Property measure likely on ballot
Proponents deliver tractor load of voter signatures
Property rights advocates turned in what appear to be more than enough signatures to place an initiative on November's ballot that opponents contend would gut the state's environmental protections and lead to chaos.
Initiative 933 would compel governments to either pay people who have been financially hamstrung by land use or environmental regulations -- which is unlikely to happen -- or allow them to use or build on the property as they wish.
"It's about restoring balance between the need of government to regulate land use and the right of citizens to own and use their property," said Dean Boyer, spokesman for the Washington Farm Bureau, which is spearheading the Property Fairness Initiative. "For many people, it's about protecting the American Dream."
If the government believes it's in the public interest to protect certain areas or prohibit some uses of land, the public should pay for it, Boyer said.
But opponents argue there's little precedent for compensating people simply to follow rules that benefit society. The initiative could cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and create a free-for-all in which landowners could build virtually whatever they want next to powerless neighbors, they argue.
"I think it's hard for the average person to comprehend how big a deal it could be," said Barbara Seitle, president of the League of Women Voters, which opposes I-933. "It could have a tremendous impact."
In Oregon, a similar measure passed in 2004 has spawned a state Supreme Court case, individual lawsuits and nearly 2,700 claims against the government, which some estimate will cost $350 million a year simply to process.
More than one-third of the waivers, which cover 150,000 acres, are to build subdivisions on farmland, pear orchards, vineyards and forested timberlands, according to an analysis by Portland State University.
Washington's initiative is likely to become one of the most contentious ballot fights this fall, with environmental groups, labor unions, tribes, urban planners and even some farmers squaring off against the Washington Farm Bureau.
Continue reading this article from the Seattle P-I:
Property measure likely on ballot
