Don’t Sweat Details, Lawmakers

Every so often a story pops up reporting on how city lawmakers intent on clearing up the clutter in their local ordinances vote to repeal a silly law passed long ago. Everyone usually laughs and wonders how that law ever got passed in the first place.

Well, looking at some of the laws passed around Orange County in 2000 it’s hard not to wonder whether years from now some future generation will be wondering why we were so exercised about some seemingly minor things. They then could excise whatever restrictions were imposed.

That could include one or two of the latest no-nos put into law last year.

For instance, it made perfect sense for the Santa Ana City Council to enact a compromise measure to resolve the dispute between the city, street vendors and downtown merchants to end the complaints and legal wrangling that had dragged on for years.

Vendors welcomed the compromise and gladly accepted the restrictions on the size of the carts, the coolers or refrigeration required to meet health standards and even the uniforms they must wear. But the law also requires multiple umbrellas on any cart to be color-coordinated.

Laguna Beach now limits the depth of holes kids may dig in the sand on city beaches.

Fullerton made it illegal to put your trash out earlier than 1 a.m. on the day before pickup.

Santa Ana will no longer allow merchants to attract buyers by putting displays outside their doors.

Merchants haven’t reacted to the inside-outside ordinance the way many in the community of Athens, Ohio, did when their City Council outlawed keeping indoor furniture outdoors. That provoked residents and students at Ohio University to rebel.

They passed a referendum to repeal the restriction that would have prevented them from putting upholstered couches and armchairs on their front porches.

Local lawmakers understandably want to preserve the quality of life and keep some control on community aesthetics.

They also must remember to resist well-intentioned temptations to manage and regulate in minute detail the everyday routines of local living.