I’m sorry, but in my mind, why would a local government not want to take advantage of data/imagery that is being made available to the public via Google Earth? In my mind this is classic GovFail!
This from the AP…
Big Brother’s not watching anymore. At least not the pool.
Newsday reports that council members in the town of Riverhead have voted to stop using Google Earth to check whether all pools are properly permitted.
The town had used the satellite image service to find pools for which owners never filled out the required paperwork. Officials said the unpermitted pools were a safety concern because there was no way to know whether the pools’ plumbing, electrical work and fencing met state and local regulations without the required inspections.
The council voted Wednesday that overhead satellite images couldn’t be used as the basis for prosecutions of violations that couldn’t easily be seen from public areas.
So, it seems this local government is content on turning their backs on people who have blatantly broken the law and not gone through the proper channels. What excuse could they possibly have to not want to use the imagery?