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Federal "No Growth" Blueprint on Viagra - LAND GRAB
eco-logic ---- on-line ---- ^ | Saturday, December 01, 2001 | Nancie G. Marzulla

Posted on 12/01/2001 9:41:34 AM PST by George Frm Br00klyn Park

eco-logic
---- on-line ----

Saturday, December 01, 2001

Federal "No Growth" Blueprint on Viagra

By Nancie G. Marzulla


When Secretary Mel Martinez took over the reins as the newly installed head of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), he had little reason to suspect that in addition to heading up the nation's housing policies, he would also be handed the dubious distinction of being asked to unleash a 2,000 page blueprint for controlling every aspect of local land use across America from a "Directorate" located in Washington, D.C.

Unless Secretary Martinez acts to stop it, in the next few days, what is benignly dubbed the "Legislative Guidebook" will be jointly issued by HUD and the American Planning Association (APA). The Guidebook is a comprehensive blueprint of model statutes and planning guidelines whose goal is nothing less than centralization of land use planning for state and local governments and elimination of the need for messy and "inefficient" local land use control.

The Legislative Guidebook is the brainchild of an insular group of no-growth activists who found fertile soil for their anti-growth agenda at HUD during the Clinton administration. Flush with over $1.7 million in HUD grant money, these activists (with the knowledge and input of only a select few) spent seven years crafting the Guidebook. Between July 1994 and June 2001, under the leadership of the HUD-APA "Directorate," the HUD-APA project went through eleven amendments, and expanded in nature and scope to the voluminous size, almost two-thousand page document it is today, filled with generic rhetoric that masks its true radical intent to federalize local government control and eviscerate constitutionally protected private property rights.

The general public, as well as minority business owners and small business owners, farmers, and virtually everyone affected by the Guidelines were excluded from the process. Not surprisingly then, the results of this exclusionary process is a product which is anti-business and anti-private property rights. Many provisions in the Guidebook will statutorily take private property rights without just compensation.

One small example of the detailed level of control embodied in the Guideline is its treatment of ordinary, commercial signs, which virtually every small business and restaurant has. After prescribing uniform size, shape, and color standards by which every sign is required to look alike, the Guidebook recommends an "amortization" plan, which will give small business owners a limited period to enjoy their identical signs before they must be removed altogether, without payment of just compensation as required by the Constitution.

In contrast to its detailed level of minutiae, the Guidebook can also be characterized by the sweeping breadth of the land use planning issues it attempts to uniformly regulate, including: affordable housing, transportation, urban growth, neighborhood planning, economic development, public services, state facilities, taxes, zoning and subdivision, environmental policy, historic preservation, telecommunications and information technology, among others.

To encourage everyone from State legislatures to town councils to adopt these uniform standards, the same no-growth activists have convinced some Congressmen to introduce legislation, the Community Character Act (SB 975) and its House counterpart (HR1433), which would authorize a grant program to the tune of $250 million over ten years, earmarked for state and tribal governments whose land use planning activities are consistent with the terms and conditions embedded in the Legislative Guidebook.

Adoption of these no-growth laws has proved very expensive for local residents and homeowners. For example, Portland, Oregon, a model for the "smart growth" initiative, has gone from being one of the nation's most affordable cities to one of the least affordable. Moreover, because the Guidebook's proposals will restrict where people can live, it will help ensure not only that there is no affordable housing, but no housing at all.

The Guidebook has been slammed by Representative Richard Pombo, head of the Congressional Western Caucus, who stated: "The Legislative Guidebook is a backdoor attempt to squash the rights of private property owners. We must make sure that we respect the ownership rights of others." Federal regulations already control far too many aspects of our lives, and land use decisions. Hopefully Secretary Martinez will act to stop the uncontrolled growth of even more federal hegemony.

Nancie G. Marzulla is President of the D.C. based Defenders of Property Rights, the only national public interest legal foundation dedicated exclusively to protecting property rights.

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THIS Article at ECO - LOGIC


TOPICS: Breaking News; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: michaeldobbs
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ALL, We need to get in touch with EVERYBODY to let them know our concerns about these regulations that WILL take on both the "color" and force {that's guns} of LAW without legitimacy if allowed to take effect. Peace and love, George.
1 posted on 12/01/2001 9:41:34 AM PST by George Frm Br00klyn Park
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To: George Frm Br00klyn Park
Agenda 21 takes shape and the people sleep. Smart Growth is an abject failure.
2 posted on 12/01/2001 10:02:38 AM PST by Carry_Okie
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To: M1991; Scholastic; mbb bill; ctdonath2; Zoey; kristinn; Rebeckie; Lucky; Willie Green; VinnyTex...
Guys, Can you keep this thing bumped?? Peace and love, George.
3 posted on 12/01/2001 10:03:26 AM PST by George Frm Br00klyn Park
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To: George Frm Br00klyn Park
is this the one that will ban housing or buildings in areas not served by city water and sewers?
4 posted on 12/01/2001 10:03:39 AM PST by Rustynailww
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To: Carry_Okie
"Smart Growth is an abject failure."

CO, But, they just ain't putting enough money into it. [/sarcasm] Peace and love, George.

5 posted on 12/01/2001 10:06:03 AM PST by George Frm Br00klyn Park
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To: George Frm Br00klyn Park
bump
6 posted on 12/01/2001 10:09:45 AM PST by AAABEST
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To: George Frm Br00klyn Park
land right's bump
7 posted on 12/01/2001 10:11:58 AM PST by alphadog
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To: George Frm Br00klyn Park
bump
8 posted on 12/01/2001 10:12:27 AM PST by IRtorqued
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Comment #9 Removed by Moderator

Comment #10 Removed by Moderator

To: Rustynailww
"is this the one that will ban housing or buildings in areas not served by city water and sewers?"

RN, Likely. Or like Maryland's Governor, Paris Glendenning says he wants, "No developement unless it is hooked up to 'municipal services'." In other words, if your children and their children are lucky enough and/or work hard enough to acquire a piece of property in the country, they will NOT be able to build their dream house on it. Private property means NOTHING with such regulations taking the color and force of law without legitimacy. The whims of man at any given time. Peace and love, George.

11 posted on 12/01/2001 10:16:15 AM PST by George Frm Br00klyn Park
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To: ratcat
"If you think things are bad now - just do nothing and wait!"

RC, EXACTLY!! Peace and love, George.

12 posted on 12/01/2001 10:18:17 AM PST by George Frm Br00klyn Park
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Comment #13 Removed by Moderator

To: George Frm Br00klyn Park
"Portland, Oregon, a model for the "smart growth" initiative, has gone from being one of the nation's most affordable cities to one of the least affordable.

That's the very thing bolshevik slum loads like Sen. DiFi would wish for...jam everybody into areas i.e. "compact cities" so they can control us (water, food, power, gun control etc.) granted it might take fifty years to do this

14 posted on 12/01/2001 10:20:41 AM PST by alphadog
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To: ratcat
"The feds are totally UN-agenda controlled."

RC, Maybe not "totally", but close enough that the "consensus" of the one's in charge are over the top. And, we're CLOSE at "local" levels too. MANY people really think{?} that the U.N. has the right ideas. They have either been brainwashed, or are sympathetic to the tolitarian policies of the U.N. Most have just taken the word of "friends", and have NEVER read the primary documents produced by the U.N. committees to initiate this socialist EVIL. Peace and love, George.

15 posted on 12/01/2001 10:26:10 AM PST by George Frm Br00klyn Park
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To: George Frm Br00klyn Park
No development unless it is hooked up to 'municipal services'." In other words, if your children and their children are lucky enough and/or work hard enough to acquire a piece of property in the country, they will NOT be able to build their dream house on it.

Of course this means that those who already live out in the country will see our real estate values rise through the roof.

There are some days it is so tempting to be a dirtbag liberal. ;-)
16 posted on 12/01/2001 10:28:35 AM PST by cgbg
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To: alphadog
"Sen. DiFi would wish for...jam everybody into areas i.e. "compact cities" so they can control us (water, food, power, gun control etc.)

AD, Control of people is THE agenda. And their talk about giving power to the people is a BALD_FACED LIE. Or more easily said bullshit! Peace and love, George.

17 posted on 12/01/2001 10:30:08 AM PST by George Frm Br00klyn Park
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To: George Frm Br00klyn Park
It's nearly unbelievable someone would come up with this crap. The UN is nothing ut a cess pool.
18 posted on 12/01/2001 10:37:14 AM PST by Leper Messiah
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To: Leper Messiah
"It's nearly unbelievable someone would come up with this crap. The UN is nothing but a cess pool."

LM, Not any more. And, YEP!! Peace and love, George.

19 posted on 12/01/2001 10:46:36 AM PST by George Frm Br00klyn Park
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To: George Frm Br00klyn Park
property rights bump!
20 posted on 12/01/2001 10:58:32 AM PST by Kay Ludlow
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