Sunday, February 25, 2007

Views at Clarendon

Yes, I did it. I watched the entire Arlington County Board meeting regarding the Views at Clarendon project. In fact, the meeting provided much of the inspiration I needed to finally start this blog. Why, you ask? Because I think both parties got it wrong!

The neighbors thought they had zoning rights. Here's something to remember: when government gives you something, it's not a right. Rights are something that you had without a government. You were given zoning privileges, and as with any privilege, it can be taken away. As you are learning now, the hand that feeds you can also slap you in the face.

The church, in what I consider to be a slightly lesser offense, seeks to use public money for its ministry. As a libertarian, I disdain the idea of public funds being used for affordable housing. As we saw at the meeting, many people oppose affordable housing when it "blocks my child's view of the sunlight." With such opposition, can it be right to use taxpayer dollars for such project? However, since the church is seeking a loan, not a grant, and that loan would be available to non-religious groups, I feel it would have been inappropriate to discriminate against the church by denying funds because they are faith-based. I wish they weren't seeking the money, but since they are, they should get it just like anyone else would.

Here's my take. The neighbors should have never depended on the government's zoning "power" to protect them. Furthermore, no one should try to use the law to regulate what someone else does on their own property. Radical? Maybe, but completely American. On the other hand, the church should have sought a ministry that did not depend on taxpayer dollars.

In the end, I applaud the County Board's decision, but barely.

In a (my) perfect world, the church would have a privately funded ministry in a building as big as they can afford to build. But no, we all want government in our back pocket, poised to bite us in a very uncomfortable place.

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