Farm bureau files land-use initiative
Property owners would be paid for restrictionsBy JENNIFER LANGSTON
P-I REPORTERThe Washington Farm Bureau filed an initiative Wednesday that would require governments to compensate landowners who've suffered financially or lost use of their land because of regulations passed in the past 10 years.
"Our ... Initiative would require government to understand the impact that its laws and regulations have on landowners, both financial and personal," said Steve Appel, a Whitman County wheat grower and state Farm Bureau president. "Who can argue with that?" ...(more)
"Who can argue with that?" Well... for starters:
Our fake property rights advocates, the Washington Farm Bureau and the Building Industry Association of Washington, have filed their loophole initiative to develop farmland into tract housing and big-box retail stripmalls. ...Jon DeVore at VanBlog has a thing or two to say about it.
Carl at Washington State Political Report wrote the Farm Bureau a sarcastic letter about the initiative and received a thoroughly clueless reply.
From my vantage point way up here in rural Whatcom County, this sure does look like a Land Developers (aka Carpet Baggers) Initiative. If voters get sucked in and pass this and it stands up to court challenges, then Washington State will become a Carpet Baggers paradise. Zoning laws will be out the window and Farmers certainly will be able to sell their land to Developers; 'course once they do that, they won't be Farmers anymore... will they. Any Farmer who wants to continue farming will need to lawyer up, 'cause I'm sure one of the first laws to be rescinded will be The Washington Right to Farm Act. Once those McMansions got sprinkled in amongst working farms it'd be just too expensive for the government to defend farmers and pay (with OUR tax dollars!!!) for all that lost property value. I mean after all, the dust, machinery noise and farm smells would be property devaluing nuisances in exurban McParadise.
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