Olerud is probably just jealous because the tree is faster than he is.

A dad of a kid I went to school with, a real gonef of a finance guy, once figured out that buying and building on protected wetland and eating the fine, once they realize what you've done, was a better deal than buying land that wasn't a wetland, b/c the discount b/w buildable land and wetlands was greater than the cost of the fine. So he bought some choice coastal marsh out on the south fork of LI, built a mcmansion, litigated with the town and the state for several years, and in the end, got a sweet vacation home at a signifcant discount once everything was settled out.

But it turns out that marshes harbor mosquitoes and greenheads, so the house is virtually unusuble in the summer. Sometimes, God restores faith.

How has a thread with that headline gone this long without a Robert Frost reference?
I AM DISAPPOINT

In my parents' neighborhood there was a couple who clear cut their forested front and back yards and didn't plant anything to replace the trees. The land is on a grade and so ensuing erosion caused problems for everyone around them. My parents ended up having to join in a lawsuit to force them to plant some grass.

A dad of a kid I went to school with, a real gonef of a finance guy, once figured out that buying and building on protected wetland and eating the fine, once they realize what you've done, was a better deal than buying land that wasn't a wetland, b/c the discount b/w buildable land and wetlands was greater than the cost of the fine. So he bought some choice coastal marsh out on the south fork of LI, built a mcmansion, litigated with the town and the state for several years, and in the end, got a sweet vacation home at a signifcant discount once everything was settled out.

I think a lot of jurisdictions have responded to this kind of thing by moving away from fines, and just making you tear the whole thing down.

I think a lot of jurisdictions have responded to this kind of thing by moving away from fines, and just making you tear the whole thing down.


I understand the town in question (rhymes with Grog) has done just that.

I just wanted to chime in here and say thanks for the Rush reference! First thing I thought of when I read the excerpt.

I have to say, I have trouble with this song. I mean, on the surface Libertarian anthem. But the Oaks "wonder why the Maples can't be happy in their shade". Maples die in the shade. So I prefer to think of this song as a classic ########### that occurs when people cannot compromise. Probably that's cognitive dissonance.

How has a thread with that headline gone this long without a Robert Frost reference?

Tree at my window, window tree,
You block my view of Puget Sound;
Why do they keep your bulk around?
I CANNOT SEE!

Vague dream-head lifted out of earth,
And thing next most akin to awe,
I'd love to stroke your mighty girth
With my chain saw.

I know a swinging dick type that is having a battle with his neighbors, with whom he shares a dirt road. They have a vineyard and want to build a tasting room and enlarge and improve the road, which will result in the hoi polloi driving up and down all the time. This guy claimed to have spotted an endangered newt in the vicinity, which bought him an instant few years delay for ecological surveys and such.

I think a lot of jurisdictions have responded to this kind of thing by moving away from fines, and just making you tear the whole thing down.

Mm-hmm, and then you have to restore the wetlands to their previous state.

In my neck of the woods, and I assume its the same everywhere else, if you have enough money you can't get around every environmental protection law you please.

I have to say, I have trouble with this song. I mean, on the surface Libertarian anthem. But the Oaks "wonder why the Maples can't be happy in their shade". Maples die in the shade. So I prefer to think of this song as a classic ########### that occurs when people cannot compromise. Probably that's cognitive dissonance.

I prefer to think of this song as a discussion of the classic North American climax forest: pine --> oak/hickory --> beech/maple. The maples don't need a union, as Rush claims. They're slow growing and do well in a shady environment, and will eventually outgrow and outlive the oaks. There's no need for the maples to get angry at the oaks, because unless there's a fire the oaks are doomed. It may take a century, but what's a century to a tree?

I appreciate no references to LoTR, myself.

How has a thread with that headline gone this long without a Robert Frost reference?

See:

44. Crispix Attacks Posted: September 12, 2012 at 11:35 AM (#4233690)
That whole "good fences make good neighbors" thing only applies to rural life in areas with flat geography.

<ii>My sense is that California view laws protect the views people purchase from infringement. That actually kind of makes sense. Why should your neighbors' decision to plant tall trees lower your property values? But I've never heard of having a right to proactively force your neighbors to improve your view from the one you bought. Madness. </i>

Isn't this going on in Washington?

63. Greg Schuler Posted: September 12, 2012 at 04:59 PM (#4234139)
I appreciate no references to LoTR, myself.

See:

43. let me teach you how to meatwad Posted: September 12, 2012 at 11:29 AM (#4233685)
Olerud should be happy there are no ents in the neighborhood. His willingness to cut down trees would be dramatically reduced

But it turns out that marshes harbor mosquitoes and greenheads, so the house is virtually unusuble in the summer. Sometimes, God restores faith.

Build lots and lots of crevices for barn swallow nests. One summer, my childhood home had 5 nests with a total of 22 babies in them. So that's 10 adults and 22 babies being fed on insects. I don't think there was a flying insect left within a several block radius.