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Messy yard cops using photo radar to raise revenue???
Reach Robert Robb at robert.robb@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8472. Posted on September 23, 2013 3:46 pm by Robert Robb Photo radar for signs? I favor photo radar to enforce speed limits and red light laws. Violating these laws endangers other people and the cops can’t be everywhere. Mesa, however, is considering using comparable technology to enforce sign codes and the like. This strikes me as busybody government at its worst. The technology reportedly scans an area and identifies any non-complying signs or other comparable code violations. A test of the technology in New York found that 40 percent of objects scanned weren’t fully in technical conformance. These codes, however, aren’t to protect public safety. They are to facilitate relationships between adjacent landowners, level competition and provide for some sense of community aesthetics. These aren’t meaningless public goods. But they aren’t life or death, either. One of the selling points of the technology is that cities can take in a haul from fines for non-conformance. One suspects that’s the main, and perhaps only real, selling point. City Council member Dennis Kavanaugh groused that Mesa was largely on a by-complaint method of enforcing its ordinances. But what’s wrong with that? If no one’s complaining, what’s the harm? |
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