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| Date: From: Subject: | 3/2/2006 2:24:03 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Virginia--Clarke County Anti-Family Ordinance Up for Hearing Tomorrow |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== March 2, 2006 Virginia--Clarke County Anti-Family Ordinance Up for Hearing Tomorrow Dear HSLDA members and friends, We urgently need your help to derail a proposed zoning ordinance that could force larger families to sell their homes, or pressure them to stop having children. The proposed ordinance would make it illegal for more than 2 people, multiplied by the number of permitted bedrooms, to live in a house with a septic drain field. For example, a 3 bedroom house could legally hold only 6 people. A family, living in a 3 bedroom house, with 5 children and 2 parents, which totals 7, would be breaking the law. Our first opportunity to speak out against this anti-family ordinance will be tomorrow at 9 a.m. The planning commission will have a meeting to hear comments from the public. We hope a big crowd will show up so the planning commission will have no doubt how the public feels about this anti-child ordinance. ACTION REQUESTED: 1. Please come to the planning commission meeting tomorrow at 9 a.m. at 102 North Church St., in the large meeting room on the second floor of the court house. We expect there will be a time for you to comment on the proposed ordinance. 2. Please call other families and ask them to come. 3. Call your pastor, priest, etc., and ask them to come and oppose this ordinance. BACKGROUND: 1. In China, the government forces abortions because they want to reduce the number of babies. Imagine the pressure a Clarke county family would feel if they were already at the ordinance's "limit," but then discovered they were expecting another child, and could not afford to move. What should be a wonderfully joyful occasion would have a dark shadow cast over it. Every child is a gift from God. A government that punishes families for having children is violating God's order. 2. Two reasons are offered to justify this atrocious ordinance. "Drain fields could be overloaded if too many people live in a house." Response: Under the existing ordinances, it is rare for a drain field to fail because there are too many people in the house. No change is warranted. If this becomes a problem in the future, the best approach would be to educate the public and let property owners make their own decisions. "A house with many people would have many cars, and they might park on top of the drain field, limiting their effectiveness." Response: Under current ordinances, we know of no documented case where a drain field failed because of parking on top of it. Also, some large families have only a few cars, and some small families have many. If parking on a drain field is really a problem, the ordinance should be limited to that situation. 3. The ordinance would not apply to houses on municipal sewer systems. 4. You may be told that this ordinance does not apply to families. This confusion could be compounded by the fact that there is a proposal to change the definition of "family" in the ordinances. However, the proposed ordinance clearly does not contain any exception whatsoever, either for a family or any other situation. The proposed ordinance does not even use the word "family," so changing the definition of "family" will not alter its impact. Thank you for standing up for freedom. Sincerely, Scott A. Woodruff HSLDA Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> How many acorns can a chipmunk hold in its cheeks? We don't know! But we do know that gathering little by little enables ordinary folks to prepare for hard times. That principle is behind HSLDA's payment plan: by paying a month at a time, families can receive an annual HSLDA membership. Meanwhile, they can feel secure as they homeschool and focus on other priorities -their children. Don't go nuts trying to pay for membership all at once. Choose one of our convenient payment plans. More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1937 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. 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Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
