mudchickenThat ought to go over great with the local HOA* Architectural Review Board (ie -"snob squad").
I will never, ever, buy a house in a neighborhood with an HOA!
Too many good guys died to destroy Hitler for me to tarnish their memory by putting up with a pack of "Little Hitlers" that gravitate to HOA leadership roles.
You said it Mudchicken, a bunch of self-important busybodies and snobs!
I've heard that gated communities are worse- A columnist in a car magazine that I read lives in a G.C. in Los Angeles. He can't have a project car in his back yard even if it's hidden from view. He can't even park a car in his driveway, it has to go in the garage. And naturally there are rules about what colour you can paint your house. Who the hell wants to live in a place like that? In the newspaper real estate section there are always articles about the condominium boards that act like little Hitlers too. The rules seem to change to whatever the biggest mouth on the condo board wants. Who needs it?
Another thing- In towns like Sarnia or Windsor, Ontario if you live near a hospital, there is no parking anywhere on the street. Hospital rent-a-cops will ticket you because they want you to pay the stupid price of parking in the hospital lots. I guess that means you can't have visitors?
I wonder how you would like it if a nearby resident painted this house day-glo orange, pink or chartreuse? Or all three?
charlie hebdo I wonder how you would like it if a nearby resident painted this house day-glo orange, pink or chartreuse? Or all three?
I wouldn't, but as long as he/she doesn't try to do it to my house then hey, it's a free country! At least it was last time I looked.
Now if someone turns their property into a junkyard, or a coal-mining operation, or chemical works that's another story and there's zoning laws on the books to deal with that.
54light15Hospital rent-a-cops will ticket you because they want you to pay the stupid price of parking in the hospital lots.
How do they get away with that? As far as I know public streets are just that, public property, and only the REAL cops have juristiction there. A rent-a-cops authority is only good for the facility he/she is hired to provide security for.
Ask a real cop if a rent-a-cop is a "real" cop, they'll tell you!
When the Van Sweringen brothers were developing Shaker Heights, Ohio (c1915-c1940), only four or five architectural styles were allowed for houses, e.g. colonial, Tudor, French Chateau, etc. In fact, the advertising for Shaker Heights touted "each house unique, yet in harmony with its neighbors."
Somewhere in the 1980's the City of Shaker Heights helpfully distributed to new home owners the "suggested" colors to paint one's house. Here it might be helpful to note that hanging laundry outside on clothes lines is not allowed in Shaker, either; there likely are a few other such zoning constraints. A predictable debate ensued.
BUT, Shaker Heights has managed to keep its property values up and still looks like the type of city it was intended to be and that others have "bought into" (as it were) for 106 years now. Something I've noticed over my lifetime: Cities with stiff, even brutal zoning codes, have and retain high property values. Other towns, like one near me, allow people to park cars on their front lawns if desired. One may guess the effect on property values in such a place.
Still, the question or issue of "my property" versus city-wide zoning always provoked a long and passionate debate in my history classes. Dr. Hebdo raises a key point when he asks how any of us would like a neighbor to paint his house in neon-bright colors (which I've seen done c. 1965) and leave it that way for years? The drop in one's property values is significant when house buyers detect a visible kook in the immediate area of the house they're considering.
A similar free-speech issue: I'm a vexillologist and love flying my many flags of cities, states, foreign countries, etc. But I never consider two flags: Russia's (which enslaved my ancestors) and Nazi Germany's. Now, if I wanted to, I have the right as an American to fly any flag I wish, right? But what effect would that have upon my neighbors? And who would want to live in or buy any house near a kook who flies such an offensive flag?
The principle is simply this: Think of the effect of one's actions upon one's neighbors and community.
NKP guy I'm a vexillologist and love flying my many flags of cities, states, foreign countries, etc.
No kidding! I'm a flag fancier myself, a fascinating study when you get into it, isn't it? Im sure you're familiar with Dr. Whitney Smith's work, but to avoid "narrow-casting" and boring everyone I'll go no further.
Certainly, anyone displaying a Nazi flag outside of a certain narrow context, say a World War Two re-enactment, would be guilty of extreme bad taste. But I think we're getting pretty adrift of the original premise of this thread. We can argue good-taste, bad-taste until the cows come home and not resolve anything.
As far as Shaker Heights is concerned I'm sure any prospective homeowners are made well aware of the particular zoning regs pertaining to the area. If you like 'em and agree with 'em, you move there. If not, you don't. Simple. Your choice.
NKP guyThe principle is simply this: Think of the effect of one's actions upon one's neighbors and community.
Or as good or lapsed Episcopalians might say,
"Love thy neighbor as thyself."
HOA's are constantly in the news over squabbles with display of the US flag.
Hopefully, not just Episcopalians. Charlie, it's Leviticus 19-18 that you quoted, and certainly in use by more than just Episcopalians.
quote user="charlie hebdo"]
NKP guy The principle is simply this: Think of the effect of one's actions upon one's neighbors and community.
[/quote]
As a once acolyte and server, that phrase was part of the communion liturgy. It's what the Nazarene said in answer to a question about which are the great commandments (Matthew 22: 36-40) based on Leviticus 19: 8-18.
charlie hebdo As a once acolyte and server, that phrase was part of the communion liturgy. It's what the Nazarene said in answer to a question about which are the great commandments (Matthew 22: 36-40) based on Leviticus 19: 8-18.
further:
"On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."
The whole thing is just sublime.
Note the difference in emphasis, though; it's important here, too. In the Commandments, it was the Golden Rule; treat your neighbor as you yourself would want to be treated. Jesus said "love your neighbor as yourself" [with the usual caveats about the word he actually used, vs. the Greek] and it is in the implications of that attitude that you can hang the Law and the Commandments from it.
Of course no one knows what if anything the Nazarene said precisely on this subject, be it Mark or Matthew. But it is a great philosophy for life often ignored in formal religions.
charlie hebdoOf course no one knows what if anything the Nazarene said precisely on this subject, be it Mark or Matthew. But it is a great philosophy for life often ignored in formal religions.
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