All Sprawled Out
Submitted by wiffle on Sat, 07/08/2006 - 01:11.
BUILDERS ARE SUING AN ORGANIZATION FOR SIMPLY TRYING TO HELP CLEAN UP THE AIR AND MAKE FRESNO MORE LIVABLE.
If you read this ARTICLE from last month's Fresno Bee, you'll get all the back-story you need. To sum: There will be a fee placed on new housing developments that contribute to city sprawl but don't build air-enhancing features into to the new home and neighborhood. Fresno Builders (among others) are trying to get out of paying this fee buy suing The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.
The number one developer complaint about this fee: "Owners of existing structures don't have to pay anything." Builders sound like a nine year old whining about their older brother geting to stay up late when they have to go to bed.
If the builder doesn't infuse "green features", then they will pay a fee of $780.
The builders claim they are worried that less people will be able to buy their homes. Really? You think $780 is going to stop somebody from buying a $350,000 house?
Yea guys, I can completely see this scenario happening:
SALLY: Hey, how's it going with the new house you're having built Mary?
MARY: Horrible Sally, we ended up losing the loan. I'm pretty upset about it. In fact I tried to kill myself over it last night.
SALLLY: Oh my, what happened?
MARY: Well I tried to put my head in the oven but I couldn't hold the door tight enough to my head so it was making a bad seal and it was becoming a big pain in the ass...
SALLY: NO, I mean with the home loan.
MARY: Oh, well the builder said they needed to put in this environment friendly crap. I told them "Hell no, I'm not letting you install some Hippy bullshit in my new home!"
SALLY: Good for you Mary.
MARY: Yea, except they said they've then got to pass along a fee for seven hundred and eighty dollars. That would have made our payment almost two dollars more. So the bank pulled the loan.
SALLY: That's too bad.
MARY: Yea. Hey, do you know how to tie a slip knot?
duhhhh
The funny thing is, homes that are built in green developments that include energy efficiency measures and/or solar systems from the beginning actually sell waaaaay faster and have a much higher customer satisfaction rate. Most consumers actually prefer them despite any added upfront costs!
Pssssst .... one of the worst pollutants known is excavation of sewer lines.
The City denies all knowledge of our sewer/water lines being altered/re-routed to Friant. Their own records verify it.
The damages are horrendous - alterations to structures can be seen on aerial views.
These extensively damaged and in some cases mold-containated structures are haphazardly put back together and sold to unsuspecting buyers. They are already paying the price.
would like to comment
Unlike other writers, I'm just plain void of comments right now. I agree Wiffle, love your thought process, just can't come up with any witty words that would be appropriate. Would really like to see this conversation continue and grow, maybe even expand to the mindnumb, I mean mindhub list server. Forget that, keep it famous.
breath
Regarding the air, I've read the paper were people said they left the area for heath reasons seeking other areas in and out of state with cleaner air than here. If those greedy builders really thought about it by not helping the air to be cleaner here they are really losing customers that would have moved or stayed here, but did not for healthy air reasons. Those builders are not the only losers but all businesses in the area do to the lose of a local customer.
they need to see the bigger picture.
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