All Sprawled Out

BUILDERS ARE SUING AN ORGANIZATION FOR SIMPLY TRYING TO HELP CLEAN UP THE AIR AND MAKE FRESNO MORE LIVABLE.

If you read this ARTICLE from last month's Fresno Bee, you'll get all the back-story you need. To sum: There will be a fee placed on new housing developments that contribute to city sprawl but don't build air-enhancing features into to the new home and neighborhood. California Builders are trying to get out of paying this fee buy suing The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.

The number one developer complaint about this fee: "Owners of existing structures don't have to pay anything." Doesn't it sound like a nine year old complaining that their older brother can stay up late, so why do they have to go to bed early?

If the builder doesn't infuse "green features", then it will pay a fee of $780.
The builders claim they are worried that less people will be able to buy their homes. Really? You think $780 is going to stop somebody from buying a $350,000 house?

Yea guys, I can completely see this scenario happening:

SALLY: Hey, how's it going with the new house you're having built Mary?
MARY: Horrible Sally, we ended up losing the loan. I'm pretty upset about it. In fact I tried to kill myself over it last night.
SALLLY: Oh my, what happened?
MARY: Well I tried to put my head in the oven but I couldn't hold the door tight enough to my head so it was making a bad seal and it was becoming a big pain in the ass...
SALLY: NO, I mean with the home loan.
MARY: Oh, well the builder said they needed to put in this environment friendly crap. I told them "Hell no, I'm not letting you install some Hippy bullshit in my new home!"
SALLY: Good for you Mary.
MARY: Yea, except they said they've then got to pass along a fee for seven hundred and eighty dollars. That would have made our payment almost two dollars more. So the bank pulled the loan.
SALLY: That's too bad.
MARY: Yea. Hey, do you know how to tie a slip knot?