neighborhood is pretty lax about codes except ones that make sense. They do have stuff in place to prevent multiple families from occupying a single family unit. I don't know that I have a problem with that. A lot of families don't want the college student party thing going on next door. Nothing wrong with an individual renting a room out, but I can sorta see why they want to prevent large scale groups of students living in a group. Further, most of these groups do not OWN their property. They are renters. At most perhaps one of the parents has bought the property for investment purposes. The part of the country I live in has had a HUGE problem with people coming up from Cali and buying tons of property and doing the absentee slumlord thing. Especially with the lower end housing. They do not have a problem with renting per see.

]]> By: Julie Clawson http://julieclawson.com/2008/07/15/rant-on-community-laws/comment-page-1/#comment-3023 Julie Clawson Sat, 19 Jul 2008 18:36:55 +0000 http://julieclawson.com/2008/07/15/rant-on-community-laws/#comment-3023 the parking ones are laws. I think the laundry thing is an association thing. the parking ones are laws. I think the laundry thing is an association thing.

]]> By: Nitika http://julieclawson.com/2008/07/15/rant-on-community-laws/comment-page-1/#comment-3021 Nitika Sat, 19 Jul 2008 09:26:07 +0000 http://julieclawson.com/2008/07/15/rant-on-community-laws/#comment-3021 Are these actually laws? Or are you referring to covenants (contracts usually set up through a neighborhood association which residents voluntarily enter into)? Are these actually laws? Or are you referring to covenants (contracts usually set up through a neighborhood association which residents voluntarily enter into)?

]]> By: minnowspeaks http://julieclawson.com/2008/07/15/rant-on-community-laws/comment-page-1/#comment-3013 minnowspeaks Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:30:58 +0000 http://julieclawson.com/2008/07/15/rant-on-community-laws/#comment-3013 To answer your question in a word: Yes. I am 100% with you on this issue!! To answer your question in a word: Yes. I am 100% with you on this issue!!

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