Better to ask forgiveness than permission, Part 2

This is the second in a series on the things that, in the opinion of Charlestown Planning Commissar Ruth Platner, Charlestown residents may not be able to do on their property. Click here for Part 1.

At the August 10 Town Council meeting, Platner made the remarkable statement that “[In Charlestown zoning] any use not permitted is prohibited.” If you watch the Clerkbase video, this quote comes at 3:58.

So unless the town expressly permits you to do something on or with your property, it is prohibited.

Even though the Charlestown Code of Ordinances is amazingly detailed and regulates most aspects of life in Charlestown, I have found a lot of things that are not actually mentioned. And if they aren’t in the Code, you can’t do them. If Ms. Platner is right.

Here are some more things that don’t seem to be permitted in the Charlestown Code.…

I may have missed some activities that are prohibited for lack of permission and may also have missed some nook or cranny in our Town Code that grants permission to these putatively prohibited activities. Please e-mail me at progressivecharlestown@gmail.com with additions and corrections.

Not expressly permitted so therefore prohibited

• Pruning a tree
• Planting a tree
• Cutting down a tree
• Planting a shrub
• Pruning a shrub
• Removing a shrub
• Gathering firewood
• Topiary
• Clearing out invasive species

NOTE: under Charlestown Code Chapter 163, you had better steer clear of any “public” tree or shrub – i.e. ones that are in the public right-of-way – without a permit. But except for developments, commercial properties or multi-family homes, you do not have express permission under the Code to do anything at all to any tree or shrub on your property. “Whatever is not permitted is prohibited.”

• Fire pit
• Luau trench
• Clam bake pit
• Picnic table
• Tent
• Canopy
• Umbrella
• Garden bench
• Outdoor sound system
• Sun dial
• Outdoor statues or sculpture
• Digging a hole
• Filling in a hole
• Digging a trench
• Laying down drainpipe
• Patching your driveway
• Clothesline
• Tree house
• Dog house
• Cat house
• Chicken coop
• Goat pen
• Llama or alpaca stable
• Pet cemetery

NOTE: if you are engaged in agriculture as a commercial venture, you can have livestock enclosures and other agriculture-type things (with a permit), but it doesn’t look like noncommercial livestock are permitted, and certainly not noncommercial animal enclosures. As for dogs, there is a huge section (Chapter 103) in the Code on what your dog can and cannot do, but no expressed permission to have a dog house or any other structure to shelter your pet. There is no reference to cats anywhere in the Code, so structures for cats are prohibited – and in all probability, Ms. Platner would rule that cat ownership is also verboten.

I have heard Platner speak before public bodies in Charlestown about various existing or proposed ordinances. I have often been surprised to hear her say about ordinances like the one on accessory dwellings or lighting or trees or wind power that no one would meet the criteria to qualify BUT that it didn’t matter because the ordinance was unenforceable.

Indeed, if you go through the Charlestown Code of Ordinances, you will see some ordinances that are downright ridiculous or clearly unenforceable.

As I said in Part One, I am not a libertarian. As a card-carrying Democrat, I think reasonable regulations make life better and communities more harmonious. But bad regulations that make no sense, that can’t be enforced or that defy compliance are not just a waste of time, but undermine citizens’ faith in government.

And people like Planning Commissar Ruth Platner who think the government’s reach into people’s lives is total and all-powerful – “any use not permitted is prohibited” – give government a bad name.

Author: Will Collette