Senator Dean's Farm Building

There is a big brouhaha about former Citrus County Sherriff and current District 3 State Senator Charles Dean and his barn/bungalow/house/whatever on the Withlacoochee River. The source of the conflict is how he built the structure in the last year and a half, which normally wouldn’t bother most local residents except that he has labeled it a ‘barn’…which has another structure attached to it that resembles a two-story house. It is a seemingly nice place when looked at from the picture found in the St. Pete Times, and Mr. Dean has avoided a great deal of financial payments, i.e. impact fees, permits, and inspections by labeling it a nonresidential agricultural structure.

The majority of comments are outraged at the thought that he is getting away with something that a normal local could not, preferential treatment for a politician that has been stereotypically seen by politicians across the country. However understandable this might be, the opinion is limiting and somewhat narrow-minded. Yes, the outrage at not getting the same treatment is logical, but thinking that the treatment he has received is “wrong”, is not logical. For starters, Mr. Dean did not use government money to pay for the structure; he paid for it using his own money, so my tax dollars did not go into making his said “nonresidential agricultural structure”. He has hurt no one or their property in doing so nor has he made anyone do something they did not wish to do. If he and his insurance company (if he has it insured) are happy with the construction then he should be left alone.

Our outrage should be at the Local and State government. Not for giving a politician special treatment, but for putting unjust burden on the general populace. We should be outraged at the limits, fees, and additional costs that we have allowed the nanny state to put on our freedom. Including doing what we want with our private property so long as it doesn’t infringe upon the rights of another.

No one among us has the grounds to sue Mr. Dean in front of a jury and claim his actions cost them anything. Not that his actions may have cost the government possible revenue but that his actions cost any individual in our county a single dime. If the building isn’t up to code and collapses or burns down or sinks into the ground then he and his insurance company should bear the cost of that, not the county or state. Since it is his private property and no individual has any real claim for grievance we should not only leave him alone, but call on our county leaders to leave him and us alone. We wouldn’t need the impact and permit fees, inspections, or other government “necessities”, if we didn’t have to pay for county engineers, inspectors, and other avenues of city government. Think of the county buildings, cars, trucks, salaries that could be eliminated if we actually believed that people had private property rights.

If somebody does something with their property that hurts another then the hurt party should be able to sue and receive just compensation for his or her loss. Do we need a nanny state telling us how to do everything in our lives, particularly on our own land? Look at the photo’s of Senator Dean’s building in question. It’s obviously well engineered and well built, because it’s his private property and he didn’t want junk. He could have and probably did inspect it during construction himself, or have somebody he trusts inspect it for him. The quality, durability, and construction are all between Mr. Dean and those he hired. This sounds like freedom and liberty. Why can’t we all have that?

Some of you will say that we have to have building codes etc., or people will be taken advantage of and not have good houses. That’s crap. If you have a house built by a contractor who carries a bond and insurance to cover your house if it fails due to construction techniques, materials, etc., it may cost you more to have the house built but not as much as it costs in government fees to inspect it. If you want it cheaper and are willing to take a chance then let someone build it without a bond. I’d let the men from just about any Amish community build my house, and trust it without the government’s approval.

Quality is not dependent upon government oversight. Now if you can’t afford the cash to pay for a house I’m sure the bank that you acquire a mortgage will require inspections, insurance, and whatnot to secure their investment. Again sound private property rights and inspections free from government interference.

This is a prime example of two things: too much government intrusion in private lives, and corruption in politics. Those two things are the cause and effect of “We the People” electing our “mothers” to take care of us instead of “fathers” to protect us. The cause of the corruption is excessive government. End the government intrusion and then there would be no outrage at the actions of Mr. Dean.

Go to the Citrus County Commission web site and view the video of the March 23 meeting. Though I don't think the commission was acting for libertarian motives, the fact that they are readdressing the grievances of the people, and protecting Mr. Dean’s private property rights at the same time is rather encouraging. The issue is one that they haven't seen before and that hasn't been an issue in our community. We should all be thankful that they are currently siding on the rights of the individual, even if the individual is a politician whose history and actions have sometimes been questionable.

Edited by Spencer Rhodes