Submitted by leavemebe on June 10, 2007 - 10:47am.
Your premise is incorrect - teardowns and improvements aren't "unfettered". They are subject to current zoning regulations, including setbacks and height restrictions.
And changing the current zoning regulations is equivalent to the destruction of one's property rights, known at the time of purchase. Plain and simple.
A neighbor of mine in a beautiful "new" home (replaced a 1200 sf house) said he would have reconsidered the purchase had he known about the predatory downzoning" petition aggressively campaigned by Sarah Lowder and her Communit Scale group.
Some, like Sarah, do not "like" the rules and regulations, or don't "feel" good about change or the architecture/size of the improvements. And the group appears to be garnering attention using misinformation (City of Raleigh can sell Fallon Park to developers who in turn can build condos, right in the park!). Give me a break! If there's going to be a debate on this issue please at least be intellectually honest about it. You don't have to lie and needlessly scare people into signing a petition.
Look, most of the teardowns on my street are done with homes that are beyond repair, with broken systems (structural, plumbing, electrical), inadequate size (sub-2000 square feet) for most families, all ripe for improvement. Some would even be perfect practice candidates for the City of Raleigh's fire department because of mold issues.
When they go, and in most cases they must, should what replaces them be the property owner's say or someone else's?
The cat's out of the bag on my street and restricting development with predatory downzoning would only hurt my property value, my "new" neighbor's values, likely by millions of dollars.
I do not think anyone has better architectural taste than my own and in no way do I want someone else to impose their's on me. If I wanted restrictive covenants I would have bought somewhere else.
Current zoning is adequate, we have no "blight", and the larger homes bring in and retain more families. The dilapidated homes are going away, and I say "Hooray"!
Premise is incorrect - zoning is in place
Your premise is incorrect - teardowns and improvements aren't "unfettered". They are subject to current zoning regulations, including setbacks and height restrictions.
And changing the current zoning regulations is equivalent to the destruction of one's property rights, known at the time of purchase. Plain and simple.
A neighbor of mine in a beautiful "new" home (replaced a 1200 sf house) said he would have reconsidered the purchase had he known about the predatory downzoning" petition aggressively campaigned by Sarah Lowder and her Communit Scale group.
Some, like Sarah, do not "like" the rules and regulations, or don't "feel" good about change or the architecture/size of the improvements. And the group appears to be garnering attention using misinformation (City of Raleigh can sell Fallon Park to developers who in turn can build condos, right in the park!). Give me a break! If there's going to be a debate on this issue please at least be intellectually honest about it. You don't have to lie and needlessly scare people into signing a petition.
Look, most of the teardowns on my street are done with homes that are beyond repair, with broken systems (structural, plumbing, electrical), inadequate size (sub-2000 square feet) for most families, all ripe for improvement. Some would even be perfect practice candidates for the City of Raleigh's fire department because of mold issues.
When they go, and in most cases they must, should what replaces them be the property owner's say or someone else's?
The cat's out of the bag on my street and restricting development with predatory downzoning would only hurt my property value, my "new" neighbor's values, likely by millions of dollars.
I do not think anyone has better architectural taste than my own and in no way do I want someone else to impose their's on me. If I wanted restrictive covenants I would have bought somewhere else.
Current zoning is adequate, we have no "blight", and the larger homes bring in and retain more families. The dilapidated homes are going away, and I say "Hooray"!