HOUSTON CHRONICLE • SUNDAY, SEPT. 12, 1993 • 1F

Ten good reasons why zoning is bad ideahaven’t notified City Hall, you arebreaking the law. You, the lady typist, theguy who prepares your taxes in his den,and thousands of other Houstonians arenow subject to criminal prosecution.

If zoning is enforced, somebody has toarrest these work-at-home “criminals,”somebody has to try them. Zoning willgive us more lawyers and more govern-ment. It will clog the system with law-abiding citizens and give less justice to thevictims of real crime.

■ No. 2— It ain’t broke, don’t fix it .According to Money magazine, Houstonis the most livable major city in America.The obvious question is this: Why do thepoliticians want to impose regulations andbureaucracy which turn Houston into aPhiladelphia, or a Cleveland, or someother city which ranks below us? It maybenefit the bureaucrats but is it good forus?

After zoning destroys Houston’sspecial character, it can’t be restored. Thepoliticians and lawyers will never giveback the powers, profits, and perks we’vegiven them.

The perfect pro-zoning slogan: “Sup-port zoning. Make Houston as nice asDetroit.”

■ No. 3—Zoning is a massive powergrab by politicians. It will be the biggesttheft of power from the taxpayers by thepolitical elite in Houston history. Underzoning, the decisions you now make abouthow to use your property will be made bya handful of professional bureaucrats. Formost of these bureaucrats, Houston is just

this regulation boondoggle to you and me.Mom and pop businesses, and individualswho can’t call on high-priced legal talentwill get taken to the cleaners.

Why does rent cost three times as muchin New York City as Houston? A bigreason is zoning. Why does a comparablehouse cost twice as much in San Franciscoas Houston? Look at zoning.

By one estimate, if zoning forces upHouston rents to the costs of apartments in

another job, another chance for power andprestige. Hired from places like WestPalm Beach, they have no personalinvestment in our community.

■ No. 4— Zoning costs a fortune.Zoning increases the cost of living foreveryone. Renters pay more rent, housescost more to build and buy, legal feesskyrocket, and government bureaucracyballoons. Big business, big developers,and lawyers will just pass on the costs of

UNLESS the voters reject it, zoningwill soon become a fact of life inHouston. City council supports it

unanimously, and law firms are gearing upfor an explosion of new business.

Last time zoning was on the ballot,Houstonians clearly understood the harmit could do. They voted against zoningoverwhelmingly, even though the politi-cians stumped for it then, too.

If you weren’t around for that priorelection, you may not realize how thishuge government power grab threatensyou and the quality of life in Houston.

Zoning may confer benefits on a fewwell-connected people. But the rest of usare going to get the back end of a rogueregulation elephant as it stomps outproperty rights and raises the cost ofliving.

There are many reasons why zoningwould harm Houston. Here are 10 ofthem.

■ No. 1—Zoning wastes scarcepolice resources. Which person presentsthe biggest danger to the community: amature lady who supports herself bydoing typing at home, or a carjackerpacking a .38? Which do you want yourlaw enforcement tax dollar spent to arrest?Are we better off with cops on the beat orin zoning court?

You think I am exaggerating? As youread this, under the interim zoningordinance, if you work at home and you

by NICOLAS S. MARTIN

other Texas cities, it will cost local rentersan additional $100 million a year.

In Houston, when demand for housingincreases, private developers decide howand where to meet that demand. This isthe free market at work.

In San Francisco and New York,politicians and lawyers decide whetherhomes can be built, and the results arefamiliar to anyone who has lived underSoviet government. Lines are endless,prices are high, quality suffers. This istrickle down bureaucracy.

■ No. 5—Zoning is the #1 source ofcorruption in local governments. Thetwo least trusted groups in the country arelawyers and politicians. Give those twogroups the power to decide the fate ofevery business and property owner inHouston, mix in billions of dollars in fees,and what do you get?

The results are regularly found innewspaper headlines in zoned cities. Theheadlines scream, “Zoning commissioneradmits taking bribe from developer,” or,“Councilman got secret donation fromconstruction firm.” If you spend enoughtime at the library, you will find literallythousands of similar headlines. They sayover and over that zoning destroys theintegrity of city government.

The way it is now in unzoned Houston,if you have the money and the land youcan try your luck at developing. Underzoning, you still need the land, but youalso have to have the political connec-tions, and a lot more dough to pay forlegal fees and regulations.

How do people get connections inzoned cities? They might have a friend oncity council, or a former business col-league on the zoning commission. Far toooften, though, the connection is a bribeslipped into the pocket of some willing

official, or a generous contribution to hisreelection.

Don’t forget the revolving door, either.One day a bureaucrat is administering thelaw, the next day she becomes a privateconsultant getting fat fees to advise clientshow to get around the law.

■ No. 6—Zoning breeds slums,inner city decay, and crime zones. Haveyou ever wondered why Houston doesn’thave a section like South Central LosAngeles, or the South Bronx in NewYork?

New York and L.A. are heavily zoned.The effect of that zoning is to createapartheid divisions with giant, rottingslums and Somalia-like violence. Houstonhas its rough areas, but they are nothinglike the horrifying killing fields of otherbig cities.

In unzoned Houston, lower-cost homesmingle with middle class homes, creatinga pressure to maintain property values. Inzoned cities, government often concen-trates poorer people in zoning ghettos,creating the volatile brew which explodedin South-Central L.A. The costs totaxpayers in police, welfare, and bureau-cracy are enormous. There is no pressureto maintain property in ghettos.

Compared to Houston, per capita citytaxes are 20 percent higher in LosAngeles, and 500 percent higher in NewYork, the nation’s zoning capital.

New York City has something like10,000 abandoned apartments due to thehigh costs of zoning and rent control. Theabandoned units make wonderful accom-modations for street gangs and crackhouses.

■ No. 7—Zoning is often racist. Theshameful truth is that some people supportzoning precisely because of its apartheideffects.

Houston is a genuine melting pot.Because zoning hasn’t created permanentminority ghettos here, we have less racialdivision than other cities. Whether you arewhite, black, Hispanic, or Asian, youdecide where to live based on the qualitiesof the home or apartment. Is it attractive?Is it near work? Is it near shopping? Doyou like the neighbors? These are choiceswhich you alone make.

In a zoned city, many of the choices aremade for you by politicians. Because thispaternalism seems to do magnified harmto poor minorities, its effect is to createhuge predominantly nonwhite concentra-tion zones seething with anger andfrustration. The typical law-abidingminority family has a difficult timeescaping a crime-infested slum which iseffectively zoned “poor only.”

It may seem expedient to shunt poorpeople into ghettos, but will Houstonreally be better off with an area like SouthCentral Los Angeles in our midst?

■ No. 8—Zoning is bad for theenvironment. How long does it take foryou to get to the supermarket? How aboutthe drugstore, or the gas station? Just afew minutes if your situation is typical.

Our closeness to shopping centers is abig environmental plus. Because busi-nesses are nearby, we spend less time inour cars generating pollution.

The new zoning law will eventuallydesignate fewer areas for business. Thatmeans we will spend more time andmoney driving longer distances to shop.Also, more of us will be driving to thesame places, increasing congestion andworsening air quality.

Furthermore, zoning will push ourworkplaces farther away, forcing longercommutes. The price will be dirtier air,road deterioration, more gas usage, and

more congestion. Many people whopresently work at home will have to startcommuting when zoning forces them torelocate their jobs or businesses from theirhomes.

At a recent public forum, a pro-zoningactivist said that zoning would be good forHouston because it would encourage adoubling of the city’s population in thenext 57 years. Is that what we want?.

■ No. 9—Lawyers love zoning. Theclever ones are already licking their chopsover the millions of dollars to be made“representing” clients before zoningbureaucrats. The politicians will get thepower, the lawyers will get the loot, andthe property owners will get the shaft.

■ No. 10—Zoning is a civil libertynightmare. You think your home is yourcastle? It no longer will be if the zoningordinance is implemented.

The original draft ordinance allowedthe zoning director to enter your propertyat any time without a warrant! As itstands now, the ordinance was changed torequire a warrant, but what is to stop thecity from removing the warrant require-ment in the future?

The original warrantless searchprovision shows the dangerous hunger forpower by zoning officials.

If you violate the zoning ordinance—like the lady who does typing at home—you don’t just qualify for a speedingticket-style slap on the wrist. Texas lawsays that you are guilty of a criminaloffense.

Martin is executive director of the

Consumer Health Education Council,

a non-profit Houston charity.