>From: Coalition for Property Rights <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: The Perfect Pitch >Date: Thu, 12 Oct 2006 17:36:43 -0400 (EDT) > > > > > > > > >Coalition for Property Rights > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > The Perfect Pitch > >October 12, 2006 > > >Sorry baseball fans, but in this week's CPR update we won't be talking >fastballs, curveballs, or sliders...but will be discussing local >government's latest "change up" - regulations aimed at restricting the >"pitch" (or slope) of residential roofs. >The Wall Street Journal recently profiled this new regulatory trend in a >section cover story entitled, "Invasion of the Roof Snatchers." >As WSJ reported, "Communities everywhere from Delaware to Washington are >addressing roof pitch. The waterfront town of Bethany Beach, Del., several >months ago passed a minimum roof-pitch requirement after a spate of new, >box-like homes dwarfed the town's older cottages. St. Augustine, Fla., last >fall banned flat roofs for homes on some smaller lots over concerns about >style and rooftop parties, and the city of Kirkland, Wash., near Seattle, >is holding a series of community meetings with homeowners and developers on >house-to-lot ratios which address, in part, concerns about the increase in >flat-roof homes." >The Journal pointed out the fact that "many popular home styles...such as >the Prairie and Pueblo, have flat or low-pitched roofs. And in some parts >of the country, such as Santa Fe, NM, some ordinances even aim to keep >roofs flat." >This new regulatory trend is disturbing on several fronts. First, any >residential or commercial property owner should have to ability to select >the architectural design of his or her choice. Secondly, shouldn't everyone >be concerned about the extension and growth of government into our lives - >to the point where government is telling people what angle of roof they can >put on their homes? >Whenever government expands its reach over any land use freedom, such as >roof pitch, the property owners affected are losing rights. From both a >property rights and artistic perspective, shouldn't landowners have the >right to dream, save, choose and build a home of their preferred >architectural style? >This writer once took an introductory course in architecture, in which it >was relayed that architecture first begins with an understanding the site >itself, then an artistic choice is made - to create a structure that >either: 1) mimics, 2) harmonizes, or 3) openly contrasts with adjacent >structures. In areas where existing housing has sloped roofs, the >prohibition on flat roofs removes the owner's freedom to select option >three. >In an online listing of the "Top 10 Picks: Greatest Buildings of the 20th >Century," four of the buildings (including two of the three residential >structures in this listing) were designed in the "international style" and >feature flat roofs. The two residences included Fallingwater by Frank Lloyd >Wright and the Farnsworth House by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. (Another >equally famous home which did not make the top ten list, The White House, >also sports a primarily flat roof design.) >The term "international style" was applied to the American form of Bauhaus >architecture, in which some of the leading architects in Germany in the >early 1900s began rejecting "bourgeois" details such as cornices, eaves >and decorative details. Their aim - to use the principles of Classical >architecture in their most pure form: without ornamentation. Bauhaus >buildings as they are called in Germany, or international style elsewhere >in the world, have flat roofs, smooth facades and cubic shapes. Colors are >white, gray, beige or black. Floor plans are open and furniture is >functional. The Bauhaus school disbanded when the Nazis rose to power. >Architect Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and other Bauhaus >leaders migrated to the United States and continued to inspire legions of >other architects to pursue these simplistic designs. >Interestingly enough, another article discussing modern architecture >reminds readers that the ranch home which is very popular in the United >States is a relatively modern advent which contrasted greatly with the >scale and steeper roof pitches of homes built previously. The open floor >plans now found in most new American homes can perhaps even be directly >traced back to the work of the Bauhaus architects. >If the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the Kelo eminent domain case did not >full awaken the American conscience as to the disturbing loss of our basic >property rights, then perhaps local regulations regarding such inane issues >as roof pitch will prove this point yet again. >The question for CPR readers this week is this: have we really moved as a >nation and society to the point that we can no longer tolerate or >appreciate architectural contrasts? Are we so opposed to diversity that we >cannot tolerate different housing styles in our communities? Are we each >willing to sacrifice our property rights and the freedom to exercise our >aesthetic tastes for the trade-off of living in neighborhoods where the >homes all blend in with one another. >The issue here is not necessarily roof pitch, it's about losing our most >basic freedoms. As we lose individual freedoms, such as the right to choose >the architectural design of our own homes - government's power grows. >Once we lose these freedoms, they're gone. Make no mistake, there is also a >tipping point where we have ceded so many individual rights to our >government, that we no longer live a free and open society. >A roof pitch requirement may seem innocuous, but property owners would do >well to remember Thomas Paine's warning, "The greatest tyrannies are always >perpetrated in the name of the noblest causes." > Property Rights Minute >For reasons which defy all political comprehension, the U.S. Senate failed >to act on national piece of legislation aimed at curbing eminent domain >abuse before adjournment. The U.S. House of Representatives had passed >this measure by a strong majority earlier, but the legislation was stalled >in the Senate. The Property Rights Alliance in Washington, D.C. is asking >property owners nationwide to encourage Senators to seize the last chance >to act on this legislation - in the Senate's upcoming "lame duck session" >in November. CPR members are encouraged to take 60 seconds today to ask to >Florida Senator Mel Martinez (1-202-224-3041) and Senate Majority Leader >Bill Frist (1-202-224-3344) to exercise their leadership and to put S 3873 >to a vote in the Senate. >Comments welcomed! [EMAIL PROTECTED] >To join the fight to protect your rights, please visit www.proprights.com. >Carol Saviak >Executive Director >Coalition for Property Rights >2878 South Osceola Avenue >Orlando, FL 32806 >407-481-2289 >www.proprights.com > > > > > > > >Corporate Sponsors: > > > >A. Duda & Sons, Inc. 407-365-2111 www.duda.com > > > >Acquisition Consultants, Inc. 407-322-0038 >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >Akerman Senterfitt Attorneys at Law 407-423-4000 www.akerman.com > > > >Axel Real Estate Inc. 407-366-6510 [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >Bob Harrell Properties 407- 859-2601 > > > >Brigham Moore LLP Eminent Domain & Property Rights Lawyers > > 1-800-380-3338 www.eminentdomain.com > > > >Brossier Company 407.644.5574 [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >Burkett Engineering, Inc. 407-246-1260 > > www.burkettengineering.com, [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >Buttrey Development 407-296-0016 > > > >Carrigan Realty, Inc. 407-568-2145; [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >Central Florida Real Estate Ventures, Inc. > > > >Charles Owen, Kissimmee > > > >Charles Tiedtke Land Trust > > > >Citizens Bank of Oviedo 407-365-6611 www.cboviedo.com >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >Clayton Investments, Ltd. 407-644-6200 > > > >Clear Channel Outdoor, Inc. 407-298-6410 www.clearchanneloutdoor.com > > > >Clifton, Ezell & Clifton Golf Design Group 386-734-2321 > > www.cecgolfdesign.com, [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >Crescent Resources, LLC 407-804-1200 www.crescent-resources.com > > > >Crittenden Fruit Company, Inc. 407-877-2455 [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >Crosland, Inc. 407-856-4899 www.crosland.com > > > >Doudney Investment Co. 407-481-2283 > > > >DRMP: Engineers Surveyors Planners Scientists 407-896-0594; www.drmp.com > > > >EuroCapital Partners 407-645-5244 [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >Famlee Investment Company 407-857-2835 > > > >First Commercial Bank of Florida 407-835-1835 www.fcbflorida.com, >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >First Realty Advisors, Inc. 407-423-7700 > > > >Fixel, Maguire & Willis, Eminent Domain & Condemnation > > Orlando 407-228-9522, Tallahassee 850-681-1800 > > www.fla-eminentdomain.com, [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >Fry Hammond Barr 407-849-0100 www.fhbnet.com > > > >Gaylord Merlin Ludovici Diaz & Bain, P.A. > > Eminent Domain Inverse Condemnation & Property Rights > > 813-221-9000 www.gaylordmerlin.com > > > >Goetz Homes LLC 407-482-0333 [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >GrayRobinson, P.A. - Land Use, Eminent Domain, Property Rights lawyers. > > www.gray-robinson.com, [EMAIL PROTECTED], > > [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >Haddock Professional Association > > > >Hewitt Properties, Inc. 407-318-7370 > > > >Hickory Hammock Groves [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >Kantner Foundation > > > >Keating & Schlitt, P.A. 407.425.2907 [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >Keewin Real Property Company 407-645-4400 [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >Land Plus, Inc. 407-876-8848 > > > >LeeVista 407-857-2835 > > > >Lifeway Homes, LLC 407-2212-8613 www.lifewayhomes.us > > > >Lunsford Brothers Ranch > > > >M & H Citrus, Inc. 407-359-9862 > > > >Maury L. Carter & Assoc., Inc. 407-422-3144; www.maurycarter.com > > > >McCall Properties, Inc. 407-423-0416 > > > >McCree, Inc. Architects, Engineers & General Contractors 407-898-4821 >www.mccree.com > > > >MerryGro Farms 888-301-ROSE 352-589-0868 www.merrygro.com > > > >ML Carter Development Corp. 407-581-6202 > > > >Morgan Stanley 407-849-4700 www.morganstanley.com, >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >MSD Investments, Inc. of New Smyrna Beach > > > >Nelson & Company, Inc. 407-365-6631; [EMAIL PROTECTED] or >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >Outlook Media 407-363-1212 [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >Phoenix Real Estate Co. 407-628-4005 [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >Pinel & Carpenter Appraisers, Inc. 407-648-2199 www.pinelcarpenter.com, >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >Red Fox Trucking 407-365-5909 > > > >S.E. Correct Craft, Inc. 407-851-5226 [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >Schafer, Mitchell & Sheridan, P.A. Certified Accountants 407-839-3330 >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >Schrimsher Properties of Central Florida, Inc. 407-423-7600 > > > >Shuffield Lowman Wilson, P.A. Attorneys At Law 407-581-9800 > > > >SMD Development, Inc. 407-645-8541 > > > >Standard Pacific Homes 407-647-3811 [EMAIL PROTECTED], www.stanpac.com > > > >Stellworth Properties LLC 407-331-0015 [EMAIL PROTECTED], >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >The Ginn Company 407-999-9022 www.theginnco.com > > > >* Along with many other property-minded individuals and businesses. > > Join today and help support CPRs efforts to defend the >American Dream! > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > If you would like to opt out of further e-mail > communications, click >here. > > > > > ForumWebSiteAt http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian Yahoo! 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