The Rights to a View

Who owns the rights to an air space and to a view? What are property rights in such cases? An article in our local paper discusses complaints of residents in a luxury condo complex who are insisting that the City Council help pay the $75,000 it would cost an outdoor advertiser to move a billboard that blocks their view and lowers their property values.
The location is legal for billboards, so why should City Council (and I as an Austin taxpayer) have to pay?
No reason at all. We’re being asked to compensate the owners for their failure to read the rules governing land use. This is a classic case of a few people benefiting greatly from government action — whose costs would be dispersed over a large number of taxpayers — and there is no justification other than political pressure.