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Comment by MisterMower

6 hours ago

Because you would be upset if a developer bought every house on your block and converted them to eight-plexes and rented them out to Section 8 tenants, and we should provide some level of protection against that from happening.

4 comments

MisterMower

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twoodfin  4 hours ago

I can be upset, but why should I expect the government to “protect” me from that feeling? It’s a free country.

We’re not talking about a sewage treatment plant or even a data center, we’re talking about fellow members of our community living in code-compliant housing.

  • MisterMower  1 hour ago

    Because we have decided as a society to protect people from bad outcomes regardless of whether they want to be protected or not. See also unemployment insurance, social security disability insurance, requiring drivers to carry motor insurance, Medicaid, etc.

    This includes zoning laws that protect incumbent property owners from loss of property value by massively changing the character of the surrounding properties.

    As much as I would love to live in the free country you describe, it’s not the one we get to live in. And since that’s not the America that exists in reality, there is nothing wrong with people using these rules to protect themselves.

    I would add that these aren’t one sided restrictions. They’re reciprocal. A typical property owner can’t convert their property to an eight-plex, and conversely, they can and should expect the same level of protection.