William Penn Life, 1995 (30. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1995-07-01 / 7. szám
Page 2, William Penn Life, July 1995 William Penn LIFE Official Publication of the William Penn Association Published Monthly Office of Publication: 709 Brighton Road Pittsburgh, PA 15233 Phone: 412/231-2979 Third Class U.S. Postage Paid Pittsburgh, PA Permit No. 2724 E. E. Vargo Editor-in-chief George S. Charles, Jr. Frances A. Furedy Associate Editors John E. Lovász Managing Editor NATIONAL OFFICERS E. E. Vargo National President George S. Charles, Jr. National V.P./Secretary Frances A. Furedy National V.P./Treasurer Robert A. Kapinus Assistant Treasurer BOARD OF DIRECTORS Joseph P. Arvay Chairman Michael J. Hrabar Vice Chairman Roger G. Nagy Vice Chairman Anthony C. Beke Louis A. Fodor Elmer A. Furedy Barbara A. House Michael R. Kara George F. Mirkovich Michael F. Tomcsak Elmer W. Toth Frank J. Wukovits, Jr. Frank J. Radvany Secretary of the Board AUDITING COMMITTEE Charles J. Furedy Robert A. Ivancso Co-Chairmen Margaret H. Boso Secretary Dennis A. Chobody Joseph Hamari Ernest J. Mozer, Sr. CONSULTANTS Bruce & Bruce Company Actuary Horovitz, Rudoy & Roteman C.P.A. Rothman Gordon Foreman Groudine, P.C. General Counsel Dr. Julius Kesseru Medical Director Unsolicited articles, letters, manuscripts, pictures and other material submitted to the WILLIAM PENN LIFE are forwarded at the owner's risk, and the WILLIAM PENN LIFE expressly denies any responsibility for their safekeeping or return. The WILLIAM PENN LIFE reserves the right to edit, revise or reiect any article submitted for publication. Postmaster: If undelivered, please send form 3579 to: William Penn Association 709 Brighton Road Pittsburgh, PA 15233 Property rights—where do you draw the line? By Emil W. Herman, Esq., General Counsel Past articles have attempted to provide you information about specific legal topics, such as estate planning, intellectual property and consumer rights. Today, I am going to play the professor, however, and present you with a legal problem for which there is no right or wrong answer, just issues to consider. Perhaps there is no notion so ingrained in America’s collective conscience than the sanctity of property ownership—it has long been and continues to be the goal of most, if not all, citizens. This goal is premised on the notion that, if you own land, you can do whatever you want on it. That notion, however, is far from the truth. Leaving aside the issue of property taxes, which themselves can limit the funds you have available to spend on your property, there is an entire body of local, state and federal law, commonly referred to as "land use law,” which restricts property owners and their use of their property. The most common land use restriction is the local zoning ordinance. You may want to build your dream home on the lot left to you by Aunt Gertrude, only to find that your dream home is too large, or too tall, or has too many rooms, or not enough parking, or any one of a multitude of similar restrictions that will prevent it from being built in the way you see it in your dreams. Most local zoning ordinances contain minimum lot sizes, minimum yard requirements, use requirements, and fencing and landscaping requirements. Your dream home, and the portion of the lot left undeveloped after construction of your dream home, must meet those requirements, or a building permit will be denied. Even if your dream home will comply with the local zoning ordinance, other local, county or state regulations may affect the construction. For instance, you may be forced to connect the home to a community sewer system, and pay "tap in” fees to do so. If the home is in an area not serviced by a community sewer system, the state environmental laws may regulate what type of waste disposal system you must install. Whether or not you have a sidewalk, and its width and composition, can be dictated by the local zoning ordinance. How the rain water will run off your roof and other areas of your dream home and property may be restricted under storm water management controls. Erosion and sedimentation controls may restrict the manner of construction itself. The types of materials used in construction, and the heating and power sources and materials used in your home can be dictated. State laws and regulations may affect the availability, types and location of utility services to the property. Environmental laws at the state and federal levels may not only ° restrict, but also prevent construction on environmentally sensitive lands. Now that you have decided to sell Aunt Gertrude’s lot and move into the nearest cave, switch sides. Pretend now that you have already built that dream home on Aunt Gertrude’s lot out in the country far from civilization. Time passes, however, and soon the acreage around you is being developed for residential use. Should the lot facing your picture window contain a water tower, or a steel mill, or the community swimming pool, or a "nudie bar”? Should the developer be able to grade the property so that all run-off flows across your land to the nearest sewer? Would you care if, instead of indoor plumbing and community sewage, the developer promised an outhouse and cess pool to handle sewage waste? If you had a cement sidewalk, should your neighbor be able to have a mud path? Should he be able to leave junked cars or old tires on the front lawn, or put up a fruit and vegetable stand? It’s time for another switch now, not to a different property owner, but to a member of the local town council. Should you care what type of materials are used in the construction of homes in your community, and the value of homes to be constructed there? Remember, your electorate will live in those homes and their value establishes the tax base for your community. Should you allow a ten-story apartment building to be erected when the tallest ladder of your fire department only reaches five stories? Should you mandate community sewage, or allow property owners to do whatever they want with their waste? Should bars and schools be side by side, or schools and adults bookstores? Should you permit construction on land that floods out every other year? When you consider your reaction, first as land owner, and then as neighbor and finally as council member, you see the crux of land use law—establishing a balance between your right to use your property however you choose, your neighbors’ right not to be disturbed by your use of your land, and the government’s obligation to see that the health, safety and welfare of its citizens is adequately protected. If you own the lot, you may want to be able to build an adult bookstore there. If you live next door, you may want to prevent that adult bookstore from being built. And, if you are on council, you may be concerned about the additional police you may have to hire to deal with the problems created by that adult bookstore. When you are next involved in a land use fight, or read about one in the newspaper, consider these issues, and decide how you would balance the scales.__________________________________________ If you have any topics you would like us to consider for this column, please send them to: Emil W. Herman, Esq., Rothman Gordon, Third Floor, Grant Building, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Topics will be considered based on space considerations, interest to all readers, and appropriateness for general legal discussions. ATTENTION! Parents & Grandparents Aunts & Uncles This year, give your children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews a gift that can last a lifetime. The William Penn Association offers a variety of juvenile life insurance plans that can provide children valuable life insurance benefits. • You can choose among a variety of whole life plans or among several term plans that can cover children from birth through their college years and beyond. • We offer plans that build cash values and plans that children can convert to adult policies as they grow older. • All our plans feature low rates and added benefits you won’t get from most other insurers. To learn how our juvenile life insurance plans can benefit the children in your family, call your local William Penn representative or our Home Office, toll-free, at 800-848-PENN (7366) WILLIAM PENN ASSOCIATION Fraternal Life Insurance and Annuities 709 Brighton Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15233 Phone:(412)231-2979 or 1-800-848-PENN (7366) FAX: (412)231-8535 Why buy life insurance? By GeorgeS. Charles, Jr., Nat’l V.P.-Secy. Life insurance is protection against financial loss resulting from death. A life insurance certificate (policy) is a contract which promises to pay a specific amount of money to a named beneficiary when death occurs. If you really think about it, almost everyone needs life insurance for the primary purpose of offsetting the economic loss that results from death during productive years and taking care of the money needs that continue no matter when death occurs. Life insurance is a foundation of security, and our Association’s concern is for the great majority of people who do need protection against the economic losses of death. Our Association believes in and supports our youth, the family unit, our heritage and economic security for all. Life insurance is basic to a strong society—helping millions accomplish together what only a few accomplish alone. It is a social device for men and women to save, to plan and to share one another’s burdens. This noble purpose exacts from each of us the best and demands from all of us the brightest future through a venture in fraternal fellowship. Herein is our strength. With this strength our Association grows. We thank our members, for you have helped preserve the pride of our past. Y ou are the keystone of the current strength of our financial structure, and you are the key to our future success. You also can put the keys to a better future in the palm of your hand. Our product brochures give you the answers you need to plan a more secure financial future. Whatever your financial needs, the William Penn Association has an insurance or annuity plan to help you meet them. Our brochures tell you about these plans and can help you make the best decisions to protect you and your family. If you would like a brochure or any information on the insurance plans that we offer, feel free to contact your local branch contact representative or call our Home Office toll-free weekdays from 8:15 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (EST) at 1-800-848-PENN (7366). We will be more than happy to send you information on our plans of insurance.
