Hot off the presses folks:
“Property Wrongs,” a new report from Sightline, documents a growing backlash against Measure 37. It chronicles six Oregon communities deeply affected by Measure 37—ranging from a suburban community in Marion County outside Salem to owners of a small resort at Newberry Crater National Volcanic Monument.
The report also examines the implications for other states considering similar initiatives this fall. Washington’s I-933, Idaho’s Proposition 2, Montana’s I-154, Arizona’s Proposition 207, and California’s Proposition 90 are all modeled after Measure 37’s “pay-or-waive” scheme. Like Measure 37, the 2006 initiatives require taxpayers to pay landowners when a community decides to restrict a certain type of land use, such as a mine or a subdivision on land zoned for farms. If taxpayers can’t afford to pay, the project is allowed to proceed, regardless of the wishes of neighbors or community members.
“Property Wrongs” tells the stories of Oregon residents who are finding that Measure 37 is undermining the very rights that it claimed to protect. The neighbors are paying the price.
“Property Wrongs” also includes a state-by-state comparison of the 2006 ballot measures; and a discussion of the coordinated national “Trojan Horse” strategy that initiative backers are using to confuse voters.
David Sucher
Yup. If I-933 is passed in Washington, the first thing we will do is to start to modify it.So while it may be poorly-drafted legislation and may deserve defeat on that basis, even if it passes, once its implications are clear, the people of Washington will demand that it be amended.