Just thinking about the new 2500′ WECS setback rule proposed by the Culver Plan Commission. How is the Building Commissioner going to measure that? The longest tape measure that I could find on Amazon.com was 400′. Looks like Culver will have to invest in a GPS, surveying equipment or a custom made tape. Russ may need some help stringing out 2500 linear feet of tape to make sure no one violates the rule! Unintended consequences… As we often find in my industry, what looks good on paper is sometimes tough to accomplish in the field.
At the August 12th Culver Town Council meeting there was follow-up discussion on properties in town that “should be cleaned up”. The goals are laudable, though I’m aware there are extenuating circumstances in some cases mentioned. In other cases, it’s a personal decision and I’m not sure how far we should go with that. Many subdivisions have covenants that stipulated what color your house can be, what color your curtains can be and how long a vehicle can sit in your driveway. Neighborhood covenants are one thing since they are usually developed before people move in and are modified with the consent of the neighborhood association. Aesthetic choices are personal and I do take some issue to having those applied after the fact. While there should be limits on a property being allowed to become dangerous, I think there is some danger of trampling personal property rights when aesthetics are dictated.
Buckhorn Plantain
As with all things, the Town Council needs to be cognizant of unintended consequences. They had a recent dispute on mowing with a property owner, so part of their discussion revolved around setting a maximum height for grass. The owner in question stated that in lieu of a lawn, he had a naturalized habitat with native plants. The Town made the judgment that this area was overgrown weeds and forced them to be mowed. Does that mean they’re going to require lawns? There are at least two properties in town that have planting beds in lieu of lawn. Who will determine whether those plants are acceptable? Who will determine if there is too much planting area and not enough lawn? Who will determine whether the grass is decorative (like some at our office and at the Town Hall) and therefore exempt from the height ordinance? In late summer when most lawns go dormant, will the random stalks of Buckhorn result in mowing orders? Part of the most recently annexed property on the south side of town has been left fallow. It’s currently returning to somewhat of a native prairie habitat. Will that be illegal? I may have to rethink my willingness to have some of my property annexed…
Bird Nest in formerly boarded up window in the Police Garage
The discussion also went into the condition of buildings with people wanting enforcement of standards that included missing shingles and boarded up windows… clearly aesthetic issues, not safety issues. I found that discussion amusing considering we were sitting in the Town Hall… a building that currently has missing shingles, a gutter hanging loose on the front and boarded up openings on the north and south. (Would the bird’s nest visible in the picture to the left be considered vermin? There was another complaint about building openings allowing vermin to enter…)
Damaged Overhead Door at Water Plant
A quick drive past the Water Plant and you can see an overhead door that is off track and not closed completely. Drive up to the entrance of the Sewer Plant and you’ll see a deteriorating shingle roof on a shed roof adjacent to the tanks. Drive by the Town’s Sewer Lift Station on Madison Street and you can see a boarded up window on the back side. (Does paint make it okay? How will you define when a boarded up window is objectionable?)
Boarded up Window at the Madison Street Lift Station
None of these things particularly bother me. What bothers me is that my property would not meet the standards being discussed and it seems unreasonable that the Town would exempt themselves. Easterday Construction has buildings with openings that are boarded up. We have a pole building that has access under the doors. Might the Town want to get its own house in order before pointing fingers?
Air Conditioner Sleeve with Cardboard in it at the EMS Building
I’m sure when I bring some of these things up, I’ll get the standard, “That’s not what I meant! You’re twisting my words… You know what I mean!” Uh, huh… But when you try and define it in legally enforceable language, it takes on a new life. Unintended Consequences…
In the discussion regarding WECS’s at the Culver Plan Commission last night, Plan Commission member, Ron Cole, made a very salient comment. “Just think about satellite dishes. They used to be huge at 6 and 8 foot in diameter. Look at them now. Who knows what WECS’s will look like in the future…”
Look for another post regarding this meeting coming out this coming Friday.
I haven’t written anything about the Sand Hill Farm property in a while, but there have been some things happening there.
Last year the Town of Culver negotiated a new storm water easement through the property. There was an existing easement that ran diagonally through the property and exited through the Culcom property on Jefferson Street. The old easement wasn’t a problem when it was planned to be just farm land, but the new easement follows the property lines putting the majority of it within the setbacks. This frees up additional land for development. It also provides several access points for future storm water control within the property. I basically negotiated this as a no cost swap with the Town. They removed the old easement which was actually a county easement in exchange for the new easement. It worked out as a win-win for both parties. The easements allow access and road construction over them, etc.
The news tonight will be full of people lined up to get their taxes in at the last minute. I’m usually sending mine out today, but somehow I screwed up my withholding last year and got a refund. That’s incentive to get it in early. I’ve been pretty successful with TurboTax, despite having a somewhat complicated return.
Out of curiosity, I looked up Tax Freedom Day at the Tax Foundation website this morning. The good news is that Indiana Tax Freedom Day is tomorrow the 16th of April. Last year it was the 13th, so that’s not a good trend. Unfortunately for the Nation, U.S. Tax Freedom Day is 6 days away on the 21st. I probably should sit down and figure out what true Tax Freedom Day is for Becky and I, but it might be depressing. I think taxes would be looked at quite differently if everyone literally had to pay their government obligation for the first part of the year in lieu of having it come out of their paycheck somewhat unseen.
And an interesting comment I heard on the radio today from Jonathan Hoenig. To paraphrase, when President Obama has held press conferences saying, “I’m going to ask you to pay a little bit more…”, the reality is that he’s not asking, he’s telling… Asking implies you have a choice. When the alternate is jail, that’s not much of a choice.
