Print this out and you, my friend, are in business!
That will be Seven Dollars, US, Please.
Posted on 12/27/2005 12:32:06 PM PST by Cagey
HAYWARD, California (AP) -- Developers looking to maximize the marketability of their homes are complaining about the city's street address rules, which they claim can scare off buyers who practice the ancient Chinese art of feng shui.
Under a numbering system established by Alameda County in the 1950s, addresses are assigned based on how far the homes are from downtown Oakland, a method that puts five digits on almost every mailbox in Hayward and other cities in the county.
The numbers have always been hard to remember, but home builders recently raised concerns that they may decrease property values because the odds are greater that an address will carry a number considered unlucky by feng shui practitioners.
Feng shui holds that the way buildings are designed can affect the fortunes and health of inhabitants.
"Now developers are saying, 'Why do we have to do it this way?'" Sylvia Ehrenthal, Hayward's director of economic and community development, told The Oakland Tribune for a Monday story. "There are some numbers people don't like to have in their address."
City Council members, five of whom live at addresses with numbers that start in the 20,000 range, voted unanimously last week to allow the builders of an upscale development to use shorter street numbers. In seeking the waiver, the builders cited convenience concerns as well as the potential for violating feng shui precepts, according to Richard Patenaude, Hayward's principal planner.
Real estate agent Lisa Coen, of nearby Pleasanton, who also runs a feng shui consulting firm, said she has advised developers on how to make homes attractive to buyers who would not want to live at the end of a cul-de-sac or where a door opens onto a staircase.
"It does matter to some people. It really does matter," Coen said. "They won't buy a house ... if the number's not right."
Musta parked that city on the dragon's eye. Tsk tsk tsk.
Ah, the Bay-Airhead gang strikes again.
Great minds think alike. I used this for my "On this Day In History" on the Canteen & Foxhole threads.
What a load of dingo kidneys!!!!
I wish I had a feng shui consulting firm. Because there's a sucker
born every minute.
"Sylvia Ehrenthal, Hayward's director of economic and community development, told The Oakland Tribune for a Monday story. "There are some numbers people don't like to have in their address.""
LOL......too good
Feng shui is chinese for Bull ****!
Well I don't know about you guys but I always check my feng shui book before purchasing anything. The wrong color might interrupt my field of positive energy!/sarc.
I wouldn't want 666...
I had feng shui for lunch today...it was pretty good!
I'm surprised that the argument is that it would decrease property values rather than that it is a form of religious redlining intended to keep Chinese people out of the neighborhood.
Afterall, this is California, and it's the 21st Century, right? So everything you don't like has got to be either racial or ethnic discrimination.
Print this out and you, my friend, are in business!
That will be Seven Dollars, US, Please.
Where have I heard the term "Political correctness run amok," was it Hayward, CA?
Positive energy interruption you say. Up the voltage!!!!
As nutty as some people are in Southern CA (especially the closer you get to L.A. and Hollywood), the people down in Southern CA are in no way as nutty as those by the Bay. Must be something in the Bay water!
Not being a feng shui sort of person , what would the bad numbers be?
I practiced dung shewui or whatever it's called in the toilet earlier today. Seems today was sponsored by the letter L.
My favorite color is not there, Black. I will wear it until they come out with something darker.
tell'em to go feng shui themselves!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.