Ordinances are law, however, and apply to officials, their friends, and families. Site plan standards must be documented clearly, and applied uniformly. Rezoning should occur only when consistent with the plan and other standards. Breaking these rules leads to greater abuse, further eroding self discipline. A loud reading of local ordinance or state law may snap an official out of this condition, if only temporarily.
Irresponsibility is a tragic symptom.
An official, accountable for community welfare, may abandon the public trust and ignore the ordinance. If the abuse is severe, you may even see ordinances rewritten to eliminate the violation on paper, rather than address underlying problems. This very dangerous condition requires professional intervention. In deep dependence, we see elevated levels of irresponsibility. Blame for all past problems also goes elsewhere.