Beverly Hills 42171

Mongoose
I live in Chalybeate, what I like to refer to as Beverly Hills of EC. I live in a very nice neighborhood and it has building restrictions; to keep the property values up I'm sure. With all the talk of zoning it's caused me to look at the surrounding areas a little closer. Driving home I pass lots of nice homes and yards but about one out of five are absolute dumps. I really wish there was something we as tax paying residents could do to get these places cleaned up. I've thought about calling my magistrate, do you think it would do any good?

Dear Nose in the Clouds,
Someone once told me that most accidents happen within a mile from home. When I heard this, I moved. Be careful what you wish for, one man's environmentally hazardous , auto cocooned, Camaro-on-blocks eyesore is another man's future Barrett Jackson Auction award winner. The Founding Fathers assumed 200 plus years later we'd have enough sense to govern ourselves. When we allow others or bureaucrats to control what we can and can't do, we slowly lose the ability to think for ourselves, resulting in less individual rights and individual thought for us and more power and control for them. When individualism is eroded and everyone walks around mindlessly, there is no incentive to excel at anything-- and as we've seen recently, success is demonized by those who've benefited handsomely from your hard earned tax dollars. We're not all the way there yet (thankfully) so in the meantime, it doesn't matter how much money you make-- there is no excuse for uncleanliness.  If the folks you speak of are like some I know, they're too busy not working to clean up. Yet another cause and effect of government interference. For now, if I were you--just look the other way.