Most of the people who push these "communtiy issues" are plants from other areas who want to make an area more to their liking.
Same in rural areas. A real life example is the area my father lives in. He has a farm. The land is in a relatively low population area because of agriculture being the predominant economy. People from urban areas have purchased several large acreages surrounding his farm.
One acreage is 600 plus acres to the north. They hunt the land so it has not affected the area much. One area is probably equally 600 acres to the west and south. The west and southern land boundarys a large creek with bluffs and extends at least a mile down the stream.
That property has been closed to hunting. It was a prime area for hunting. There have been "nature trails" developed, complete with park like benches. The owner contacted my father about purchasing some adjoining acreage from him. That acreage is prime hunting ground that we visit every year to harvest deer etc. Of course my father is a no sell.
Private ownership of land is a good thing. But there is a cancer being spread by self proclaimed environmentalists who own property for the sole purpose of preserving or restoring the land. I believe it will be not too many years and that very land will be a foothold to a public set aside. I don't know if this is the case with the new property owners, but the actions are very suspicious to other land owners, including my father.
Another aspect of rural land grabs. The CRP (conservation reserve program). CRP pays land owners cash rent to keep land out of production. CRP establishes native prarie grass and promotes reforestation. The farmer or landowner sets up an account with the USDA (US Dept of Agriculture) and promises to keep the land out of production for a period of years, 10 or more,in exchange for say $50 to $60 dollars an acre per year cash. The landowner gets the cash money to use for the basis for paying off the land. So the plan finances land purchases as well as pays the current landowner. The CRP transfers to a new landowner who is obligated by law to fulfill the land contract or be forced to reimburse the government for all the money paid for the prior years. There may be other stipulations that make it hard to reuse the land as it had been previously used.
Since there is but a few farms and property owners it is very easy to establish conservation areas and buffer zones. Agenda 21 seeks to establish population zones and rural zones. Ownership of rural propertys are by a significantly small portion of our population, so it is easy to impose regulations on farmers and ranchers that city dwellers ignore and in many cases promote.
Watershed Districts.
Another land grab is watershed districts. The US Corp of Engineers want to prevent flooding and soil erosion. So they designate a watershed that drains to a particular stream. If a landowner lives in that district they are taxed so as to provide flood protection and water quality monitoring down stream. Of course, in the watershed there are designated areas for wetlands restoration. And then there are conservation areas along the watershed for public access.
Every time government takes control of some land, the land is taken off of property tax rolls. This places a higher burden on the remaining landowners to make up for school and road taxes. Areas that have huge holdings of government land become economically depressed because of lost property tax revenue. Local government becomes financially strapped and the idea is floated to create regional government districts. That takes us back to the original context of this thread. Agenda 21 is all around us. Urban, rural, nobody is immune to all the "great ideas" to help preserve our "heritage". The outcome and objective of Agenda 21 completely undoes our national heritage. There is nothing more important in America than following the exact principles that brought our founding fathers here to seek freedom and land ownership.
See post 704 as well.
You are dead on accurate, Zark. The fight is upon us.
You would not believe the threat and the losses already sustained. "We people of the USA" have been under attack for a long time. We have lost much. Can we defeat the enemy? Is it too late? Do we roll over? Or............
I hope to see more and more people aware, and expressing, holding Representatives to account, etc. People MUST GET INVOLVED.....NOW.
Here is how the state of California proposes to slef fund the smart growth control of the housing market and where people live:
State Treasurer Phil Angelides has proposed turning the state's real estate assets into moneymaking ventures, and channeling the earnings to an endowment that would support young Californians wanting to attend college.
The Department of Motor Vehicles and other agencies often have small buildings built on large tracts of land that could be put to better use, he said. For example, the DMV would continue to use the buildings, but mixed-use housing and retail development projects could be built up around them, Angelides said during a visit Thursday to the Mercury News.
The real estate assets would be transformed into a $5 billion-plus trust, called the ``California Hope Endowment,'' which would seek ways to attain returns. Environmentally sensitive land would be exempted. Earnings could reach $300 million a year, Angelides said.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/10698383.htm?1c