How many of you believe if you are putting on a mother-in law addition to your house; Your town should properly inform you of all the ordinances you need to comply with? Or do you want ordincance made up at whim to prevent that addition.
I say this is assuming you like your mother or the family member who is going to move in.
2007-09-13 01:32:34 · 7 answers · asked by janshouse justice for all 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
What responsibility does the Trusted Official who tells you what law are-have? Shouldnt the Office Who should know the enacted laws by heart?
Should Officials who misquote laws be held accountable?
2007-09-13 02:32:58 · update #1
While yes its best to Look up the Laws yourself. Guess What? You are All WRONG.
Trusted Public Officials who state what are the laws they deal with, Have a DUTY to Be correct.
The officials are to be trained to cite Laws as they are enacted. Officials are Not to twist the laws according to how dumb you look.
So far No person is the winner as far as the best answer.
2007-09-20 06:40:24 · update #2
Well, when I lived in New York State & "owned" my home, I had to go to the Town Board to get a permit to do anything that added value to my home. The reason - they had to be sure they could collect the correct amount of tax for my property.
Did I like it? NO. Did I understand it? YES Did the tax provide me with the services I needed from the town I lived in? NOT in my opinion. What would happen if I didn't do it? When I got caught I could be sued for back taxes.
How did I find out about going to the Town Hall to get the information I needed? I was told by a contractor as I was shopping around for estimates to have the work done.
Personally, I feel I should have been given a "Welcome Basket" of sorts by the Town when I moved into my house that would have contained a pamphlet of Town services, a primer on homeowner etiquette, town ordinances, etc. As a novice homeowner, I made mistakes & learned things the hard way. I didn't appreciate it.
Now I live in a different state & am currently renting while I look for a home. So far, just getting through the differences in real estate among the various counties (I thought real estate was a state-wide thing, but I guess not.) in this state is giving me a headache.
To answer your initial question - is it a right? No, it isn't. Should it be. Yes, I think it should.
2007-09-20 17:58:28 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Permits for additions to your own house is an impermissible restriction on property rights. Personal property is the cornerstone of all other rights. If you can be restricted for modidying your house, why should you believe you own it? What are ownership rights if they do not include disposing of it as you see fit. Clearly it's not a safety issue when every little change needs to be permitted. The KELO Supreme Court decision even went as far as saying the local government can take over your property if they could get more taxes from an alternate use of your property! If you want to restore your original rights peacefully, support Ron Paul for President!
2007-09-20 09:40:48 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you ask the right questions, you should get the right answers. It is up to you to make sure you ask the right questions. If you just ask, "what do I need to put an addition on my house?" You will be told, "Get a building permit."
If you ask, "Can I build and rent a mother-in-law apartment on my house at (address)?" you should get an answer that depends on zoning restrictions and that sends you to the right place to find out any zoning or other limits on what you can add to your house.
Ordinances cannot be made up. They have to be passed by the local town/city/county government, with published notices of hearings and, if passed, included in publicly available form. It's not the town's responsibility to make sure you do your homework.
2007-09-13 01:50:43 · answer #3 · answered by thylawyer 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The burden is on you to comply with the law. If the government official makes a mistake and tells you that a mother-daughter addition is permissible and in fact it is not, too bad. A clerk's "error" does not bind the government, otherwise we would have a land office business in "compensated mistakes," i.e., bribes.
2007-09-20 00:20:44 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I think it is your responsibility to research and find ordinances! I doubt the town will ever have time to make sure each of their citizens are updated on every ordinance! It's public information, you just have to get it!
2007-09-13 01:51:20 · answer #5 · answered by nothing 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I think you're supposed to look up ordinences yourself. At least, that's the way it works where I am. :\
2007-09-13 01:51:33 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Ignorance of the law is no excuse.
2007-09-13 01:41:24 · answer #7 · answered by regerugged 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋