The Rule of Law Applies to Everyone
Dear Friends and Neighbors
As residents of the Town of Fallsburg, we hear debates about development, zoning, code enforcement, religious institutions, housing, infrastructure, and property rights. These discussions become emotional because they affect our neighborhoods, our quality of life, and our tax dollars. At the heart of the issue is a simple principle:
The rule of law must apply equally to everyone.
Why Zoning and Codes Matter
Many people think of zoning laws and building codes as government red tape. In reality, they exist to protect public safety, health and the character of our communities.
Zoning laws help determine where homes, businesses, schools, and institutions may be located. Building codes help ensure structures are safe. Fire codes protect occupants and first responders. Environmental regulations protect groundwater, streams, and drinking water supplies. These rules are not arbitrary. They are the essential framework that allows communities to grow responsibly. When residents purchase property, they rely upon these laws. Homeowners invest their savings based on expectations about what can and cannot be built nearby. Businesses make investments based on infrastructure capacity and planning. Municipalities plan water, sewer, roads, and emergency services around these regulations.
Religious Freedom and Local Control
The United States has a long tradition of protecting religious freedom. Federal law, including the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), provides important protections to religious institutions against discrimination. Those protections are important. However, religious freedom does not mean exemption from every local law. Religious institutions still must comply with building codes, fire safety requirements, health regulations, environmental standards, occupancy limits, accessibility issues and infrastructure requirements. They must obtain permits, submit plans, and participate in review processes just like every other property owner. The purpose of RLUIPA is to prevent discrimination. It was never intended to eliminate legitimate public safety requirements.
The Real Issue: Consistent Enforcement
Most residents are not concerned about a person’s religion. They are concerned about whether the rules are being followed. The concern often arises when development appears to proceed before permits are obtained, when approved plans are exceeded, when occupancy limits are ignored, or when violations are repeatedly corrected only after complaints are filed. When that happens, public confidence in government begins to erode. Residents naturally ask, “Why have laws if they are not enforced? Why should one property owner comply if another does not? Why should responsible developers compete against those who ignore the rules? And, why should taxpayers bear the cost of inadequate enforcement? These are reasonable questions.
Strong Codes Are Not Enough
A municipality can have excellent laws on paper, but if those laws are not enforced consistently, they lose much of their value. Strong code enforcement is not anti-development. Strong code enforcement is not anti-business. Strong code enforcement is not anti-religion. Strong code enforcement is pro-public safety, pro-property rights, and pro-rule of law. Good enforcement protects everyone: Residents, Businesses, Developers, Religious institutions and Taxpayers.
Fair enforcement creates a level playing field.
The Importance of Infrastructure
This issue is especially important in communities such as Fallsburg, where water, sewer, roads, emergency services, and environmental resources have finite capacity.
Approvals should be based on facts, engineering, and compliance with established standards. Questions about water supply, wastewater treatment capacity, storm water management, traffic impacts, fire protection, and environmental effects should be addressed objectively and professionally. Those requirements should apply to every project, regardless of who proposes it.
A Simple Standard
The solution is not to create special rules for some groups or fewer rules for others.
The solution is simple: One set of rules. One standard of enforcement. Equal treatment for everyone. Whether the applicant is a homeowner, developer, business owner, nonprofit organization, school, church, synagogue, yeshiva, or any other institution, the same expectation should apply:
Follow the law. Obtain the permits. Comply with the approvals.
Respect the community.
When rules are enforced consistently and fairly, everyone benefits. Public confidence increases, development becomes more predictable, infrastructure is protected, and communities remain places where residents can invest in their homes and their future with confidence.
That is not discrimination. That is good government.
Fallsburg's Future is a community network of concerned Fallsburg residents established in January 2016. Its Mission is to help guide the urban development of the town of Fallsburg and its five hamlets, to promote its sustainable economic development, protect the fragile beauty of its natural habitats and enhance the opportunities and quality of life for all its residents and visitors. We hope to curb the suburban sprawl that is threatening to overwhelm the town’s physical infrastructure and destroy the natural beauty that the area depends on for its future development. See us on Facebook and our website Fallsburgsfuture.com.