The debate on Raleigh’s City Council’s to stop people inside the beltline from tearing down older homes and building new ones has turned a bit goofy.

For instance, consider the latest broadside from Mayor Meeker’s close ally and amigo Roger Koopman. Councilman Koopman says that building newer homes – he calls them ‘monstrous McMansions’ – denies the neighbors equal rights to sunlight and wind. I’m not making this up. Literally, he said it on his blog. He also says people have told him they’ve had to move their “gardens because these giant homes block areas that used to get sunshine, but now are permanently enveloped in shade.”

Now, think about that a moment. The sun’s not stationary. It moves. For instance, how, when the sun is at high noon, can a McMansion leave the neighbor’s garden in the shade – unless the garden is directly underneath the McMansion. I was never – remotely – a physics major in college but Mr. Koopman’s bleating sounds a bit like political gibberish.

In fact, it sounds like Councilman Koopman (who says, “Blocking your neighbors’ sunlight is selfish and unacceptable”) may be infected by a malaise more psychological than physical – a phobia of “giant homes” and “monstrous McMansions.”

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