Should neighbors be informed before permits are approved?

If Montgomery County (Maryland) Councilman Roger Berliner has his way, contractors would be required to inform neighbors about building construction or teardowns, prior to getting permits approved. Berliner says his proposed bill wouldn’t have any legal rights attached to it but serve only to “encourage early conversation with your neighbors.”

One the one hand, this sort of thing would help improve the image some people hold of contractors being rapacious spoilers of neighborhoods. On the other hand it could also open up a can of NIMBY (not in my backyard) worms.