Property 101 is in session. Today’s Topic: The Evils of Zoning
Property rights (especially interests in real property) are sacred in this country. Just look at the Constitution and 5th Amendment: you cannot be deprived of “life, liberty, or property” without due process of law. This isn’t a coincidence. These are “God given, inalienable rights”. So important, that after the Civil War, they passed the 14th Amendment to make sure state and local governments could not impinge upon them.
Any zoning law is a violation of the Constitution. The government is also free under the Constitution to take your property as long as they pay for it, so the issue becomes whether there has been a “taking” of your property, because of the diminished value of your property due to the zoning law.
I, as a property owner, hate zoning laws. Why? Because I think I know what the best use is for my property. I don’t needed the government’s input, thank you. So can we live in a modern society without zoning? Absolutely. Look at Houston. 4th largest city in America. No zoining, and yes I’ve been there. It has all kinds of problems because of it’s lack of zoning, but there are a lot worse cities to live in, so it can be done.
The problem with zoning is that the most profitable use of real property is industrial, or sometimes commercial, but in the government’s eyes, single family housing is the “highest and best use” for pretty much any property. So why do we allow this blatant attack on our property rights? There is a very good reason. To protect people’s economic expectations. Whose? Generally, rich white suburbanites. God forbid, little Benjamin (or my children growing up) had to live next to a 7-11, poker room, church, or whatever. Real property owners actually vote, so politcians are responsive to them.
So how can we protect (isolate) little Benjamin from the evils of society? There is a better way. Through private covenants. Druff and his neighbors are free to impose whatever restrictions they want on their property privately (short of things like banning racial groups, etc.). These “run with the land” and are literally enforceable forever. If Druff and his neighbors for miles around agree to limit the future use of their property to residential, I have zero problem with that. In fact, Druff is more secure. Zoning laws can be changed, covenants cannot, except in the most extreme cases.
So, we can live without government zoning. Whether we should, or whether it is practical under current market conditions, is debatable, but Minnesota is a perfect example of what can happen when the government gets involved. They are using zoning for social engineering purposes.
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