For the past few years

builders and developers have been vilified. We have been

blamed for everything from traffic problems, destroying

the environment, to the breakdown of community spirit. I

am tired of being a scapegoat and wish to dispel some

myths that are now accepted as fact.

1. If builders would

only stop building houses people would stop moving to

Atlanta.

Well, people move here to

get good jobs or warm weather, they don't move here

because we have better and less expensive houses.

2. Builders and

developers are greedy.

We are no more greedy than

bankers, grocers, software engineers, or other business

people who also wish to make a good return on their

effort and capital investment. Margins in construction

are much lower than in many other industries. So why is

our money considered dirty? We are business people who

are meeting a market need. We attempt to build what

people want to buy at the price they are willing to pay

or we go out of business (just like other businesses).

3. Builders and

developers are responsible for growth.

The world's population will

likely double in the next 50 years. Due to immigration

and large families, our country will likely double in

population over the next 100 years. I for one have only

two children, favor drastically reduced immigration, and

favor the elimination of preferential tax treatment for

large families. Do you?

Population is the root

cause of growth. Why do your editors and others in our

community complain about growth but show no willingness

to attack the root cause? I guess scapegoating me instead

of shutting the door to poor starving immigrants is

easier on your conscience.

Assuming the population

does go up, where will these people live? We could stop

all single-family construction and force the newcomers

into apartments. But wait, the N.I.M.B.Y.'s (not in my

back yard) types don't want apartments either. They cause

crime and crowd the schools. So I suppose we will have to

force the newcomers to double or triple up in inner-city

tenements or live under overpasses.

Nothing angers me more than

hypocrisy. How can we fault others for wanting the

lifestyle we have? Why does everybody who moves to

Peachtree City or Fayette County say "Okay, I'm in

the boat, you can pull the ladder up now," the

moment we move here? I have read far too many letters to

the editor by last year's newcomers complaining about

traffic caused by this year's newcomers.

I have lived here for five

years and believe that others should be able to move here

unhindered, provided that someone will sell them the land

or a home. In other words, I believe in the free market.

I used to think most Americans also supported the free

market system. I am no longer so sure.

4. Builders cause sprawl

and thus cause traffic problems.

Builders build a product to

meet a market need. The houses we build do not drive

cars, people do. Especially when they need to go all the

way across town to run errands. The fact is that city and

county commissions, and the N.I.M.B.Y.'s, soccer moms,

and special interest groups that regularly attend their

meetings, restrict where we can build with zoning

regulations and master plans. What right has the

government to tell one guy he can have high density

zoning with its obvious economic benefit, and then turn

around and tell another guy he has to "farm"

his land regardless of the market demand for his land for

other uses?

In the good ol' days of

traditional development, housing, retail and work were

located in close proximity to each other so that most

tasks could be accomplished on foot. This was done with

little government influence. The higher density was due

to the lack of personal transportation options prior to

the widespread use of the automobile.

This changed in the 1950s.

Today, zoning requirements force us to place all of the

houses in one part of town, the retail in another, and

the offices in yet another. These stupid rules brought

about by irrational concerns about property values and

growth on the part of a vocal minority, have forced all

of us into our cars and onto the roads.

Builders and developers

would be more than willing to return to traditional

development patterns if the government would let us.

Again, we are business people attempting to make a living

if the invisible hand of Adam Smith's marketplace and not

the government determined where we can and can not live?

Neo-traditional development

will work if given a chance. Take a trip to Europe and

check out their development patterns. They have much

higher density than we do, but most of their cities are

walkable.

5. Builders and

developers destroy nature.

The people who came up with

five-acre-lot zoning have done more to destroy the

natural beauty of this county than the construction

industry ever could. If five-acre zoning stands, this

county will rapidly be covered with a house every 200

yards covering every vista in the county. With higher

density, at least the process is slowed.

Again, why should the

government be able to tell people how big their yard must

be without compelling, scientifically based standards and

justifications, i.e., septic system standards? Can our

local governments honestly say that they have logical,

objective criteria for accepting or rejecting land use

proposals?

In general, we as free

people should be wary of government's and their fellow

citizens' ever-increasing intrusions in their lives. If

they are telling you how big your house or lot must be,

where it can be, or how many of your trees you may remove

today, they will be telling you when you can cut your

grass, walk your dog, or blow your nose tomorrow.

In summary, when in doubt,

let's err on the side of liberty and less intrusive

government, avoid hypocrisy, and rationally seek out the

true cause of our problems instead of scapegoats.

William M. Gilmer

[email protected]