Protected property rights includes a lot more than real estate. Your money is your property. If you cannot keep the fruits of your labor, what are you? Historically, you would be called a slave.
Your identity is your property; the theft of which is a felony. Your ideas are your property; thus copyright laws. Real estate, or anything else that you buy with your money is your property; and "deadly force" can still be used to protect it. Clearly, zoning laws and local ordinances can dictate the use of real property - things one must consider when purchasing as part of a risk evaluation. If I pay high density prices for land that is zoned R6, and the City arbitrarily changes the zoning to R2, I lose millions of dollars (this happened on the West Bank.) If I buy property in a pedestrian commercial zone, it is my responsibility to know what is allowed and what is not, and I should be able to rely on local government to uphold and enforce its own rules. Minneapolis routinely ignores and violates its own ordinances for political expedience: Many Listmembers have written extensively about this including Jim Graham and myself. Eva Young asked for an example of government denial of property rights as it relates to affordable housing. In 1995, I was ready to build 102 apartments on 2 acres that I already owned. BorSon Construction bid $35,000 per unit for construction - all 1 BR units with private balconies facing downtown Minneapolis with 102 surface parking spaces (all architectural work was done by Ralph Rapson). The property was zoned high density (R6) and I didn't need any variances or money or anything from the City. Rents would have been in the $500 - $600 range as I recall. Of course I wouldn't have paid myself a "developer's fee" or a "construction supervisory fee" or an "asset management fee" or a "partnership management fee" or a "property management fee." There would have been no "bond underwriting fees" or "credit enhancement fees" or "other soft fees" or "administrative fees" piled on to the mortgage debt. Low debt, low taxes, low operating costs = low rents. Contrast this scenario with recent construction in Minneapolis: Steve Minn's Stone Arch Apartments @ $148,000 per unit, or The Village at St. Anthony @ $500,000 per unit - or even the handful of Hollman units. What ever happened to the $110 million that HUD provided for the 700 Hollman units anyway? To explain all of the ramifications of over-regulation, public interference, and government lending would require an entire book. I don't have the time or energy to write one, but James Bovard did. I'm sure the Minneapolis Public Library has copies of "Lost Rights." Check it out! (pun intended) Vicky Heller North Oaks REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
