THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume VII, Issue # 6, January 11, 2005
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
RADICAL ENVIRONMENTALISM & EXCESSIVE LAND USE RESTRICTIONS:
OREGON'S MEASURE 37 COMES TO THE RESCUE
By Peyton Knight
POLITICAL PRESSURE EXERTED BY RADICAL ENVIRONMENTALISTS, EXCESSIVE STATE & LOCAL GOVERNMENTAL RESTRICTIONS
IMPOSED ON THE USE OF PRIVATELY OWNED LAND, & THE INJUSTICE & HARM DONE TO THE VICTIMS OF PROPERTY RIGHTS
ABUSES & VIOLATIONS -- HOW OREGONIANS HAVE REBELLED AGAINST THIS TYRANNY & ARE NOW RESTORING & PROTECTING
THEIR PROPERTY RIGHTS WITH MEASURE 37, A MODEL LAW FOR EVERY STATE IN THE UNION
FULL STORY:
Victims of Oregon’s tyrannical web of land use restrictions, ordinances, and regulatory takings can finally seek justice.
Measure 37, an Oregon state law passed on November 2, 2004, allows Oregon property owners who have been wronged by any of
the myriad of radical environmental land use restrictions imposed by Oregon's state and local governments to seek just
compensation for their monetary losses.
And if the governmental body responsible for the offending regulation can’t pony up the dough, the Measure calls for the property
owner to be immune from the regulation. Measure 37 is right. It is fair. It is brilliant in its simplicity.
Measure 37 is the brainchild of Oregonians in Action, which describes itself as a “non-profit organization devoted solely to fighting
for property rights and against excessive land use regulations.” The radical environmentalists at the Sierra Club have gleefully
counted Oregon as second only to California, in terms of suffocating land use restrictions. They, along with many other
environmental extremists, including Defenders of Wildlife, the League of Conservation Voters, The Nature Conservancy and the
Audubon Society, vehemently opposed Measure 37.
According to Oregonians in Action Vice President for Government Affairs Bill Moshofsky, his group was outspent 3-1 by its Green
adversaries and nearly every newspaper editorialized against them. Mr. Moshofsky has worked as a full-time volunteer at the
organization since 1989. Yet, despite seemingly overwhelming odds, David beat Goliath. Measure 37 passed 61% to 39%. It
received more “yes” votes than any other initiative in Oregon’s history.
Make no mistake. This is a monumental victory, not only for victims of property rights abuses in Oregon, but also around the
country. Measure 37 is a model for every state. It is a long overdue justice whose time has come.
If the city-dwelling, environmental elitists weren’t so stunned, they’d be furious right now. But their fury will come later. Right now,
they’re just trying to fathom 37’s overwhelming popularity — especially in light of the massive scare campaign they waged against
it. Their death-grip on other people’s property is about to be loosened.
According to the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development, 57% of land in Oregon is federally owned. Three
percent is owned by state or local governments and 38% is locked up as “protected” farm and forest land. The remaining 2% is city
land. And you can bet that it’s the people occupying that paltry 2% of Oregon’s landmass that make life miserable for folks
dwelling in the other 98%.
“What’s going on across the nation is that representatives of urban citizens are telling ranchers and farmers that they can never
build anything on their land because people living in the city want to drive out to the country in their SUVs and see open space
and feel warm and fuzzy about it,” Pacific Legal Foundation attorney David Breemer told the Los Angeles Times.
Urbanites pay little mind to how Statist and Socialist planning schemes destroy the lives of others.
Dorothy English is a widow who has fought for decades to make productive use of her 40 hill-top acres just outside Portland.
“I’m 91 years old, my husband is dead, and I don’t know how much longer I can fight,” says English. She and her husband
purchased the land back in 1953, intending to divide a portion of the parcel for retirement income, and also to give some land to
her children. But in 1973, Oregon instituted a statewide planning law that put an abrupt end to Dorothy’s dreams. “It ruined our
lives,” English told the Times, “I worked until I was 80.”
Gene Prete and his wife live in Bend. The Prete’s have wanted to build a retirement home on their 20 acres of land — a plot where
they farm hay and own horses. Yet, Oregon’s statewide planning law quashed their dream as well. Now they and Mrs. English
may finally have their rights restored.
Of course, local authorities have already begun conspiring to crush the will of the Oregon people and the spirit of Measure 37.
Some counties are charging exorbitant “filing fees” that exceed thousands of dollars, all in an effort to dissuade regulatory
victims from coming forward. As a result, lawsuits and court battles are sure to follow.
Eco-extremists such as 1,000 Friends of Oregon, a group whose sole mission is to convince government to steal the rights of
others, are shaking in their Birkenstocks. According to the Associated Press, they’re concerned that “Measure 37 could
wreck the policies that have succeeded in preserving Oregon's rural charms.” Only a Green would consider stealing someone
else’s property “charming.”
With the passage of Measure 37, Oregonians in Action have shown Oregon and the nation that no odds are insurmountable
when you have common sense and morality on your side.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Policy Issues Relating to Energy, Environment,
& Natural Resources
Peyton Knight is Executive Director of the American Policy Center. The Center maintains an Internet site at
www.americanpolicy.org.
© American Policy Center 2005
Published with Permission of Alan Caruba,
Director of Communications,
American Policy Center
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