A particularly egregious case on the other side of the Beltway in Chevy Chase, Maryland is pointing out that, in a battle between property rights and political power, it is political power that has the advantage.
A couple who bought and renovated an 82-year-old house in Chevy Chase must tear it down because Montgomery County officials erred in approving the project.
Marianne and Marc Duffy said the oversight was pointed out by some high-powered neighbors who pressured the officials into rescinding approval, which will force the Duffys into bankruptcy and to demolish their $725,000 home in the 3700 block of Thornapple Street.
And what bizarre course of events could possibly have happened that would result in someone being forced to demolish their home because, at worst, a mistake by a government official ?
Robert Hubbard, director of the Department of Permitting Services, said that the Duffys were issued permits for a renovation but that officials later determined they needed additional approvals from the county Board of Appeals. The first permit was issued January 2005, and construction was stopped June 9, 2005, the Duffys said.
Mr. Hubbard also said the agency has worked with the Duffys throughout the process and “is prepared to continue to be of assistance.”
(…)
The couple received the renovation permits to put a two-story addition at the rear of the home. But problems quickly arose when crews found mold, wood rot and termite damage, making additional construction necessary.
The damage was so extensive that more than 50 percent of the existing walls were removed, which meant the building should have been classified as a new home and subject to different zoning regulations.
What is significant, though, is the fact that the County never would have found out about this without complaints from neighbors and the identity of those neighbors:
The county granted the couple new permits, then voided them and halted construction when neighbors pointed out the house was originally built seven feet too close to the street and two feet too close to the home of William Hamilton, an editor at the Washington Post, and his wife, Jane Mayer, a staff writer for the New Yorker.
Mr. Hamilton and Mrs. Mayer; ABC News reporter Jackie Judd; and prominent lawyer Michael Eig and his wife, Emily, are among those who have complained about the Duffys’ home.
Kristin Gerlach, owner of Gerlach Real Estate Inc., also testified against them.
The Duffy’s argued that the new home would sit on the same foundation, and have the same dimensions as the old home, but all that was to no avail as the County has denied their request for a zoning variance. The consequences to them couldn’t be more severe:
“We’ve been paying mortgage and rent for over a year,” said Mrs. Duffy, who lives with her husband and their two young daughters in a nearby apartment. “If we have to tear it down and [start over], it will bankrupt us. We will lose everything.”
And the consequences to the neighborhood ? Nothing quantifiable that I can see. On the surface, this seem to be little more than a group of neighbors who don’t like the Duffy’s and have used the power of the state to prevent them from using their property in the manner they wish. Especially, when you read something like this:
Mrs. Duffy said the Eigs have supported a similar variance request from another neighbor.
Why this request is any different is not explained.
This isn’t eminent domain, but it might as well be. Through zoning laws such as this, the government often restricts the ways in which property owners can use their property in manners which have a significant impact on their value, none of which is compensated. While we’re paying attention to the impact of Kelo, we shouldn’t forget that there are other laws that restrict property rights.
Technorati Tags: Zoning, Kelo, Eminent Domain, Property Rights,
