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Why Californians Who Know About Prop 90 are United in Opposing It
By Vivian Kahn
Proposition 90 on the November California ballot is one of the most harmful measures I've seen affecting public administration and, in particular, planning practice in California. It cynically uses people's concerns about eminent domain to trap them into supporting a stealth agenda that would do serious damage to our cities, our environment, agricultural resources, and the fiscal solvency of state and local agencies.
The proponents say that the measure would prevent government from taking your house or small business and turning the property over to a private developer to build a WalMart. That may be true but what they don't mention is that this initiative would also make it nearly impossible for a California community to stop a developer from building a WalMart next door to your house on land he already owns!
This measure, which is financed by out-of-state interests set on undermining California's traditional approach to state and local land use planning, is opposed by groups as diverse as the California Farm Bureau, the California League of Conservation Voters, and the California Chamber of Commerce. See what they have to say.
I can't recall another instance where the State's environmental, business, and agricultural interests were in such close agreement, yet the last Field Poll shows Proposition 90 leading strongly in public opinion. The problem is the wording of the measure, whose objectives sound sincere, but buried at the very end are astounding limits on the ability of state and local government to plan for our communities and protect consumers and the environment. The wording of the measure itself is so ambiguous that it will lead to countless lawsuits that will drain local resources.
The San Diego Union Tribune, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Napa Valley Register, and Sacramento Bee are among the newspapers around the state that have already come out against this insidious measure joining a host of business, civic, environmental, labor, education, and community organizations. Click here to to see what these newspapers have to say about why this measure should be defeated and visit the No on 90 website to learn more.
Vote No on Prop 90 and educate your family, friends, neighbors, and others about why this measure will be very bad for California
Vivian Kahn is an Oakland planning consultant who has written land use regulations and general plans for communities in California and other states. She teaches courses on land use planning, design review, and environmental review for UC extension programs at Berkeley, Davis and UCLA and co-authored two chapters on zoning for California Continuing Education of Bar’s new publication California Land Use Practice.
Comments
You go, Vivian! Glad to see you're still fighting the good fights.
Posted by: lynn at September 22, 2006 08:51 PM
When I first read a blurb on this proposition I knew it was bad. I will vote no and encourage all I know to do the same.
Posted by: Josephine Barberini at September 25, 2006 09:40 AM
"To take from one because it is thought that his own industry and that of his father's has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association--'the guarantee to every one of a free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it.'" --Thomas Jefferson: Note in Destutt de Tracy's "Political Economy," 1816.
Property does not exist because there are laws, but laws exist because there is property.
Your socialist attack on property rights will not succeed
Posted by: Cato at September 25, 2006 05:40 PM
The suggestion that Thomas Jefferson would approve of proposition 90 is totally ridiculous. It is not even remotely socialist to attack the measure because it is clearly nothing more than a 21st century version of a pirate attack on the economy of California. Just read what it proposes in detail and find out for yourself what the truth is.
Posted by: Mike Harmon at October 4, 2006 02:41 PM
The author does not link what she does not like to the text of Prop 90. Therefore, I think the critique is bunk.
Current CA law provides little protection for property owners/small businesses versus Redevelopment Agencies/City Councils. Some 30 state legislatures have enacted laws to increase protection for the "little guy" and counter the Jun 05 Supreme Court ruling which was fundamentally wrong. There is hope that the Supreme Court, more centered, will revisit that ruling and take us back closer to "public use" versus "public benefit". While probably not perfect, Prop 90 will do far more good for rights than it will harm. Yes, costs may go up. That will be the price for doing honest business. Remember, "fair market value" is only acceptable for someone who wants to move or sell, not someone who is forced to do such.
Posted by: mark bower at October 6, 2006 07:18 PM
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