Here's a cite on it:
Sleeping on the couch would be a crime
----------
A bill that would let Fairfax County, Virginia, prohibit its
residents from sleeping in rooms other than a bedroom has won
approval in the state senate. The measure is intended as a
weapon against immigrants who save money by sharing homes.
(01/29/01)
http://www.dallasnews.com/national/273958_bedroom_29nat..html
Even though there are two .'s before the html tag, the link seems to
work....
On Mon, 29 Jan 2001, Sourav K. Mandal wrote:
>
> "Mark Steckbeck <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>" wrote:
>
> > An interesting news story affirming my contention that zoning
> > restrictions contribute to homelessness is the push by a few northern
> > Virginia state lawmakers to enact a state law outlawing residents from
> > sleeping in any rooms of their homes other than their bedrooms. Their
> > reasoning is that poor people (read: immigrants) tend to rent single-family
> > homes and then pack them with roommates using every room, including the
> > kitchen, as bedrooms.
>
> That is pretty lame, but probably true. Though, around Northern
> Virginia, the biggest beef is that all the immigrants who pack
> themselves into homes each own cars, often making on-street parking
> difficult for neighbors. Feel free to blame the lack of good public
> transportation ...
>
> As draconian and indirect as "bedroom" zoning ordinances are, why do
> they cause homelessness? This just means that people who want to
> work can't afford to live in the district of enforcement.
> Therefore, isn't it more likely that they'll go elsewhere for work,
> rather than go homeless? I can tell you that in recent memory, the
> only homeless person I've seen in Northern Virginia is this well-fed
> Vietnam vet who works the I-395N/Seminary Road off-ramp.
>
> One might argue that zoning restrictions in Northern Virginia cause
> homelessness _elsewhere_, but :
>
> * No. Va. is special in that it has one of the highest costs of
> living in the US.
>
> * No. Va., even during this economic downturn, is hardly the only
> place that has an open job market.
>
> So I disagree with your contention that zoning restrictions
> _necessarily_ cause homelessnes, even if they are overbearing and
> ill-conceived.
>
>
> Sourav
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> Sourav K. Mandal
>
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> http://www.ikaran.com/Sourav.Mandal/
>
> "In enforcing a truth we need severity rather than
> efflorescence of language. We must be simple,
> precise, terse."
>
> -- Edgar Allan Poe,
> "The Poetic Principle"
>
>
>
>
>
>
