Compassion is most needed, always, for those who least deserve it.
FatOne, you don't have a clue what compassion means!
Too bad.
Perry
FatOne, you don't have a clue what compassion means!
Too bad.
Perry
Toronto couple built an addition to house without permits told to tear it down.
- Thread starter james t kirk
- Start date
They won. Unbelievable!
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/09/06/omb_approves_illegally_built_home_addition.html
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/09/06/omb_approves_illegally_built_home_addition.html
The only reason Adam Vaughan hates the decision is that he hates developers and what they might do to benefit from this case, even though these circumstances are in no way comparable to any potential case involving a developer building a high rise.
It seems that the complainants found a minor loophole but ultimately, it was the OMB who realized that after all this time (and a costly, lengthy fight), the homeowner/occupants have 'suffered' a lot, and if the home still fits the neighbourhood, they decided in their favour.
At the end of the day, it's still cheaper to get a permit and not go through with such trials and tribulations, and that's the lesson to be learned here. Will others want to go through such pain? Probably not.
An excerpt from Thomas Sowell's book 'Economic Facts and Fallacies':
How did the kind of building restrictions that send housing prices sky-high get started in the first place and then acquire such political momentum? Part of the answer is the heady but misleading concept of "planning." What is called "planning" in political rhetoric is the government's suppression of other people's plans by superimposing on them a collective plan, created by third parties, armed with the power of government and exempted from paying the costs that these collective plans impose on others.
Often the character of a community includes a bucolic setting or expansive views of the surrounding area which those who live there cherish.But they did not buy those settings or those views or pay to have them guaranteed to remain the same in perpetuity. Other people with other preferences have had the same rights under the Constitution, at least until courts began to erode both property rights and the "equal protection of the
laws" prescribed by the Fourteenth Amendment. Political authorities in various jurisdictions began to take advantage of that erosion of property rights to pass restrictive housing laws under a variety of politically attractive names such as "open space," "smart growth," and the like. Such restrictions have been especially prevalent in overwhelmingly upscale liberal communities such as those in coastal California, where concerns are often expressed for the poor, for minorities, and for children— all of whom are among those most often forced out of such communities by high housing prices.
In Canada, property rights are NOT enshrined in our Constitution. That being said, by-laws and planning are not necessarily bad for the community. In this case, the homeowner/occupants may have easily succeeded in getting a permit/minor variance in the very first place if they simply followed the rules or obeyed the law.
OK but do you see the wider implications? Can you draw comparisons of this passage to the one being discussed in this thread? When I buy a piece of property, I am a firm believer that I should be able to do whatever I want with it. Period. That's why I hate NDPers and Liberals with their authoritarian collectivism. It is much more likely that the government will try to continually take advantage of what they will allow me to do on my property than it is for someone to build something that is going to legitimately hinder my ability to enjoy my property.
Although since the OMB simply issues decisions it refuses to enforce, leaving that up to the participants to do in Divisional Court, the City could be as stubborn as the jerry-builders and maintain its demand they remove the improper addition. I'd bet what they've learned is: Act sooner, and more decisively. If the building's illegal, get it down without delay, before it becomes 'accepted'. Having observed and participated in the OMB process, I'm not at all convinced it's useful. Since it essentially just duplicates and repeats the City's permit process with more expensive professional and formality we should do away with one or the other agency.
If managing the orderly development of the city and its neighbourhoods is desirable at all, then you can't simply legalize every pirate building just because the scofflaw owners and builders managed to get it up.Granted that the pain and expense of the prolonged fight has been more costly and punishing than compliance would have been, only the owners know what that's been like. Every contractor and tradesman I've talked to has pointed out the usefulness and value of permits, but all they've said about not getting them is, 'if that's how you want to spend your money …, I build to the same standard either way'. Not much of a deterrant there for doing unapproved, uninspected building.
But 'They'll make you take it down and start over, like the couple over on Harbord,' definitely would be.
So a gas plant next door is OK by you?
Or to be fair: So a hugely uphill personal fight to stop the gas plant we all want next to you and not us, going in next door is OK by you, and you'd fight just as hard against an authoritarian collectivist zoning law prohibitting such industrial uses just the other side of your fenceline, or next to your kids' school?
Your firm belief is like a firm belief in fairies at the bottom of the garden. The first and every real look says, 'it ain't so'.
Which is the rule book that lets us live all bunched up in cities without killing, robbing raping and rampaging over each other. Every society there's ever been wanted a rule book as soon as their numbers got past three. If someone wants to do whatever they want—with their property, or anything else—they can. Just as soon as they get to a place where they live all alone.
dont post links to the star. Ive used up my 7 views this month and its asking me to pay to view. lol Is there an article on another site or is this a star 'thing'?
