The Question of Zoning
by Robert Russo
Most Libertarians elected to local office are not empowered to vote on the far-ranging issues we stand for because they don’t fall under county jurisdiction. There is one ever-present topic however in which our doctrine can be presented in a way that affects people in their own homes: Zoning. Here are a few examples…
Have you ever been low on gas and found yourself driving an incredible length of road without seeing a gas station, even though you are not in a rural area? Is there a good piece of land in your neighborhood which you would like to see left alone or put to personal use, but it is only slated for a commercial business? The end result of districtizing every portion of ground in the commonwealth is that anyone who can only afford to pay $400 rent is condemned to live in the "low rent district" of north Richmond even if they work in Petersburg, and likewise if only certain jobs are available to them they are consigned to work in the sector for that type of business. Eventually this directs all commuters into a preordained circle of where to live, where to work and where to shop. Once an area has been zoned for commercial use, any animal or plant living in it is doomed to eviction because every parcel will eventually be sold for clearing.
The underlying reasons behind zoning laws are almost never logical or clear, but they usually stem from the presumption of public opinion. An outdoor pet such as a goat is usually forbidden from neighborhoods with active real estate advertising, but permitted in older communities where there is no influx of new people. Our native Tulip Tree or Yellow Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) has been banned from subdivisions within its own natural range because it grows so tall and straight it is dubbed a "mankiller" during storms and could damage property. Lots for commercial use only are no guarantee of a successful business, and become developed "dead zones" like one sees in parts of Richmond and the Tri-Cities, which are neither resold nor restored to their original state.
It is disturbing to me that a board of people I have never met has a color-coded map of every acre in my home county of Chesterfield, because it was a comfort to know that as an individual there are parts of it I will never see. When these counties were first established they consisted of an area with one or more hubs of civilization and veins of activity within a territory. The biggest argument against this lifestyle is that if you get rid of zoning, every opportunist in the country will flock to this place either to start an illegal business, run a training camp in the woods or just hide out, and there would be no response team ready for when a citizen is injured or a crime is committed. Basically it comes down to the fact that self-reliance and life skills were once required for any citizen to survive; one had to know how to splint a broken leg, old-fashioned detective work was required to solve a crime, good citizenship was required to get along with others. Now the citizen has regressed to almost a pet of the state. He must be told what his property is good for, paramedics advise people not to treat injuries themselves or they will make it worse, and even natural processes like drainage and seeding must be planned by the "masters" of this domain. Getting rid of this babysitting promotes a better citizen.
Libertarians are opposed to the concept of zoning because it enforces the whim of a landlord upon an entire community. It is generally accepted that if someone is renting a living space, the rules of the owner must be followed as part of the contract. Land however is not government property we are renting through the property tax, it is the citizen’s property which legislation is supposed to respect. What we want to see is a house next door to a library next door to a bank, evenly distributed so that the community flows freely with no stagnant or overcrowded areas.
Question of the week: In what way have zoning laws affected you personally? Please send your experiences to henrico@richmondliberty.org.
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