Humility is required in land use policy
Authoritarians too often use the most extreme examples to justify government overreach. The most extreme examples are not a good foundation for public policy.
The most important principle the nine members of the Bloomington City Council should have when it comes to land use policy is this: “I do not know best.” City government’s first instinct should be that the property owner is the best person to decide the proper use of his property. The person who worked hard to buy the land should be able to decide the use for that land.
Does this mean there should be no regulations or restrictions on land use? No. City government should protect the property rights of neighbors, if a proposed development would harm the interests of surrounding property owners. This is why putting a pig farm in the middle of a residential neighborhood would not be permitted. But authoritarians too often use the most extreme examples to justify government overreach, and the most extreme examples are not a good foundation for public policy.
City zoning authority should not interfere with basic government functions. After city government blocked several efforts by the Monroe County Commissioners to relocate the county jail within city limits, the Commissioners were forced to choose land outside of the city. The City Council then wrote an open letter to county government objecting to the location. It was an astonishing display of hypocrisy by the government officials who had prevented the very thing they claim they want: To have the jail and justice system located inside of city limits, close to services and on a bus line.
The obvious answer to that problem would be for the state legislature to eliminate city government’s authority over county government property. County government has its own set of elected officials that are elected not only by voters outside of city limits, but by voters inside of city limits as well. They should not be forced to seek permission from city government to do the job that county voters entrusted them to do. City government cannot regulate land use by state government, and the same limitation on city planning authority should also be applied to land use by county government.
Too often, city government stands in the way of economic development, and in this case the city stood in the way of basic legally mandated government services. The City Council’s job should be to facilitate economic development by protecting private property rights. The City Council should facilitate affordable housing, especially in the city’s core, by adopting a more humble attitude toward land-use policy. This will not happen as long as we keep electing people who think they are more qualified to determine land use than the people who pay their salaries.