[Capr-announce] CAPR News February 2008

[Jeff Wright]

CAPR NEWS

THE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER FROM CITIZENS’ ALLIANCE FOR PROPERTY RIGHTS
February, 2008


CAPR Banquet Attracts Overflow Crowd

Literally!  Nearly 350 people attended the first annual banquet, which was
held at Emerald Downs on February 7th.  After squeezing as many into the
main room as possible, an adjoining room was opened so that several
supporters could at least have their dinner sitting down.  And it was a good
dinner!

The function was organized as a show of appreciation for CAPR’s supporters
and also as a fund-raiser for the CAPR Political Action Committee.  The
varied crowd included veteran supporters, many new folks interested in CAPR,
local politicians, members of Kitsap Alliance of Property Owners, Olympic
Stewardship Foundation, staff lawyers from Pacific Legal Foundation and
representatives from all three CAPR chapters.

One high point of the evening was the keynote speech by Washington Attorney
General Rob McKenna.  As usual, McKenna gave a great speech, this time about
eminent domain issues in Washington.  He also spoke about his Eminent Domain
Task Force that is working on legislation aimed at protecting property
owners.  More on this subject below.

The big question for the Second Annual Banquet is whether to book a hall for
500 or 750.  I’d recommend placing your bet on the high side.


Mixed Bag For Eminent Domain Reform

After a strong start by Attorney General Rob McKenna’s Eminent Domain Task
Force last year, three reform bills were introduced in this year’s
legislature.  McKenna has assembled a broad based and bi-partisan group to
study the state of eminent domain in Washington and to propose changes,
especially to offset several court decisions that the majority of people
feel were improper.  As of this writing, two of the three are still in
progress.  Unfortunately, the most significant of the three was the
casualty.

House Bill 2921 was sponsored by House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler
(D-Hoquaim) along with Jay Rodne (R-North Bend) and Larry Springer
(D-Kirkland).  It would have modified the Community Renewal Law to be used
to rehabilitate or redevelop blighted properties but not blighted areas.
This would have helped to avert “Kelo” type takings.  There are a lot of
people in the Renton Highlands area who would have breathed easier with this
change in place given that City’s previous move towards blighting the area
and continued talk about “revitalizing” it.  Unfortunately, 2921 did not
make it out of committee.

Still in motion are House Bills 2016 and 2920.  Sponsored by Larry Springer,
2016 would give owners of condemned property the right to repurchase it at
fair terms if it is put back on the market, provide additional notice to
property owners before condemnation and prohibit the condemnation of
property to increase tax revenue employment or economic health.  Of lesser
importance is HB 2920, sponsored by Kessler, which would require the
attorney general’s office to produce a pamphlet explaining eminent domain,
its purposes and scope.  We’ll keep our fingers crossed for both bills.

As a side note, Larry Springer deserves special mention here.  He talked at
a CAPR King Co. Chapter meeting last year about the eminent domain problems
in Washington and that he planned to try to make some changes.  And he has
followed through on that promise.  He, Lynn Kessler and Jay Rodne have led
the charge during this session.



UW Study Cites High Cost of Regulation

The Seattle Times ran a piece on February 14th that started multiple local
media outlets buzzing.  The article
<http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004181704_eicher1
4.html>  reported on a new study put out by University of Washington
professor Theo Eicher which shows that extreme land-use regulations have
added $200,000 on average to the price of Seattle homes.  That’s EACH home.
The study shows that of the 250 cities surveyed, Seattle is one of the most
regulated and expensive when it comes to housing prices.

Actually, this study is not new but rather a local face-lift for a national
study released in 2002.  The Harvard Institute of Economic Research
published that study.  Both studies use a method of land-use regulation
analysis developed by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania.  The
original H.I.E.R. study surveyed 2500 U.S. cities and came up with similar
results as the local version.  But the beauty of Professor Eicher’s work is
that its focus is just Seattle.

So why all of the hubbub?  This really isn’t earth-shattering news to those
who understand land-use issues.  In fact, the study’s findings are painfully
obvious to many.  CAPR past-President Rodney McFarland has used numbers from
the H.I.E.R. study to illustrate CAPR arguments.  Also, CAPR Board member
Edwina Johnston cited the same study in an excellent op-ed article
<http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/PrintStory.pl?document_id=20035706
42&zsection_id=268883724&slug=edwina14&date=20070214>  on the cost of
regulation that ran in the Times on February 14, 2007 (interesting timing
here).  Perhaps the public is finally ready to hear why housing prices are
so astronomical as opposed to an endless stream of news about how high those
prices are.

Professor Eicher notes that the high cost of land-use regulation is an
inadvertent consequence of the state’s Growth Management Act.  Inadvertent
or not, the grim facts remain.  Groups like Futurewise tout Smart Growth as
a way to build great communities in which to live.  As long as you are
wealthy enough to live in them!


Odds and Ends

Matching Contributions
If you work for a company, which adds matching funds to charitable
contributions, remember the CAPR Legal Fund.  All donations to the Legal
Fund are tax deductible and the additional contribution by your employer
makes leverages your contribution towards protecting your property rights.




CAPR Meeting Schedule

The next meeting of the King Co. chapter of CAPR will be held at 7:00 PM,
Thursday, March 6th.  The meeting site is the IHOP restaurant located at
1433 NW Sammamish Rd. in Issaquah.  Consider coming early for dinner and
conversation.


Jeff Wright
Secretary, CAPR
E-mail:        jeff at proprights.org <mailto:jeff at proprights.org>


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