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To: marktwain

We’ve been living with this “smart growth” in Maryland for years. It’s highlights:
1) limit growth in suburbs by citing “insufficient capacity” in schools, roads, or water supplies.
2) Don’t build school, road or water capacity, so growth is never allowed to resume
3) Have local planning commissions downzone rural land to permit fewer houses per acre (upper Baltimore County, Maryland is maximum 1 house / 20 acres)
4) Increase population densities in “townhome” developments (single-family attached housing) and other high-density developments
5) attempt to force people into the existing urban areas by favorable tax credits and other gimmicks.
6) Enact and enforce crazy laws to stifle development and construction. Some highlights - mandate fire sprinklers in all homes, mandate zero runoff during construction, limit waste that can be generated during construction, limit hours that construction will be allowed (they call the police if you turn on a machine before 7 am weekdays or 9 am on weekends).
7) Add “impact fees” for each new home. These fees in some Maryland counties are over $25,000 per home.

So the end result is more expensive housing in suburbs, but since the cities are insanely dangerous (Baltimore makes “Escape from New York” seem like a comedy), no one wants to move there anymore. Google “Zach Sowers” if you’d like to see Baltimore in action. Kid was beat almost to death, but while in a coma our corrupt city prosecutors cut plea bargains for the accused. Zach later dies, but perps will be out in a few months or years because they pled out prior to his death.


63 posted on 09/12/2010 4:35:25 PM PDT by pie_eater
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To: pie_eater

Another thing MD does. Force the “eeeeevil” successful suburbanites to live next to Section 8 trash no matter where they move.


95 posted on 09/12/2010 7:40:21 PM PDT by RockinRight (Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?)
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