Search Results

[Note: This post is part of a series.] In Washington, proponents of Initiative 933 often claim that the measure is a sort of righteous response to certain land protections—protections that they see as burdensome regulations. They allege that such protections reduce the value of land. But do they? This summer, an extension student at the University of Washington, John Abbotts, conducted a study of changes to land values in rural...

The world’s oceans have taken a beating in the past couple of weeks. Off the coast of Lebanon, an estimated 15,000 tons of oil spilled from an Israeli-struck storage facility is being described as “the biggest environmental catastrophe in Lebanon’s history” and a “threat to biodiversity” in the Mediterranean Sea. Clean-up was impossible until Tuesday, for obvious security reasons. In the Indian Ocean, a Japanese tanker collided with another vessel...

[Note: This is part of a series on property fairness and a rash of ballot initiatives in the Northwest.] Last week, we pointed out some maps of residential development claims under Oregon’s Measure 37. And we noted that the rural land surrounding greater Portland, OR was bracing for new crop of houses. Now, Portland State University has some even better maps with much more detail on how Measure 37 is...

(Part of a series.) A while back we made some maps of development patterns in greater Portland, Oregon between 1990 and 2000. And we found—perhaps not too surprisingly—that Oregon’s growth management laws really were effective at protecting farmland from scattered residential development. Here’s a snapshot view, comparing the Oregon counties in the metro area with Clark County, Washington, north of the Columbia: Each purple dot represents 10 new rural residents...

[Note: This is a part of a series.] If you’re following the Northwest’s gaggle of anti-planning ballot measures, you have some new required reading today… In the Oregonian, first rate reporting from Laura Oppenheimer on Washington’s Initiative 933, the progeny of Oregon’s Measure 37. She takes a look at I-933’s supporters and opponents and their competing beliefs. Also, in the Oregonian, an excellent article by Allan Brettman on what would...

Guest contributor Arie van der Hoeven is a land owner near Ames Lake in rural King County, Washington. He is concerned about the implications of Initiative 933. [Note: This is part of a series.] Initiative I-933 is bad property rights policy, full of unintended consequences that will hurt rural property owners most of all. Those of us in rural King County have learned that the one thing worse than dealing...

Note: This is part of a series. Nice column today by the Seattle P-I‘s Joel Connelly on the astroturfing of the Washington state initiative process—with a special look at I-933, a stealth attack designed to undermine, oh, pretty much any action taken by state or local government: The Washington State Farm Bureau is the official sponsor of I-933. But money to pay signature gatherers, $200,000 at last count, has come...

Note: This is part of a series. When lawyers read Initiative 933’s definition of “property,” they tend to fall out of their chairs in astonishment. That’s because, according to its own definition, I-933 will apply to “all real and personal property protected by the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution or Article I, Section 16 of the Washington Constitution owned by a non-governmental entity…” The lay person may read:...

Note: This is part of a series. Oddly parallel news articles this week: one from Oregon, where Measure 37 land-use is currently the law; and one from Washington, where Initiative 933 would do even more to reduce community input into land-use decisions. On Maury Island, Washington a group of residents is trying to stop a gravel and sand mine from starting operations, which will include barge traffic near homes. The community...

Note: This is part of a series. Last week, I wrote about the torrent of look-alike initiatives in the Northwest—933 in Washington; 154 in Montana; and “This House is My Home” in Idaho—and I pointed out their eerie similarity to one another. All three Northwest property initiatives lead off with booming rhetoric about abuses of eminent domain. In reality, however, the initiatives are about an entirely different issue (one that...