Current business for the committee is up-to-date. The second reading of the “Phase 1″ Site-Built Homes Proposal for Land Harbor will be conducted at the regularly scheduled July Board of Directors meeting.

New committee business, which will include “Phase 2″ of the Site-Built Homes proposal, will continue in August. The meeting date will be confirmed at the Board meeting.

Consider that two individuals might own adjacent lots of precisely the same size. Government might deny the right to erect a building exactly like that on the other. Why? One lot might have a large portion subject to wet-lands restrictions. Or, one lot might be located in an area designated for residential construction and the other commercial and the intended structure is a bakery. Likewise, two lots of the same size and physical characteristics might be located in different sections of the same community and one in the approach path of the local airport. That one might be denied the right to erect an amateur radio tower. Differential treatments of apparently identical entities is quite common and reasonable.

It is good to remember that land like time is an analog. Mankind inevitably imposes ownership on land and that ultimately involves some sort of parsing. The only way to do that is to impose some arbitrary boundaries. “Arbitrary” is the key notion. No one arbitrary method is inherently better than another but once we embrace the idea of ownership, it is necessary. Lands arbitrarily divided for our convenience of use can then be subject to rules and the rules have not much to do with the land but rather our insistence on the process of compartmentalization. Thus we can extend the parsing to impose different rules to seemingly identical portions of land. That’s what government has done and that’s what we have done in Spanish Cove.

Finally, let me comment on the proclamation of equalness. There is a document that says that, “All men are created equal.” If one has ever known a handicapped person one knows the proclamation isn’t true. Those who champion physical attainments knows that we can’t all run 4 minute miles. Teachers regularly claim that every child is different (but I think that unlikely.) And we all insist that our physicians administer differentiated treatments depending on severity of a specific illness. Perhaps that document should have said, “In the eyes of God all men are, at their creation, of equal value.” And perhaps we all should be more circumspect in our use of “equal.”

W Hodge

For those who may want to check out my thoughts, take a look at http://www.tgoresort.com under ports/resale. Thanks again.

Site-built homes in Land Harbor are a natural extension and progression of changes that have been proposed and approved over the years (Park Model “RVs” and now Manufactured Homes). The proposed change also enhances the property owners’ ability to obtain mortgages and insurance; and allows them to have a more storm-resistant home.

To the best of my knowledge, RVs have never been permitted as residences outside of Land Harbor. Proposing that today, when everyone in those areas bought and built with the understanding that RVs could not be used as dwellings, would likely cause quite a stir and would be doomed to failure, in my opinion. That’s not to say it could never happen, just that I would be quite surprised if it did.

I live in Land Harbor, and I’m very pleased that the LH site-built home proposal is moving forward and will likely be presented to the Membership for approval. I think that RVs, Manufactured Homes, Modular Homes and Conventional Homes will coexist very nicely in Land Harbor. I just don’t see that same concept as extendable to other areas in the Cove.