This article could have been written about my town. Many people have taken a big loss on their homes because new schools are being built. In the city, a man won when the city tried to seize his establishment. My fiance is currently fighting to maintain his establishment. The city tore down two adjoining buildings that had a common wall with ours so they then condemned this building as being unsafe. They intentionally tried to make it unsafe. Since all the hoopla started, we have uncovered a deal by the city which would make them over $2 million if they got ownership of this property. Small local governments are a bigger nuisance than Washington DC because they directly impact all citizens and are mostly ignored by the voters.
So true. Last year our own county council tried to pass a pre-emptive law to limit the size (sq. footage) of schools and churches in the county. They argued it was in keeping with growth management laws in the state. Of course, they claimed it had nothing to do with limited the free exercise of religious organizations. But that was revealed as a lie since their own ordinance proposed to exempt public schools.
Needless to say, the people arose (Catholics, Muslims, Baptists, Lutherans, Jewish day schools, etc.) and religious leaders joined forces to beat the ordinance back. At one point the County Executive was being quite arrogant and threatening. In the end, the people prevailed and the eco-nazis and God-haters lost. And to seal the deal, a wonderful conservative councilman offered up a new ordinance (with a referendum to the ballot if not passed) reiterating the county's obligation to NEVER restrict the free exercise of religion. The council refused to pass it so it went to a vote of the people of the county, who quickly passed it.
It takes much time and effort to stop the pompous jerks at these lower levels of government. Often, it takes much time from work, family, other civic duties, etc. of conservatives working in coalition. But, the alternative is to be stomped on, walked over, and have no voice. I'll take the former, everytime!