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Defenders Magazine
Defenders in Action: 'Taking' Away Environmental Safeguards State by State
Sick of the family farm? How about selling it to a developer to build a housing subdivision--even though the land is zoned for open space? Or maybe your neighbor is planning to release pollutants into a stream on his property--even though the state says it would harm the drinking water used by your community. Such environmentally detrimental projects might soon be possible in dozens of states. This fall, voters in Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana and Washington may be asked to decide whether such sweeping rights should be given to property owners.
So-called "takings" initiatives on the ballots in these states would require local or state governments to pay property owners who are proposing projects harmful to the environment or public health to comply with applicable zoning and environmental laws. "The takings agenda, disguised as a property rights issue, seriously threatens decades of advances in land use and environmental and public health protections," says Defenders' President Rodger Schlickeisen.
Momentum for this type of legislation picked up in February when the Oregon Supreme Court upheld the state's Measure 37, a ballot initiative approved by voters in 2004. This law requires the state or local government to pay a property owner for lost value if an environmental regulation restricts use of their land. If the state doesn't pay, it must waive its right to protect the area. The first year after the measure's adoption, several thousand claims were filed and in each instance the government waived its rights to control development.
"It's American taxpayers, including millions of homeowners and property holders throughout the country, who are in danger of being taken if these disingenuous ballot initiatives are passed," says Schlickeisen. "The outcome could be either the bankrupting of governments or runaway sprawl with no environmental safeguards. It's important that voters understand that the ballot initiatives that could soon be before them will irrevocably harm wildlife, the environment and their own health by allowing unrestricted development." To read the report online, visit Mercury Tuna.
