Vote today & A message regarding Property Rights

Date: Tuesday, September 15, 2009, 7:57 AM

Friends & Neighbors, I got this message in my email today from a friend of mine who was a neighborhood chair in another pioneer neighborhood. I thought it was worth your time to take a look at. Don't forget to vote in today's municipal primary. The most important issues in this election (remember to vote today) are about property rights. The confusion about this issue derives from your personal definition of property rights. During the course of my term as neighborhood chair and providing architectural services for developers I have heard numerous complaints about the way that Provo City is infringing on their rights to develop their property as they see fit. I hear the same complaints from real estate investors wanting to buy up houses in our neighborhoods and convert them to rentals. What they don't say is what the infringements are. The developer and real estate investor are in business to make money. Anything that prohibits them from doing so is an infringement on their property rights. When Provo City requires a developer to have a meeting with the neighbors to discuss their project and to gather feedback from the neighborhood, that is infringement, right? When Provo City requires a landlord to verify that their rental property complies with HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) standards, that is infringement, right? I hope that you can see that the very things that Provo City is asking of developers and landlords is to make sure that they do unto others as they would have done unto them (I would put quotes around that but I am sure that I butchered it). I think that it is sad that the greedy pursuit of money causes some people to ignore the well being of others. I am a landlord because I rent my basement out. I had to have a home inspection by the City and had to spend over 500 dollars on repairs to bring it up to HUD standards. The repairs consisted of things to make it easier for my tenants to get out of the basement in the event of a fire and to prevent them from electrocuting themselves. It is not about me but the well being of others. Have my rights been infringed upon? No, property ownership is a right and a burden to provide the occupants with a safe and healthy environment to live in. Do unto others...