Kenneth City,FL residents stop neatness ordinance
The people of Kenneth City, FL have backed down the city council on a tidiness plan that, from reports, would have allowed the city to regulate not only the appearance of the outside of a home but the inside as well. Further, if a homeowner refused entrance to the city official, said official could get an administrative warrant to enter the home and the owner could be fined $250 per day. The outraged citizens showed up at the council meeting and at least temporarily put a stop to it. The council is supposed to explain the ordinance in full to the people. They claim it will not be used for 2 am raids on homes etc. This is, in my opinion, a direct violation of the 4th amendment of the constitution.
The amendment reads as follows:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Is some one else opinion of your housekeeping probable cause for a warrant. I think not. I hope that the citizens continue to fight this and get it off the table as a possibility. If they are unable to do then I believe they should challenge the legality in any court that will listen. That may not do any good, especially with the way our court systems work(see the post on Ian Bernard), but it should be considered.
Here is the link to the article in the St Pete Times. I also noted that one of the comments following the article claims that the city of St Petersberg and other cities in Pinellas County already have a similar ordinance on the books. I have not been able to confirm that information. The same poster also claims that law cannot be unconstitutional since it is on the book already in other places in Florida. This to me merely shows the writers ignorance. Just because a law is in place does not mean this it is correct or constitutional, it merely means to no one has challenged it yet. It is quite obvious by reading the comments that most feel that is an invasion of their privacy, but there are some people who feel that government should control the peoples home to protect property values.
I hope the people vote their elected officials out of office when they. The citizens need to show the politicians that they will not stand for this kind of thing.
