CLINTON: Making much ado out of nothing

Published August 08, 2003 4:10 PM CDT

Even if Clinton's aldermen are able to convince an appeals court they are somehow right in demanding Scot and Mary Welch tear down the $5,000 tree house they built in the front yard for their children, they will at best be wrong being right.

Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Tomie T. Green ruled last month that the tree house didn't violate any of Clinton's ordinances, pointing out in the process that nowhere in the city code is there a provision banning the houses. The judge also said he found nothing in the court record which justified the city denying the Welches a conditional permit, a special exemption or a nonconforming permit.

Unfortunately, what the judge said was apparently a little bit too difficult for the Board of Aldermen to understand. They've since voted 5-2 to appeal Green's ruling, claiming they wanted "a clarification."

It appears to us the board's majority is incapable of admitting that it's been wrong from the start on this issue.

First of all, the board contends the Welch's tree house could be detrimental to property values in Clinton. In view of the fact that the two-story structure looks like the Taj Mahal of tree houses, just how it could hurt real estate values totally escapes us.

Second, the board is needlessly spending a huge amount of the taxpayers' money in legal expenses trying to bring down a tree house.

Third, with a great deal of justification, Scot Welch told the board before its vote to appeal the case it should spend the community's money rewriting its zoning ordinance rather than conducting a legal battle against something that's not now covered by city law. "Have faith in us, the residents, that we we'll keep our community nice," Welsh commented.

Hundreds of Clinton residents have signed a petition backing the tree house. Clinton's alderman and mayor, however, are somehow unable to grasp the Jeffersonian principle that the opinion of the people is the basis of government.

Fourth, the better part of wisdom decrees that people should pick their battles. It's hard to believe that a city government has decided to pick a battle against children.

Finally, we've always been taught it's silly to make a mountain out of a molehill. Clinton's city government is making a forest out of tree house.

The mayor and aldermen are indeed making much ado out of nothing, and we rather suspect Clinton's voters will make much ado about voting them out of office when the next municipal election rolls around.

Governments that are not of the people tend to perish.