I like my neighbor a whole lot. And his claim to the neighborhood vastly outmatches my own because he's lived here all his life and is now retired. He recalls when my house was a hill that he played on as a child.
Anyway a couple years back he says to me "I was wondering if you mind if I tear down my old garage and build a new one." I told him of course I didn't mind. I figured, hey, it's his yard, why should I care if he wants to replace his garage? Big mistake. The resulting three-car structure is so large that we occasionally find Northwest airline pilots wandering through looking for their jets. His garage has more floor space than his house. It's also nicer, having gas heat, cable, etc. I'm chagrined because it also blocks out what little sunlight we ever got in our yard. But I'm not complaining: he DID ask, and it's my own darned fault if I didn't think to say "How big?" This all being a roundabout way of asking, if some agency is going to try to force all new properties to have garages, what's going to prevent the construction of immense structures that likewise infringe upon the neighbors view, light, and livability? From the point of view of the builder, if you're going to be forced to build a garage, you're probably going to build the biggest, cheapest thing you can get away with. Unless construction ordinances are more vigorously enforced than they are today, how many more of us are going to say goodbye to our southern exposure, and hello to cheap vinyl siding? Bob Alberti, President Sanction, Inc. Data Security http://www.sanction.net Cusp of Longfellow and Seward "A Tempest! Grab the teabag and hang on for your life!" -----Original Message----- From: Sonja Dahl Sent: Tuesday, October 15, 2002 11:10 AM > My house has the > original 1925 garage on a block where almost every other garage has been > replaced with a 2 or 3 car monstrosity. _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
