City of Keene Mandates Fences Around Dumpsters
Over the last decade the Keene City Council has become more and more concerned about what residents do to or put on their property. In 2004 the council passed a city ordinance requiring for fences to be put up around all dumpsters, excluding one and two family homes. At first the new ordinance was not consistently enforced, mostly being used against new businesses trying to start up. That is until recently when John Croteau, the owner of Syd’s Carpet and Snooze Room, was targeted.
After being unsuccessful at fighting the city, Croteau was fined $100 and told that he must put up a $3,000 fence around the dumpsters which have been in the back of his business on St. James St. for 50 years. Croteau’s plight was heard by many other business owners in Keene who are not happy with the city’s mandates. According to the Keene Sentinel the city is letting up on enforcement while it attempts to convince the public of the law’s importance.
The last time I checked the city of Keene was not a deed restricted community. The council members and others who want to live in a restricted area are more than welcome to move into or start their own deed restricted community, but they have no right to turn the entire city of Keene into one. The difference is consent. When individuals move into a deed restricted community they sign an agreement between them and everyone else in the community to abide by certain rules. While this is fine for some people, it must be done on a voluntary basis. America was founded on property rights, and while this does require personal responsibility and even sometimes risk, it is what freedom is all about. The city has no right to tell people what they can and can’t do with their property.
It is invigorating to see local business owners band together to speak out against the crazy city mandates. The city council would like Keene citizens to think that this law is completely necessary, but it is not. Keene has gotten by just fine for the past 200 plus years, and it will continue to do so as long as the government steps back into its proper role.
Toby
