Local Councilman Offers Lesson in Property Rights

Editor’s Note: Monroeville Councilman Bernhard Erb offers some commentary in this Letter to the Editor after voting earlier this month to deny a request for a major timbering harvesting operation to remove select timber on a 30-acre site zoned as a “conservancy” district.

An 11-member group of homeowners, known as the Park Circle Association, which owns the property in Turnpike Gardens off Northern Pike, asked for 315 trees to be removed. The 350 families in the plan who do not own the property but live in the housing plan opposed the harvesting. The same association had 450 trees removed in 1997. The planning commission had recommended that Monroeville Council deny the request, which it did. But Erb has regrets about his vote.

Dear Editor,

I am complicit in a travesty. The vote against property rights that occurred in our (Monroeville) council is far worse than our new outdoor smoking ban. It was a defining moment, and I fear that we, I, allowed procedural and other maneuvering to add to a string of abuses by governments. My overall record is one of voting for property rights. This time I failed. Instead, I helped to diminish Monroeville's beauty.

My sin is part of a set of facts. The meeting was not controlled, and the chair's open disregard for neutrality created confusion to the parliamentary process. We silenced a Commonwealth forester who came to speak on legitimate forestry best practices. Through us, me, not guiding one of your neighbors, our citizen, the application remains only partially vetted. An out-of-order motion our parliamentarian ruled allowable then carried. Based on the facts as presented, I voted for the motion. I was wrong.

We know that overgrown or stripped forests destabilize landslide prone areas. Large trees growing in the sediment prevalent in our area fall due to strong winds. Flooding occurs where no trees exist. We know this without being experts simply by observing our surroundings. The crushed buildings, fallen slopes, and destroyed property, are the result of too little care. Inconveniently, this the expert would have clearly explained.

So, too, are votes with no care. A deluge of bodies to an empty room guarantees a landslide. This is why for two years I have asked for you to come to meetings. Your constant presence is care for big citizen, small government.

Removing 300 of 7,000 trees strengthens a forest. Open canopies provide sunshine and nutrients for growth. Unfortunately, 300 people opposed the plan. It was expedient to truncate, illegally, input that would have shed light. Heading into the meeting, the vote was a fait accompli. The ward councilman wanted only to vote it down. And who can blame him? It is the darkening canopy of ward-based representation. Even I failed and I didn’t get 10 p.m. calls. Though unlikely, my vote against denial might have stabilized enough other votes for private property rights.

We are obligated to listen, and then vote on merit, not emotion. Legal arguments did much to impact my decision. They were specious. Morally, I felt it though I tried to explain it away. Instead, I gave a part of myself away. I still voted against rights. The U.S. Constitution and the laws of the state, supersede our law. The law of our Creator supersedes our law. My colleague who always speaks of due process affirmed the motion with a second. Due process supersedes our law. Our action resulted in effective eminent domain without due process or equitable compensation. To strengthen community, individual’s rights must supersede "public good."

To all in Monroeville, I apologize. Every one of you, including the 300, will at some point be in the minority. Maybe, just maybe, someone will rise to fight for you.

Bernhard Erb

Monroeville Councilman

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