Many people have asked me how such a structure could be built in McKennan Park, the very large house. After listening to testimony today at the Historic Board meeting it confirmed what I have known for a long time, #1 you can’t buy taste and #2 some people have a sense about themselves that they can do whatever they want to because who they are. Today, they were proved wrong.
Cameraman Bruce recorded the meeting and we will have it up soon. We also had the pleasure of having a beverage and conversation with the expert witness on historic architecture, Spencer Ruf tonight after the meeting. Spencer used to work in Sioux Falls as an architect with TSP and Spitznagel, he now resides in Rochester. He gave us a great perspective on why and how people do things like this. It’s not as complicated as you would think, and it’s not a grand conspiracy. Some people just think they can do whatever they please.
‘Elitism’ and conformity are the two greatest threats to our democratic society today; and the continual, but finite expansion of the upper middle income sector feeds these attitudes as well. Where its success and comfort offer a sense of self empower, accomplishment, and security to a finite group, which then promotes an aloofness to overall civic duty, respect, and appreciation for society as a whole, and fosters a class system that tears at any sense of true democratic principles.
It is really not right versus left anymore, rather it is elitism versus the people; but the elite will do their best along with the conformist cooperation of the upper middle income to maintain the former struggle as the latter elites attempt to rush to victory through the darkness, which lacks of an understanding or enlightenment by most as to what is really happening to our democratic society today due to the continual collapse of the American middle class….
There was city zoning approval. I would have built not knowing there was historic board involvement. The lawsuit subject seems to be how the neighbor is affected. There’s separate irrelevant arguments the city excepted with their approval. The owners are trying to comply with the neighbors wishes. I wouldn’t. Reconstruction is to much expense. It’s better to not act and wait. If there’s condemnation, just abandon and move on. What’s learned here is never do anything to the outside of your home. If you do something inside, never apply with the city. Actually, build or buy outside city limits and you’ll not have this problem.
The Big Yellow House was required by federal law to follow certain steps. The process required plan approval by the Board of Historic Preservation before any building plans could be submitted to the city for a building permit. The owners of the Big Yellow House did not submit the same plan to both.
The city should be sharing the fault in this blame game. The city building department should have had a checklist to verify both plans matched before any construction started. This has been a major weakness in the city’s processes.
Elitism is when a construction worker dies due to a failure of the system, which OSHA identifies, but the City makes no changes to its ordinances to hopefully prevent such a future tragic event like the death from happening again.
Elitism is when those who are responsible for the death of a construction worker are allowed to once again work with the City in joint public and private development projects.
Elitism is when the wage issue is addressed by advocating the need for new higher paying jobs in this town, but what about the workers already here, who are many and not a part of the elite, how do their wages get increased by this strategy?
Elitism is when a concert ticket costs over a hundred dollars with nine dollar beers to go, yet some local officials get free passes to such events and the employees at a local bank get the first opportunity to purchase the choice seats for an event.
Elitism is when an Events Center is built with the suites placed in the middle of all of the seating and not at the top, thus preventing the masses in individual seats from having a better view even with a cheaper seat or ticket.
Elitism is changing the threshold to win a Council seat from 34% to 50+%, in order to deny a minority view point a seat at the table.
Elitism is a Park Board consisting of white people, in their 30s and 40s for the most part, who only live in the SE part of town.
Elitism is offering TIFS when there is no “blight,” yet an average citizen, when they improve their property, gets no reprieve towards their property tax bill.
Elitism is when a historic neighborhood to some means you tear down houses instead of preserving them, so that you can further the myth of the actual history of a historic neighborhood to your liking.
Elitism is having your kids contribute thousands of dollars to a political campaign and the proper authorities do “nothing” about it.
But the one nice thing, however, about not being a part of the elite, well, I bet your house is not necessarily taupe in color, so at least you have that sense of freedom or common sense to be an individual….
Daily Spin says, “….If you do something inside, never apply with the city. Actually, build or buy outside city limits and you’ll not have this problem.”
THIS – this right here – what he said is a precise example of and elitist who feels he “can do whatever he pleases”. Or at the very least – is inclined to attempt to do so. ATTITUDE!
The Sapienzas played a very adult, very high stakes game of begging forgiveness rather than asking permission – with profound indifference as
to how their conceit would affect everyone else. In spite of that, they have been afforded due process through 2 court systems at very little expense of their own. They lost. The magnitude of their loss or obligation to tear down or move their expensive new structure is their burden & responsibility alone. Enough patience, enough games, enough delays, enough thumbing your nose at Sioux Falls and McKennan Park. Man up, Joey, and get to work undoing your mess.