At the beginning of the original "Star Trek" TV show, our friendly announcer tells us the voyagers aboard the Starship Enterprise were on a mission "to boldly go where no man has gone before."That phrase comes to mind when thinking about the city of McMinnville and its action this week to rule a property owner has to remove an addition to his home for violating city code. This is going where the city has never gone before, or at least in the 20 years I can remember.It hits on a touchy subject about what a person should be able to do with their property and how far government can reach to control what happens on private property. I think most folks agree we need building codes for general public safety, but enforcing those codes often falls into the No Fun Zone because people, as a general rule, don't like to be told what to do.So we have a city property owner who is building an addition to his home and the work is well on its way.
The Scoop 1-29
City slams door on home addition