The High Life

I live in a place by the sea that is beautiful. Its rising hills invite housing that strains to enjoy the sweeping sea views. Purchase of single family homes in this area can be afforded only by the very rich. As these private older and modestly built places sell, developers rush in and buy up a series of them on which to construct multiple living styles. Since views are very marketable and bylaws defend that privilege, there are height requirements. But, we all know that bylaws can be and are changed all the time, according to what the "city fathers" decide is best for the community: Official Community Plans notwithstanding. Taking philosophy somewhat into the fuzzy zone, one can view the whole matter of sharing the views as a peaceable solution. It isn't. On the edge of fist fights over the matter, and stressed out people trying desperately to protect their property, confrontation and argument dominates. Dog in the manger scenarios come to mind. Excuses are that someone has lived here all their lives and now...  That argument is tired. If you had your view all those years, why not let others enjoy it, too? Another argument is, that one's "investment" is threatened. Is home all about money? I can see that it isn't fair to ruin the view that someone enjoys, but it should be a matter of sitting down and working things out peacefully. Developers have one thing in mind and that is, naturally, money. Councils have one thing in mind and that is, tax money. Owners have one thing in mind and that is, peace of mind. As I walked along the beach this morning, I looked up and saw a hill, not of lovely trees, but of glass windows. It was pretty much all glass and not especially attractive. Behind the glass, were millions upon millions of dollars of real estate value, just waiting to be consumed. And ironically, it is of those who sell to developers, and then move into the very towers they protest. They have, then, the money to do it.  My aunt lived in an old, very well kept cottage many years here, and while she didn't have walls of glass in her modest home overlooking the sea, she did love to look out her windows at it. One day, the lot below her sold and the new owner tore down the house there, and built an enormous and some might say, fashionably stylish structure to serve more than one family. As the building rose, it became clear that the bylaw stating only a certain height was being broken. The ceilings he chose, were 12 foot ones. Appeals by my aunt to City Hall in spite of the bylaw in place, fell upon deaf ears. She was only one vote after all. Finally, after months of stressful talks with officials, the offender reduced, to a minor degree, agreement to reduce his roof height - almost.  Since he was still some inches off that required in the bylaw, he slipped by. My aunt looked out her window at an ugly roof and could see only a bit of the ocean she loved until the end of her life. When her place sold, it went for a whole lot of cash. Too late for her.