Why are property owners who invested here during the dire strait

Wildwood - Why are property owners who invested here during the dire straits of the 80's and 90's being penalized? Those days, we had disparity on every block. Officials were happy you had painted and paid your taxes. We hung in there, trying to improve our properties when rents were almost nonexistent. We didn't cash out in the boom. Now, we have renters license in limbo, steep fines, high licensing fees and are subject to officials' wrongful opinions about our businesses that we operated with no problem for 30 years. When did this become a socialistic society where government controls our livelihood?