[Capr-announce] CAPR News September 2009

Tue Sep 29 19:30:02 PDT 2009

CAPR NEWS

THE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER FROM CITIZENS’ ALLIANCE FOR PROPERTY RIGHTS

September, 2009

CAPR Governing Board Meeting Set

CAPR has announced that the inaugural Governing Board meeting will be held
in Bellevue, Washington on October 24, 2009.  The meeting will bring
together the CAPR Executive Board and representatives of the nine CAPR
chapters plus its affiliate organizations.

The CAPR bylaws were originally written with the assumption that the
organization would go statewide.  Regardless of the fact that King Co. has
abused property rights early and often and is the “tail that wags the dog”
in Washington, the founders knew that the only way to truly have an impact
was to organize statewide.

Executive Director Steve Hammond has been on the road speaking to all
interested groups and the reception has been overwhelming.  At every stop,
Steve has heard account after account of property rights abuses by local and
state governments.  Many stories are similar but many are also of a local
nature.  However, the common thread is that the one of the backbones of our
freedom, property rights, is under coordinated attack by extreme political
elements and that if we don’t stand together now, that freedom will be gone.

The purpose of the Governing Board is to set broad operating policies and,
more importantly, to decide which battles to prioritize.  And given the
target rich environment with which we’re faced, there are many issues to
pursue.

Currently, CAPR has chapters in Grant, Jefferson, King, Pierce, San Juan,
Snohomish, Spokane and Whatcom counties as well as Ventura Co., California.
Affiliates include Kitsap Alliance of Property Owners and Olympic
Stewardship Foundation. 

CAPR Needs Your Support!

Earlier this year the CAPR Board decided that it was time to make a
concerted push to expand across the state.  Calls and emails were coming in
daily from around the state (and beyond) for help in dealing with issues
affecting property rights.  Various organizations were also saying that the
time to organize was now and that it needed to be wide spread.  That
prompted us to make two significant changes.  The first was to make Steve
Hammond CAPR’s Executive Director so that he could devote all of his
energies to the task.  The second was to have Steve travel, speak, promote
and to do whatever was required to broaden the organization.

As anticipated, these changes have been expensive.  We have been lucky to
have a couple of large donors step up to help fund this drive and our
activities.  Most of us aren’t blessed with the ability to make those large
donations.  But if a lot of us step in with a donation of $100 or $250 or
even make a smaller on-going pledge donation, CAPR can keep this train
rolling.

Every day it seems that we get news of yet another assault on our property
rights.  Many times they aren’t even obvious to the untrained eye, but they
are happening none the less.  You might say that we are getting pecked to
death by ducks, but only if we allow it to continue.  It is fine to give lip
support to property rights but your financial support is what is really
needed to get the job done.

Help CAPR help you.  Please click here
<http://www.proprights.org/capr_pp_donate.php>  to go to the CAPR website to
make your donation.  Please do it now!! 

KAPO Prevails in Shorelines Dispute

With a decision that has statewide impact, the Division II Court of Appeals
has ruled in favor of Kitsap Alliance of Property Owners (KAPO) in its
shorelines dispute with Kitsap Co.  The Court’s decision in Kitsap Alliance
of Property Owners v. Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board
says that regulations pertaining to shorelines shall come under the
Shorelines Management Act (SMA) rather than the Growth Management Act (GMA).

The SMA is supposed to embody a balanced policy which includes environmental
protections and reasonable use of property.  GMA, on the other hand, is
easily and often abused to the detriment of property owners, with this being
a good example.  In this case, Kitsap Co. adopted a critical areas ordinance
under GMA that declared all marine shorelines as potential fish habitat,
whether they are or not, thus allowing it to place extreme restrictions on
shoreline properties that aren’t allowed for under the SMA.  Under GMA,
local governments, with the backing of extreme environmentalists, can throw
up all sorts of thinly veiled rules up in the air with the hope that they
will fly.  This one didn’t.  Kind of makes you want to shake your head like
the duck in the Aflac commercials!

This decision has two things in common with many decisions from the Appeals
Courts and the Supreme Court in the last couple of years.  First, it
overturned a bogus decision by a Growth Management Hearings Board.  The
second is that it was litigated and won by Brian Hodges of Pacific Legal
Foundation.  We need to clone this guy.  So, once again, three cheers and a
thank you to Brian and PLF!  Even if our voices are getting hoarse.    

Meetings and Events

Grant Co. Monthly Meeting

The Grant Co. Chapter holds its monthly meetings at 7:00 PM every third
Wednesday of the month at Bob’s Café located at 1807 Kittleson Rd. in Moses
Lake.  Come early for dinner and conversation.

King Co. Monthly Meeting  (New time and place)

The next meeting of the King Co. Chapter of CAPR will be held at 7:00 PM,
Wednesday, October 7th.  The meeting site will be the IHOP Restaurant
located at 1433 NW Sammamish Rd. in Issaquah.  This month’s guest will be
Graham Albertini, candidate for King Co. Assessor.  This will also be an
organizational meeting for the King Co. Chapter.  Consider coming early for
dinner and conversation.

Pierce Co. Monthly Meeting

The Pierce County Chapter holds its monthly meetings at 7:00 PM on the
second Thursday of every month.  The meeting location is the Paradise
Village Bowl Conference Room located at 12505 Pacific Ave. S. in Tacoma.
For more information you can send email to piercecapr at yahoo.com or call
President Wendy Birnbaum at 253-677-0612.

San Juan Monthly Meeting

The San Juan Chapter holds its monthly meeting on the first Tuesday of the
month at 6:00 PM.  The meeting is held at the San Juan Island  Grange Hall.
For more info on CAPR San Juan, visit www.CAPR-SanJuan.org
<http://www.capr-sanjuan.org/> .

Donate to CAPR Online

You can now donate to CAPR online.  Go to www.capr.us <http://www.capr.us/>
(same as proprights.org) and click on the DONATE tab.  Even as a volunteer
organization, the level of funding available determines what we can
accomplish in the fight to preserve and protect property rights.  Help us
help you.  Donate!

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.

Jeff Wright

Secretary, CAPR

E-mail:        darcors at comcast.net 

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