Thanks for the thoughtful response, Sam.
My perspectives on European HOA-like structures come only with my internet discussions. It seems they are more intrusive than American HOAs, but the decisions are better accepted.
In my town, homeowners can make changes to the house exterior. But additional structures or changes to the yard layout require a permit. My father had to go through this process several times. His permits were always approved in a month's time. Had they not been approved, he would have grumbled. But the grumbling would have been a lot less if a town clerk gave him the bad news than a neighbor four houses down. There is an advantage to having the local government being farther away.
I like your "stop sign at 16th and Teller" analogy. I am working on an article, and it has a similar mundane story to it. However, I think such decisions help prepare people for more complex decisions later.
In my younger days, I would have loved to have been part of "stop signs at 16th and Teller" decisions. But I'm not all that electable. These days, I'm quite happy someone else is doing this work.
The TDG will put more elected people into these kinds of decisions. In nothing else, many citizens will understand that governance is not about waving a magic wand after winning an election. The more people who get this experience, the better.
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Your article also leads to finding the right balance in our bureaucracy. If we have too many laws for bureaucrats to follow, they often can't find the better solution for a particular problem. If we give the bureaucrats too much discretion, some will abuse this responsibility. And sometimes the bureaucracy can become more powerful than the elected politicians.
In my father's hunt for permits, the town bureaucrats made sure my father filled out the application to certain specs. Later the bureaucrat would check if the development was within current bylaws. If so, then it would be part of an "omnibus bill" where the town councillors had the opportunity to inspect--and later approved, probably a rubber stamp. For developments outside the bylaws, there would likely be some further discussion. I think that is a good balance.
