Ave Maria, Florida -- anyone else heard about this?

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

I read this article in today's newspaper.

Thomas Monaghan, founder of Domino's Pizza (who sold the company years ago), is bankrolling a Ave Maria University in southern Florida and a town being built around it that "will be governed according to strict Roman Catholic principles."

On one hand, I have to ask myself, "self, is there anything really that wrong with this? Doesn't Monaghan have the right to do this as long as he's on the up and up?"

Then think about it and I answer myself.

To begin with, it appears you have one person making the decision for the entire town (at least initially). Forget about court challenges -- what's going to happen after people move there and start pushing for changes from the initial plan.

Second, the article states that Homebuyers in Ave Maria will own their property outright. But Monaghan and the Barron Collier Co. will control all commercial real estate in the town, meaning they could insert provisions in leases to restrict the sale of certain items.

Okay, the part about commercial real estate first. If I owned a major chain business and wanted to open shop in the town, I could understand certain provisions in leases. Being told what I could or could not sell, however, would be a huge issue for me. Will "strict Roman Catholic principles" equate to being closed on Sundays? It's one thing for a business like Chik-Fil-A deciding for themselves to be closed on Sunday, but it's another for the local government to mandate it.

As for homeowners ... well, let's say I would love to see what would happen if someone moved there and set up a home-based birth control distribution business.

It just strikes me as wrong. The USA has always been established from the bottom up, where the government serves at the will of the people, not where the government dictates its will onto the people. Besides, they won't be able to keep people from getting pornography, birth control, and other items banned from the town. People will make the 25 mile drive to Naples, order from the internet, or subscribe to satellite TV instead of cable to get those things.

 

[buddy&wooz]

It's one thing for a business like Chik-Fil-A deciding for themselves to be closed on Sunday, but it's another for the local government to mandate it.

In Paramus NJ the stores aren't open on Sunday (some are, like supermarkets, but the malls are closed- and they have LOTS of malls...) It's a law dating back forever and I think the people that live there keep it because it's a break from the traffic.

But the difference is- they vote to keep it, not one guy saying that's the way it is. This really sounds like he wants a little monarchy. I don't think it will fly- I can't imagine he'd even find enough like-minded people who would want to live or work there. Even if they agree- would people up and move just to be in that community?

 

[Crankyshank]

Actually businesses in RI and MA have only been able to be opened on Sundays within the past decade or two because of blue laws. Liquor stores have just recently been able to be open on Sundays.

I have a bigger issue with the banning of birth control in the town. It is not surprising to me that if it weren't for the town being Catholic, my in-laws would move there in a heart beat

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

I know there are communities around that still have blue laws on the books, although I have to admit I wouldn't have picked Paramus to be one of them. That doesn't necessarily mean I agree with those restrictions on businesses, though. I grew up in a small southern town where the liquor laws were nothing short of weird -- county was dry but not the city; liquor-by-the-drink allowed only in the last decade, and even now can only be a certain percentage of sales; convenience stores can sell beer but has to be in a storefront separate from everything else; liquor and wine sales have to be separate from beer sales in separate sections of the same store. (maybe the writers of that ordnance took the term "mixed drinks" in an odd sense?)

 

[momof2inPA]

It's like a Catholic Homeowner's Association. I'm not sure if I have a problem with it or not, but wouldn't it be sad if we divided ourselves up into different towns based on religion. Then again, my kids attend Catholic school.

 

[MommyPoppins]

This "town" is going to be near where I live. I was under the impression that it wasn't so much a town, but just a housing community, providing affordable housing for young people who cannot afford housing overwise. I didn't know it was going to be more than the college and a neighborhood.

 

[becker1123]

I guess this doesn't bother me because I would never consider moving there. I would think it is more of a planned community and the people who do move there would know what they were getting themselves into. I do agree that it sounds like a recipe for disaster in future years when people start to disagree with the rules. It's just inevitable, I think. After all, is it really much different than a place like Celebration, FL? The main difference is that the guy running it is Catholic. Some might say Disney is like a religion to some fans.

 

[SamIAm21]

Well, I guess I'd be okay with it because this situation doesn't seem too dramatically differ from cities like Provo, American Fork, and Brigham City, UT where for the most part, the LDS Church dicates more of the rules and regulations than the State government. I'm sure there, what the Church says goes.

 

[goofygirl]

I don't like Dominos pizza, and the fact that he supports anti-choice groups makes it even more repulsive to me.
This town sounds like a big ego trip for him, and if he thinks he's going to keep porn, booze, condoms, etc out of there he is dreaming. What will happen is that stores that carry porn, beer and condoms will crop up on the peripheral areas so that any Ave Maria student can have them for their frat parties and so forth. In NJ, there's some "dry" beach towns where they don't sell booze, and this is what everyone does- they go to outside of town to get it.





Just a funny thought that came to my mind- if a hurricane came and wiped the town out, what would Pat Robertson say? lol

 

[diznygirl]

I guess this doesn't bother me because I would never consider moving there. I would think it is more of a planned community and the people who do move there would know what they were getting themselves into. I do agree that it sounds like a recipe for disaster in future years when people start to disagree with the rules. It's just inevitable, I think. After all, is it really much different than a place like Celebration, FL? The main difference is that the guy running it is Catholic. Some might say Disney is like a religion to some fans.

The difference is that there are no provisions in the leases of Celebration businesses that require them to display Mickey Mouse, or not sell Universal or Sea World merchandise. This guy wants to control many aspects of life in Ave Maria. I don't think anything compares, expcept maybe a commune.

 

[goofygirl]

I agree, it differs from Celebration. Celebration does have rules, but it does not dictate a moral code.

Besides, the world already has a "Catholic town", its called Vatican City.

 

[salmoneous]

Just want to point out that Monaghan sold off his interest in Domino's back in 1998. If anyone want to support (or not support) his causes, be aware that no money from the pizza you buy (or boycot) goes to him.

 

[Kimberly815]

I heard about this yesterday, and was talking to my fiance about it.

I am not sure how I feel about it yet. On the one hand, people would be choosing to live there understanding the rules. . . on the other, something feels a bit off about it.

 

[maleficent1959]

Just want to point out that Monaghan sold off his interest in Domino's back in 1998. If anyone want to support (or not support) his causes, be aware that no money from the pizza you buy (or boycot) goes to him.

I boycotted Domino's for many years because of Tom Monaghan. When he sold I still didn't buy it because it wasn't very good. Now DS is in kindergarten and the school has Domino's Pizza nights once a month where the school gets 20% of what their families order. So now we buy the pizza to support the PTA.

 

[momof2inPA]

Monaghan was on several talk shows this morning. He and his developer have aparently backed off many issues that they found were un-constitutional. Interesting.

 

[zippeedee]

Monaghan was on several talk shows this morning. He and his developer have aparently backed off many issues that they found were un-constitutional. Interesting.

It sounded more like they were just saying what that had to say to avoid sounding like the huge bigots they are. I'd pity any child forced to grow up in a town like that.

 

[CherCrazy]

Katie Couric interviewed them this morning....or was it yesterday???

Anyway, yes they seem to be backing off a lot of the original plans. They said the community is open to all religions, and they hope to see other churches/synangogues built. Katie also asked them about selling birth control at the drug stores and they said they would. I think that it is a federal law that drug stores must fill prescriptions regardless of the religious beliefs of the pharmacy/pharmacists. Didn't this just make the news in Massachusetts or somewhere? I think they researched things a little farther and found that many things that they wanted to ban are protected by the constitution.

So anyway, if now they are backing off their utopian dreams, why bother building the community. From what they were saying, their investment is BILLIONS of $$$. How do they get that back? And if you had BILLIONS of $$$ to do something good with, wouldn't you rather it feed the hungry, or cure a disease, or build schools, etc??

You know what the one guy told Katie??? She asked him why he was doing this. His reason was that he thought doing this would get him into Heaven. I dunno, isn't that selfish?? You do something so that you are rewarded? Aren't we supposed to do good just for the sake of doing good, helping one another. Oh well...sorry I am going on too much about this...
The whole story was just a little puzzling to me.

 

[Shutterbug]

I dont understand
If you know the rules and dont like the rules then why would you move there?

 

[Beth76]

You know what the one guy told Katie??? She asked him why he was doing this. His reason was that he thought doing this would get him into Heaven.

So this guy's done nothing else to get himself into heaven?

I'd pity any child forced to grow up in a town like that.

Probably not much different from growing up in a house like that. If parents want to shelter their kids, they will. They don't need a special town to do it.

Really I don't have a problem with this, as long as things don't go against the constitution. People will obviously know the "rules" when the buy into it. I think it's great actually to get all the religious zealots and seal them off in their own little town.

 

[CherCrazy]

Really I don't have a problem with this, as long as things don't go against the constitution. People will obviously know the "rules" when the buy into it. I think it's great actually to get all the religious zealots and seal them off in their own little town.

But really, the whole concept is against our basic right to privacy. They want to know what is going on in your home.