A ‘proud, clean Monrovian' appeals to the town

To the editor: I was very unhappy to read in The Photo News that you are considering a bill to enforce property maintenance and appearance. This sounds like an infringement on property rights, the sort that has become all too typical in America today. Naturally, the argument for the law seems quite reasonable; a property covered in garbage, harboring vermin, would be unpleasant and even dangerous. However, the reach of the bill from the report I read seems truly to be overreach. A bill that concerns the length of one’s lawn or the existence of weeds has more to do with aesthetics, which may be nice but invariably results in the harassment of private citizens. Apparently, in Santa Monica, California, you can be fined $2,500 a day if your hedges are too high, according to news reports last year. Policies like that seem to suit the renowned insanity of California. It is bad enough that we tax our senior citizens out of the county; I would hate to think we’re starting to use police officers to fine or arrest them as well. Our society is founded on the sanctity of property rights. Such a measure as is under consideration is an insult to those rights and to the free adults of the community. Mark Amundsen A proud and clean Monrovian