Earth Share of Washington - News

Heads Up - The Proposed "Takings" Initiative

This state's environmental train is in danger of being derailed. We in this state are seeing some long overdue environmental bills moving through the legislature since we were smart enough to go all blue last fall. However, there is a proposed initiative, 906, that has been submitted to the Office of the Secretary of State that will take all our thinking and effort to fight off. It is what is known as a "takings" initiative.

Oregon passed such a measure by means of the initiative process last November and it is already wrecking havoc with their leading-edge land use laws. The Oregon Law, passed as Measure 37, had a Ballot Title that said, "Governments much pay owners, or forgo enforcement, when certain land use restrictions reduce property value." The title portrays the bill as just and fair, a way of compensating put-upon landowners for losses of economically viable usage of their land.

Here's the way that three leading environmentalists in Oregon describe what it actually means:

Governments must pay the difference in value between what a property is worth with land use restrictions and what it is worth without them - or waive the rules. The measure provided no source for compensation, and there is no conceivable way for the state or local governments to pay the billions of dollars worth of claims they expect. If they cannot pay the difference, communities must waive the rules.

They put the initiative in context:

The environmental impacts of takings policies are far-reaching. Because land use is a leverage issue that drives so many of our biggest environmental and social problems, takings policies imperil the entire environmental movement. They are giant steps backwards for efforts to reduce air and water pollution, protect biodiversity, defend farm and forestlands, reduce auto-dependency, reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and improve public health.

The "takings" initiatives have the additional effect of scaring lawmakers, local zoning commissioners and government officials into inaction. Why pass an ordinance establishing parklands or developing health codes that prevent landfills in certain areas if doing so will entail paying out compensation to landowners or fighting lawsuits?

Like many other ring-wing efforts, the "takings" initiatives only look like they are meant to primarily compensate the unjustly targeted small landowner. Andrew Savagian, writing in the January issue of Conscious Choice, clarifies:

These landowners not only get backing from groups like the PLF (Pacific Legal Foundation, a California-based organization that is a major opponent of environmental and civil rights legislation), they serve as fronts for several big money interests. The American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative think tank with funding from Phillip Morris, Coors, Texaco, and other corporations, is a major backer of many property rights and takings organizations. Under the guise of takings, corporations and businesses are using victimized landowners to get all they can out of local communities and their tax coffers.

This is a huge issue, pitting the ideas of common good and a right to a clean environment and a healthy place to live against the right to pollute and develop without regulations. Stay tuned as we focus on the progress of this proposed initiative and think together about how to defeat it in Washington State.

This article courtesy Lynn Allen from Evergreen Politics:
Heads Up - The Proposed 'Takings' Initiative

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