Cedar Falls, Iowa City Council Demands Keys to Resident's Property

Watch this video and tell me this does not outrage you.

A link to the actual excerpt from the May 23, 2011 meeting from the Cedar Falls website is here http://agenda.cedarfalls.com/sirepub/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=103&doctype=AGENDA&itemid=4400

This link is to the subsequent meeting on June 13, 1011 where the ordinance passed http://agenda.cedarfalls.com/sirepub/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=105&doctype=AGENDA&itemid=4481

I recommend watching the entire excerpt if you can find the time. I want to say thank you to Nick Taiber, who aptly presented a well-reasoned objection to this proposed ordinance and his standing firm in the face of what must have been daunting peer pressure. One council members, John Runchey, alludes to an authority higher than he or the citizens. Let me tell you something, Mr. Runchey, the people are the ultimate authority. Do not refer to some judicial misfit lurking in the wings to prop your flaccid position on some inane reading of powers posses by government through the Constitution. You are not deserving of holding any position of governance or representation because you are devoid of any concept of the flow of power.

The proposed ordinance, 2740, by the Cedar Falls, Iowa City Council imposes a duty upon commercial property to make available access to their property by way of lock boxes. This includes businesses, apartments, and some rental units. It is allegedly promulgated under the authority of the 2009 edition of the International Fire Code. Chief John Schilling of the Cedar Falls Fire Department is the lackey who supports introducing into his enforcement penumbra a code of international standards as being imposed upon the citizens of Cedar Falls. Schilling also comments on his belief that the constitutionality of such an ordinance has had to have been pondered somewhere, since he alleges this program being implemented in larger metropolitan cities like Washington, D.C. and Chicago. Mr. Schilling, who cares what the constitutionality of this measure is? The bottom line is that when the people find a law oppressive they have a right to act or resist in spite of what powers you believe come from the Constitution.

This is but one of the methods by which municipalities slowly pry themselves into the lives of the unwitting without any requirement for constitutionality. If you submit, you have no claim. The constitution, in all its impotent glory, is designed to be a tool to protect us from government. If you pave the path to your liberty for which to permit governmental intrusion, then the constitution has no place in protecting the ignorant from themselves.

The City of Collinsville has attempted a number of intrusions into private lives, beginning with businesses and landlords; again, to test the waters of compliance. I’ve written on a number of them including these:

http://markmccoy.com/wp/2010/05/18/an-analysis-of-the-proposed-occupancy-code-for-collinsville-illinois/

http://markmccoy.com/wp/2011/04/11/an-analysis-of-the-collinsville-yard-sale-permit-ordinance/

http://markmccoy.com/wp/2010/10/14/the-collinsville-illinois-business-license-ordinance/

http://markmccoy.com/wp/2010/10/12/part-ii-of-the-collinsville-attempt-at-crime-free-but-you-dont-need-to-know/

You have to admire the arrogance of the city council and their insistence that they are keeping the citizens “safe”. It makes you wonder if they consider the people as part of the citizenry, or if it is just another name for the elite.  Particularly frustrating is the clueless councilman Kamyar Enshayan. A self-aggrandizing megalomaniac, he smugly retorts with scripted indifference at the objections of the attendees. Seeing as how these council persons live within the community, it should not be difficult for the citizens to make their voice, “abundantly clear”. I would see to it that their only concern for safety would be that of their own, and as a result, a rare appearance out in public or to council meetings where they wield their condescension.

I believe there is a concerted effort among various municipalities in testing such legislation in hopes of gaining intrusion into our lives with nary a whimper.

Mr Kamyar Enshayan is quoted as saying, “The merit of an idea does not depend on the number of people who hold that idea.” Mr. Enshayan, would you say that likewise applies to people who hold the idea that government is tasked with providing individual protection or safety? The merit of government, as well as you and your ilk, does not depend on the number of people who breathe life into your caustic personna, but rather depends on the resolve of the limited few or individuals standing firm against your intentions.

For those who wish to reach out to the council, here is their contact information.

http://www.ci.cedar-falls.ia.us/index.aspx?nid=93

City Council Members
Tom Hagarty 1st Ward thagarty@cfu.net 809 Franklin Street Cedar Falls, IA 50613 Ph: (319) 266-1321	Susan DeBuhr 2nd Ward debuhrs@cfu.net 1713 Continental Access StreetCedar Falls, IA 50613 Ph: (319) 277-8974	John Runchey – This man should be tarred and feathered for his idiotic comments about keeping people safe. Where is the authority for doing this, Mr. Runchey? 3rd Ward mcrun@cfu.net 920 Columbine Drive Cedar Falls, IA 50613 Ph: (319) 277-1053 Ph: (319) 415-9350
Kamyar Enshayan – This man is simply a blithering idiot who wants to protect everyone from everything but the city government. 4th Ward kenshayan@gmail.com 1703 Washington Street Cedar Falls, IA 50613 Ph: (319) 266-5468 Ph: (319) 273-7575	Frank Darrah 5th Ward wfd@cfu.net 1915 Greenhill Drive Cedar Falls, IA Ph: (319) 277-2801 Ph: (319) 290-0381	Nick Taiber – Nick is the only council member who voted against the proposed ordinance. Thank you Mr. Taiber!  At Large ntaiber@cfu.net 221 W. 13th Street Cedar Falls, IA 50613 Ph: (319) 610-8370
Mayor Jon Crews  Contact the Mayor’s Office By phone at 319-268-5119 By email at jon.crews@cedarfalls.com	David Wieland  At Large wielandd@asme.org 4201 Heritage Road Cedar Falls, IA 50613 Ph: (316) 266-4300

In closing, I would urge the citizens of Cedar Falls who are forced to comply with this mandate to purchase a used box, hang it from your door, and break the key off in the lock. Who’s to say “how” it happened?  Also, if anyone from Cedar Falls sees this article, please forward to me a copy of the legal brief the City relied upon in supporting this ordinance. They always begin with commercial activities and as time goes on, people forget the limited application and through legalese and custom, they slowly implement on the unwitting and unaware.