When I wrote this on Saturday, I didn't know how prophetic I would be.
> I'm sure we could get into a long debate over covenants vs. freedoms,
> but true freedom allows you to choose to band together with
> like-minded individuals to carve out a lifestyle that is pleasing to
> you. I'll take covenant communities over bureaucratic zoning any day,
> as long as the covenants are well written and enforceable.
What I have since found out is that in some areas, around Houston IIRC,
everyone is covered by a covenant of some sort, in place of zoning laws.
So there are indeed places where you can't escape them, reducing your
freedoms.
Also, nowhere did I advocate homeowners associations. There is an
economics theory called "the problems of the commons" <simplification>
that when the cost of a resource is essentially free it will be abused
by those who don't have to pay the costs of its abuse. </simplification>
Witness spam. The HOAs can abuse their power by telling you to fix
something. This costs them nothing and may cost you a lot, thus abuse
and power trips are rife. Of course folks will tell you that Zoning and
Covenants are solutions to the grander "Problems of the Commons" and in
a respect, they are right, but it is hard for those of us who love
freedom to be told that our use of the commons is abusive or costly for
someone else. Especially when that definition is debatable, such "what
is an eyesore?". Thus the ever-circling spiral.
In PA, HOAs are somewhat rare, and covenants don't carry the force of
law, in other words the government can't enforce them. They are strictly
a civil matter and can only be argued in civil court. Therefore there is
a real cost to the complainer for getting covenants enforced, meaning
that little stuff is generally left alone and only major violations
taken to justice. This also means that an impartial party is brought in
to decide the dispute, not those with a vested interest like the HOAs.
So I amend my statement thusly: I like well written covenants that are
freely entered into and that carry high barriers to abuse and are not
enforced by government or Homeowners Associations.
Your mileage may vary,
Jon
|