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Show PAGE 22 TOE ZEPHYRMARCH 1992 1 Later in fills artide, we'll get around to the opposite end of the economic spectrum and take a look at how the poor folks flaunt their symptoms in the FLAGRANT HOUSE TRAILER SYNDROME Approaching Epidemic beyond reality I by Jack Campbell OSTENTATIOUS HOUSE DISEASE While we can look around Moab and see a couple of conspicuous structures testifying to their builders' inferiority complexes, these few ostentatious houses (from the mineral boom days) are but a small sign of what is to come when the "new" money begins to flow into Moab. As the tidal wave of rapidly approaches Moab, as downtown Moab becomes a Motel ghetto where Moab residents fed less welcome than the visitors, will we allow the vistas around Moab to be destroyed by high visual impact houses and structures? What damage to our quality of life can still be prevented? Utah State law specifically empowers communities to protect themselves from this kind of abuse. Does our current County Commission care enough to protect us? Or is our current County Commission actively supporting the destruction of our community's viewshed? A community does not have to be the impotent victim of the neuroses of a few of its more economically violent and disturbed members. A judicious use of Planning and Zoning can give a community substantial protection from this kind of scenic degradation. nt out-of-sta- te Of Mansions and House Trailers A Garbage Truck Named SL George OSTENTATIOUS HOUSE DISEASE is that aberration from mental health, most commonly manifested in the moneyed classes of society, whereby the victims of this disorder are driven to erect huge, public testimonials to their own perceived lack of self esteem, their insecurity, and their inner worthlessness and insignificance as human beings. Unable to control their public display behavior, these people are compelled to build huge, conspicuous, ostentatious houses announcing their insecurity to the world, hoping that the grandeur of the house might be taken as the measure of its occupants. It's almost as if these people chose to wear a huge sign around their necks, announcing to the world that they are really very insecure and frightened, and are desperately seeking the approval and respect that they know they don't deserve. Those suffering from this social, mental health disorder, know themselves well; they know the emptiness of their lives, and try to convince others that this is not the case by flaunting the amount of money they have, hoping that money might be used as the measure of their human worth and happiness. While not a particularly offensive problem in the larger dtios where this disease is commonly found, (in fact it is so prevalent there that OSTENTATIOUS HOUSE DISEASE ghettos can be found in most cities), this disease can have a large impact on other human beings in areas like Moab and Grand County where many people have chosen to live because of the natural beauty of the area. There are two basic classes of social diseases, those that primarily effect the person with the disease (and their families and associates) and those that have impacts on other members of society in general. An example of the first might be severe depression, where the person suffering becomes less and less functional An example of the second class is quintessentially the rapist, whose mental state demands external victims and usually escalating levels of violence. OSTENTATIOUS HOUSE DISEASE sufferers fall entirely within the second category. Their disease requires that their behavior impact as much of the community as possible. They traditionally choose an elevated location for their house, so that as much of die community as possible is forced to witness their condition. These houses are usually given a contrasting color to achieve the most obtrusive visual impact In this red rock area, white is usually the cola1 of choice to achieve the maximum display impact. In contrast to people suffering from OSTENTATIOUS HOUSE DISEASE, many wealthy (and healthy) individuals choose to build equally expensive houses, but do so unpretentiously, with little harm to the rest of the community. We all know of very expensive houses that have been designed to blend into their natural surroundings in such a way as to preserve the natural beauty of the area both for the rest of the community and for their occupants. ' . . : Across the Economic Spectrum . While we've been taking a look at rich people suffering from OSTENTATIOUS HOUSE DISEASE, this disease inflicts individuals all across the economic spectrum. Low self esteem, the feeling of insignificance, empty meaningless lives, the Black Void that people try to fill with money and pretension, are hardly limited to the wealthy. It's just that wealthy individuals have much more power to display their disease and to harm more people in their communities. . I've always liked a friend's description of St George, Utah. He likens the visual impact of SL George to that found at the scene of an accident, where a fully loaded garbage truck has been dynamited along a highway, with its disgorged contents blowing in the wind, with white plastic garbage bags and sheets of newspaper stuck to any available sagebrush and juniper across the countryside. Around St. George, there is a similar explosion of white houses and trailers scattered across the red rock landscape, creating much the same effect as the exploded garbage truck and its windblown contents. St. George is (of course) the community that our elected officials most envy and try to emulate. Do we want them to fashion Moab and Grand County into St. George's image? We could easily have BOTH growth (which is going to be done to us regardless of what we want) AND scenically spectacular viewsheds around our communities. We do not have to foul the nest we live in. (If y bus ticket to St. George for our illustrious County any of you would like to contribute a wish to Moab in the image of St. George, there is an election who Commissioners, this fall.) coming up one-wa- re-crea-te Visual Impact vs Aesthetics and Beauty I So far, no mention has been made to beautiful, nice, pleasing, ugly, or unattractive houses. Visual impact is substantially different from the other aesthetic judgment labels. A house that was considered beautiful in SLC might have an extreme visual impact when situated along our red rock rims. Similarly, low visual impact does not imply a beautiful house. A small, ugly house that cannot be seen by the community has no visual impact (except to its occupants). And it is irrelevant to define what is or is not a beautiful house (we'd all disagree with the definition anyway). But it is easy to get a lot of agreement about which houses have a large visual impact on our scenery. (It was amusing at one of last year's Grand County Nuisance Ordinance hearings, to have Jane Jones ask our County Commissioners to define beauty, and to hear the silence that followed.) It is easier, however, to find a large degree of consensus when attributing beauty to the spectacular land and scenery around us in Grand County. I know this was not always perceived as a beautiful area. Pioneers who fought their way through what they saw as a barren and inhospitable and even outright hostile country rarely, noticed the natural beauty around them. It is partly a result of the relative comfort of our own lives that we can afford to notice the beauty about us. It is this natural beauty that is so easily compromised and destroyed when we litter our landscapes with obtrusive and ostentatious structures. Whether for filming companies, tourists, Jeep Safari, mountain bikers, hikers, retirees, etc this scenery is much of the magic and attraction of Moab and Grand County. FLAGRANT HOUSE TRAILER SYNDROME And at the opposite end of the economic spectrum we have the problem of the FLAGRANT HOUSE TRAILER SYNDROME Poor people, feeling powerless and harassed in their lives, barely able to make their monthly payments, seem to enjoy provoking the rich by sticking their house trailers and junk cars in the rich folks' eyes. YOUDONTHAVETOGO UNDERGROUND TO ENJOY THE SUBWAY IN MOAB 74 South Main o Moab, Utah 259-SUB- S |