Minimum housing code is unconstitutional

You have just elected a new president. Will that president send federal troops to Henderson County, N.C., to protect the civil rights of property owners, [as the government did in] Birmingham, Ala.? Henderson County has continually infringed on property rights that were guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution.

Now the autocrats propose an ordinance that will put citizens in fear of being evicted by code cops because their house doesn’t meet the minimum housing ordinance. Will this new president stop spending billions of dollars chasing a bogeyman in Iraq and Afghanistan and use the money to protect us from terrorist bureaucrats in local governments? The basis of freedom is property rights. Those freedoms must be protected on a local level first and foremost, or all is lost.

Henderson County Planning Director Anthony Starr claims the addition of a minimum housing code is going to protect renters. [And be] complaint-driven. By whom? The public? Not the renter. Could this have to do with the elitist neighbor and their property values?

Starr said, [the program] “would cost $67,000 to start.” Think about it: For every penny spent, generally a political favor is owed in return.

Housing Assistance Executive Director Patrick Kennedy wants to be sure the code has enough strength to forcibly remove the resident and have their property condemned. Foolish me, I though housing assistance meant helping citizens keep a roof over their heads.

Pisgah Legal Services Attorney Shelley Brown said, “Other counties have this minimum housing code.” As if that makes it moral or constitutional. She added, “Do you want slumlords that … can … rent unsafe premises?” Did it ever occur to those elitists that you get what you can afford to pay for? If the home you have doesn’t meet the government’s approval, heat or no heat, it still beats living under a bridge.

Chairman Bill Moyer is backing the ordinance. He really lives in Polk County on a horse ranch, but keeps a token home in Henderson County so he can enjoy whatever gratuities come with being the chairman of Henderson County. With his affluence, I suspect he can’t understand that the impoverished may have to live without heat/electric until they can pay the bill.

— Bob Collins
Mountain Home

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One thought on “Minimum housing code is unconstitutional

  1. vrede

    Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution:

    “No person shall be… deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”

    In other words, property rights are not the absolute that the writer fantasizes them to be.

    Also, the fact that, “Other counties have this minimum housing code,” that has not been successfully overturned by the courts certainly does make it constitutional.

    Finally, it’s ridiculous to argue that, “The basis of freedom is property rights.” If forced, I’d choose free speech, but in reality it’s the combination of constitutional rights that are the foundation of freedom.

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