Editors note – photo via Alan Mas, pexels.com
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Protecting private property rights is a foundational American value. But when someone chooses to live in a community rather than on a patch of isolated ground away from them thar city folks then there is a mutually accepted set of standards that allows for some minimal restrictions rather than an anything-goes, laissez-faire approach to individual property rights.
If you want to live in a community amongst neighbors, with convenient proximity to urban amenities and access to community necessities like public safety, running water, drivable streets, etc. then there is an expectation that you voluntarily cede some small measure of personal property rights in order to maintain a functional, desirable community and get along with your neighbors.
I understand the concern, but when I hear the argument against local zoning standards that says, “It’s my property and I should be able to do whatever I want with it”, I have to wonder how far you are willing to go with that in the context of zoning standards.
How about a porn shop on private property next to an elementary school?
Or an RV park on private property in the middle of a residential area?
Or a recreational marijuana store with a big neon arrow sign that says “Get Your Weed Here” on private property across the street from the high school?
Or a liquor store with a bar and casino on private property next door to the Rescue Mission?
Or an abortion doctor/clinic on private property next to a Catholic private school and parish?
Or a dog kennel and pet hotel on private property in your neighborhood, next door to YOUR house?
Some of those things may be allowable in some communities but the point is that we have zoning standards for a reason. We have residential zoning categories for a reason.
And we already have some flexibility and discretion in how we zone our community – i.e. conditional use permits, zoning variances, and outright changes in zoning categories and areas. All of those options can be and often are done at the local level through local mechanisms.
If the state legislature can pass bills like SB 266 into law, which would require Great Falls to allow 4-plexes and 3-plexes in single-family housing zoned neighborhoods, then they could also micromanage our community zoning in other ways as well – like requiring any of those examples listed above. Just remember that the most naive words ever spoken are “it could never happen here.”
So, it isn’t as much about private property rights as it is about Big Brother Helena setting zoning rules for Great Falls instead of Great Falls folks making those decisions.