Tyranny by design (property rights under attack in Old Towne Orange, CA)

Now I submit your private property shouldn't be maintained as a health hazard or a fire trap but apart from common sense restrictions who is the government to tell you what you can do or not do with your property? We live in a free country not in a police state. Its too bad we have Design Taliban all over this country to wreak havoc with any property owners that don't comply with their finely honed requirements. Enough already.

Liberals, no doubt.

I actually went back to see if this was an "Onion" article.
I usta scratched my head when I thought about how could Nazi Germany have ever happen. Not any more.

Well, heavens, yes, this happens all the time!

We dealt with it in a small rural town in Oregon; we were one of the few families with young children in an otherwise elderly neighborhood, and the old folks had formed a "homeowner's asoociation" to dictate to the masses what was appropriate. They nearly had cats when we ripped out all the "easy care" juniper shrubs infesting our landscape, and when we re-seeded our sloping hill with native wild-flowers, and then didn't mow it weekly (it was gorgeous! Drew butterflies, honey bees, and hummingbirds!). This particular Ass'n even dared to tell a mother of autistic twins that she Could NOT put up a six foot fence in an effort to keep her kids in their own yard... she thought she had no recourse (after all, they SAID she didn't!) until we pointed out that no homeowner's association gets to trump the Americans with Disabilities Act, and suggested she contact a lawyer who specialized in disability accomodations...

One afternoon, we were airing our white picket toddler enclosure (it's four fence sections that bolt together on steel rods, which we use when camping to contain our kids) and one of the busy-men came up to asked about the "fence" we seemed to be putting in, without permission. He was rather put off when I explained that a) it wasn't a fence; b) we didn't recognize his little association, c) if we wanted a fence we'd build one according to the legal city statutes, and d) would he please step back across the property line and off of my land.

Yep, I'se an Uppity Youngun!

I very much value historic preservation (after all, it directly relates to my own business!), but these little "My Way or Else" organizations need to be disbanded. Once the restoration of a neighborhood starts, people who are interested in continuing the refurbishing generally move in, and those not interested will eventually leave. My property rights end where my neighbor's begin... and his certainly don't include critiquing my azaleas to determine if they're an appropriate variety to the vintage of the house.

Regards, and Merry Christmas!

Since "Jeff Frankel, with the Old Towne Preservation Association" said, "He would like to see the porch restored back to its original configuration with its original materials," the appropriate and correct response by "Bernard/Franz, the owners of the property, should have been:

The 5th amendment, of the Bill of Rights, U.S. Constitution states:

"...nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation."

If the citizens of Orange County wish to have a Preservation Association that will mandate how private property will be regulated, then the citizens of Orange County will have to ante up with the compensation for the regulation of that property, with their tax money.

Liberals, no doubt.

Not necessarily. Orange County is one of the supposed conservative strongholds in the country. One would think property rights would be respected here. But, then again, we keep re-electing people like Chris Cox back to Congress and his voting record is as bad as a Democrat's. There's no reason to believe the politicians in local office would be any better.

If the citizens of Orange County wish to have a Preservation Association that will mandate how private property will be regulated, then the citizens of Orange County will have to ante up with the compensation for the regulation of that property, with their tax money.

Actually, the citizens of Orange County are probably more interested in tending to their own lives than how the neighbors down the street are redecorating their front porch. A handful of self-righteous do-gooders, who believe they know what's best for everyone else, have gained control of local government and intend to use force to deprive others of their property. Government is supposed to protect people and property. This is clearly an abuse of government.

Thanks for standing up to the commies!

The American Taliban is alive and well in many areas of our lives.

If told that I had to return the porch to the original condition I would say "I will endeavor to abide by your suggestion."
Then go home and ignore them.
If they keep coming to your house to bug you about your porch, tell them you are working on it and currently gathering the money together to do so.
Keep telling them that you are working on it and fix it when you are able to get the proper building permits.
Use delaying tactics, and eventually they will go away.
If they get really nasty then threaten to paint the house puce or chartreuse if they don't go away.

Or, just ignore them all together.

If I got really fed up I would just burn the house down.