Liberty
Matters News Service
October 15, 2003
"Green Fields" Considered "Infrastructure"
Democrats
and Republicans have joined forces in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania to drum
up support for the "Green Fields and Green Towns Initiative." The measure would
require 150 million "greenbacks" to buy open space, preserve farmland through
purchasing development rights (PDR's) from landowners, and link trail ways and
parks to older townships and boroughs. If county voters approve the measure,
each municipality would get between $590,000 and $3 million for short-term
projects and a whopping $83 million to spend over the next ten years. The
Nature Conservancy's Randy Gray says the measure would be Pennsylvania's
biggest open space endeavor ever and Republican Party Chairman Frank Bartle
said "We're hopeful we can convince all of Montgomery County that this is a
priority." If approved, the scheme would cost each homeowner an additional tax
of $23 a year on average. "Green Futures" political action committee chairman,
Jim Self says green space is as important as bricks and mortar and "Space we
don't do things with is also regarded as infrastructure."
Politics are Taking Backseat to "Green"
Plan
California Housing Gestapo
Under California's regional
planning and zoning system, each county must have a certified housing plan that
includes affordable housing for low-income families. Counties are then assigned
housing quotas and their plans must be approved by the state. Napa County,
which has not certified a housing plan, was sued by lawyers threatening to stop
development in unincorporated areas unless the county provided more affordable
housing for workers. The county made a deal with Napa City and tentatively,
with builder American Canyon to build the housing in exchange for millions of
dollars (to come from higher taxes) for parks and roads and for protection of
agricultural areas. "Under the agreement, Napa would take 664 housing units -
80 percent of them low and moderate income - now assigned by regional planners
to the county (for approval). American Canyon is being asked to take 394
homes." The county also agreed to pay Napa an annual (extortion) payment for
each housing unit built inside the city for which the county got state credit.
The Napa County Grape Growers and Farm Bureau asked that the plan honor
existing agricultural policies, but County Supervisor Bill Dodd said he didn't
want to add anything that would raise red flags with state officials.
City, County Reach Accord on Battling Urban
Sprawl
Property Rights Conference Features Key Cases
Next Friday, October 24th,
Stewards of the Range is holding its annual property rights conference in Reno,
Nevada, featuring several key property rights cases now pending in the courts.
The two attorneys litigating Hage v. United States, the landmark takings case
which recently won the important precedent that ranchers own the water rights
on their grazing allotments, will be there discussing the major precedents set
by the case, and the lead attorney in GDF Realty will also be there explaining
their aggressive constitutional challenge to the Endangered Species Act now
pending in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. For more
information call 1-800-700-5922 or go to www.stewards.us
In Harm's Way
The U.S Navy has been forced
to agree to limit its use of a new sonar system to detect enemy submarines, an
agreement that could very well place the United States in harm's way. The
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and several other environmental groups
sued the Navy to restrict its use of the new system, which they believe may
cause harm to marine animals, especially whales. The judge, U.S. Magistrate
Elizabeth LaPorte, subsequently issued a preliminary injunction restricting use
of the system and ordered the Navy to come to terms with the environmentalists.
The "new deal" essentially follows Judge LaPorte's original injunction that
dictates where the Navy can use the sonar system. Under the terms of the "new
deal" the system can only be deployed along the eastern seaboard of Asia, only
during certain seasons, never near the coast, and, apparently, only in times of
war. Joel Reynolds (NRDFC) seems to think the "deal" is brilliant. "This
agreement safeguards both marine life and national security. It will prevent
needless injury, harassment death of [marine animals] and yet allow the Navy to
do what is necessary to defend our country." The agreement could very well
expose the United States to attacks from enemy submarines, attacks that could
be prevented if the Navy were allowed to do its job free from interference by
environmentalists and activist judges.
Environmentalists, Navy Strike Deal on
Controversial Sonar System
In Harm's
Way
The New York Department of
Environmental Control (DEC) has filed suit against homeowner, Nancy Cady for
crimes against nature, defiling a wetland area. DEC officials say that in
January, 2002, Cady asked for and was granted permission to construct a
six-foot path through the wetland conservation easement on her lot, leading to
Lake Ontario. When the DEC conducted an inspection of her property in July,
they discovered a twenty-five-foot swath of cleared ground behind her house.
Ms. Cady was advised of the terms of the permit limitations and told to mend
her ways. However, a subsequent inspection in October revealed the area had
shrunk to only twelve feet, still a grave violation of the permit. Cady's
fiancé, Ken Campagna, argued that DEC officials exaggerated the size of
the area and that construction crews were responsible for the damage, anyway.
However, Campagna did admit to chopping weeds around the patio as protection
against his asthma. Cady and Campagna have hired a lawyer to fight the
government's suit, saying they have pictures and documents to prove their case.
Judith Enck, spokeswoman for the state Attorney General's office said they
usually don't handle cases of this nature, "[b]ut we took this (to uphold) the
integrity of the state wetlands law." If found guilty, Cady could be fined
$3,000, $1,000 for each day of the violation, and be forced to restore the
wetland.
Parma Homeowner Sued Over Wetland