Code enforcement in Odessa tantamount to petty tyranny

In a small town, we can go weeks without really feeling local government’s influence in our lives.

However, vigorous code enforcement brings Odessa government into our lives as a solution looking for a problem. Yes, I understand code enforcement is an official mechanism to maintain cleanliness and order in town. But do the ends always justify the mean?

Put more bluntly: How many of our rights are we willing to sacrifice for appearance?

Your disapproval over weeds, junk or other eyesores does not equate with a legally actionable injury to my person or property.

None of us signed a social contract waiving our property rights to live in Odessa.

What began as well-meaning guidelines often morph into a tangle of newly manufactured offenses to extract money.

Typically the only options for the accused are to cough up the money and comply.

A person who has unlicensed vehicles, too little shrubbery or too many weeds is harming nobody. But by threatening fines, or the placing liens or other legal action against a homeowner’s property. City government oversteps proper limits.

There are better ways to handle nuisances that with petty tyranny.

Karen Brooks

Odessa