The good folks in Polk County don’t want to take a UDO without a fight. Like all big plans these days, the ordinance proposed empowering an administrator to trespass on whimsy. Appealing to people who think, “The world is my restroom,” Section 4.1.1 read:
“The administrator . . . shall have the right to enter upon any premises regulated by this ordinance at any reasonable time necessary to carry out his/her duties.
Like always, the government responded to those who raised concerns with assurances that they merely copied boilerplate, and the citizens might do well to learn how to read and perhaps get a little, um, help on the side. Undaunted, citizens pushed to have the document say what it means and mean it was going to respect Americans’ property rights.
According to the latest update, the citizens are winning. The language has since been modified to require Her Highness to first procure a proper search warrant. In light of other foreseen problems with the document, the commissioners are also honoring citizens’ requests to have a Q&A, rather than a dog-and-pony, public hearing next Monday, September 17, at 7:00 p.m. at the Polk County High School auditorium.
