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The right move
The Washington Town Council deserves commendation for its support of the decision of the town’s Architectural Review Board to deny a certificate of appropriateness for a chain-link fence.
It was not an easy decision for the council members, but it was the correct one.
As several council members observed, there is no point in having ordinances if they are not enforced. Indeed, in the past, problems have stemmed from alleged capriciousness in the enforcement of ordinances.
The present town council has stated that it intends to enforce the town’s ordinances, and do so fairly. Its decision last Wednesday proves that was not an empty promise.
The ARB is a state-mandated board - a product of Washington’s designation as a historic district. It is charged with enforcing the standards set forth in the town’s historic district ordinance, enacted in 1985. Its three members serve without pay, and the decisions they reach are not always easy ones.
Anyone who has attended the ARB’s meetings has seen them wrestle with the inherent conflict of individual property rights and the restrictions mandated by the historic district ordinance. Usually, the conflict can be resolved to the satisfaction or all parties.
As has been pointed out several times in the past months, the essential element in decisions of ALL governmental bodies is fairness and consistency. Only by applying the law blindly .without regard to the individuals.*^, involved, can legil -hallenges be defended. f*'"'
The irony, of course, is that sometimes this legal “blindness” creates the appearance of injustice. But the truth is, for better or worse, that justice is indeed blind. That is the cornerstone of our judicial system.
The Town of Washington, through its elected representatives, deserves our respect for making a tough, but legally correct, decision.
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