J. Brian Phillips

In Houston, a large percentage of subdivisions use deed restrictions to accomplish a similar goal. Deed restrictions are voluntary, contractual agreements that limit land use. When you purchase the property, you contractually agree to limit how you will use that property. In Houston, some areas have allowed deed restrictions to lapse, either through age or non-enforcement. Some have even voted to remove the deed restrictions because they thought they could make more money with less restrictions on their land. In all of these cases the decisions were voluntary and left to the individuals involved. Some made good decisions, some made bad decisions. Such is life. Zoning removes the decision from the individual and vests it in goverenment officials. It literally turns land use into a democratic process, in which the majority (or their purported spokesmen) decides how the property owner uses his land. Brian Phillips

I am the owner of the blog posted above. I fought a zoning ordinance in Houston in the early 1990's and one in Hobbs, NM in 2007. I was successful both times. Zoning is always coercive, and always a violation of property rights. Zoning places restrictions on the use of property, and the owner has no voice in those restrictions. Indeed, non-owners have more of a voice in the property's use than the owner does. Some of the comments I see on here implying tht zoning is acceptable are basing their argument on the same red herrings that zoning proponents use. These are addressed on my blog. Brian Phillips