Let People Use Their Land
Just let people do what they want with their land. It’s something conservatives should cheer.
This story is making the rounds on angry-conservative Facebook this week, a mixture of pols doing the right thing for reasons that sound wrong to some, and partisan journalists subsequently claiming the sky is falling.
Short version: A Virginia Democrat is pushing a bill that would override local zoning to allow multifamily housing in virtually every community.
Suburbanites see this as the end of days. But here’s an interesting idea: Just let people do what they want with their land.
Build a single-family house? Sure. Build a grandma apartment over the garage? Fine. A duplex or multifamily? G’head. And if you don’t want that, then band together with other landowners and form private covenants via a homeowners association or co-op.
Rolling back zoning that often serves little purpose beyond creating and sustaining political power is a restoration—not a restriction—of property rights.
It’s something conservatives should cheer.
I don’t agree with the legislator’s rhetoric or even his priorities. But arbitrary and overly restrictive zoning is a tool used for graft downtown political control in the suburbs. It’s something politicians of all stripes abuse, and the results are artificially high housing prices and unsustainable communities that choke off entire generations from the wealth creation that could lead to a better life.
The No. 1 job of government is to protect our rights; that includes a role for states to step in when local control gets out of control.
Greg W. Brooks. First published on Facebook, Dec. 24, 2019.