At the Auburn City Council meeting July 6, Auburn City Council continued their non-sense. For anyone NOT paying attention – You should make it a priority since the Council’s folly is rarely explained in the meeting recaps.
While trying to “clean-up” (their words, not mine) ordinance #1883 dealing with short term rentals, the Auburn City council included an amendment that would allow owners to use “no more than 25% of the total floor area of the dwelling shall be used for the home occupation, to a maximum of 500 square feet” as the owner sees fit. Yep, that’s right — they can use no more than 25% and up to 500 square feet of a property that they own, pay for, pay property tax on and have been issued a permit to use as a short term rental.
As property owners, we should all be concerned by this unconstitutional action/power grab taken by the Auburn City Council. First, the council members assume that they can exclude certain property owners from doing short term rentals based upon arbitrary recommendations from a “group” of people who had no or very little understanding of the short term rental model, an outdated definition of family, and a lack of understanding that the market wants short term rentals in Auburn. Next, they rushed to cower to the loud cancel culture in Auburn who want to dictate what others can do with their own properties. The councilmen who voted against allowing short term rentals in all areas of Auburn, allowed peer pressure to guide their decision to destroy property rights for all Auburn citizens. Yet, they took an oath to “support the Constitutions and will obey the laws of the United States and of the State of Alabama”. Citizens may think that just because they don’t have a short term rental property, that this issue doesn’t affect them. NOT TRUE. Follow the progression here — The taking of property rights of only certain property owners, followed by limiting use of interior space in the property. What’s next? Will they try to tell us how many chairs can be around our table? Or how many showers we can take per week? How many pictures we can hang on our walls? Or what color our front door can be?
And how, exactly, will they enforce these restrictions? Gestapo tactics? Armed militia? Illegal search and seizure?
A good officer knows that you never give an order that can’t be executed or enforced. Yet the folly continues. And if we get comfortable with these unconstitutional actions/power grabs, we have only ourselves to blame, when they push further to chip away at our rights.
With every amendment or regulation, they take some more of my and your property rights. Will you stand now, or wait until they come for you?
Those not paying attention just got “Follied”, and didn’t even get kissed.
Tune in to city council meetings at www.auburnalabama.org/agenda or attend first and third Tuesdays at 7 p.m.
Susan Bolt
Auburn Resident