Free Republic

NIMBY's versus Socialism - Open Space Now Becoming Socialized Good The Pasadena Pundit- April 7, 2007 Up until now new homeowner's have been willing to pay for open space land surrounding their tract homes - and for good reason because such amenities translate into pricey view premiums when the homes are re-sold. But now a developer has imposed a fee on new homes for open space that benefit property owners other than the homeowners paying the fees. We might call this open space without value capture. Now realtors are balking because when the homes are re-sold that fee will not...

37,000 Acres of Irvine Ranch Land Receives Prestigious ‘National Natural Landmark’ Designation from U.S. Department of Interior • ‘The Irvine Ranch National Natural Landmark’ joins Mount Shasta, Anza Borrego, Hawaii’s Diamond Head and other beloved national landmarks • Honor recognizes designated land as “a nationally significant natural area” • First site in California to receive NNL designation since 1987 • Land is “a shining example of our nation’s natural treasures,” says National Park Service Director Fran Mainella • Governor Schwarzenegger notes, “Today’s event celebrates another area of our state that can be enjoyed for generations.” NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Standing on...

Moving closer to a November showdown over open space and property rights, environmentalists on Monday turned in nearly double the number of signatures needed to qualify a ballot measure to set strict new development rules for hillsides, ranches and large farms across Santa Clara County. The group delivered 61,906 signatures -- 19 cardboard boxes full -- to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters in San Jose. That virtually assures the measure will appear on the Nov. 7 countywide ballot; it needs 36,040 signatures from registered county voters to qualify. Elections officials will verify the signatures in the coming weeks....

In an unusual campaign to hedge their political bets, a coalition of 11 leading environmental groups has quietly drafted a ballot measure asking California voters next year to approve the largest parks and water bond in state history. The proposed measure, now awaiting a title and summary from California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, would raise $5.4 billion to shore up aging levees in San Francisco Bay's delta, build new drinking water treatment plants, fund flood control, restore salmon runs and purchase new parklands from Monterey Bay to Lake Tahoe to inner-city Los Angeles. --snip-- ``We're hopeful the governor and the...

Gilroy - City leaders said Friday that Gilroy will not join the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority, but vowed to explore other options to preserve open space and farmland in and around the city. Officials gathered at a City Council policy retreat said the deciding factor was the cost of polling and underwriting the special election required to join the authority, which levies a parcel tax to buy property and conservation easements. “If you’re looking for some enthusiasm on this I’m not going to be able to do it because of the cost of putting it on the ballot,”...

 By Paul Ertelt    Ottaway News Service    peottaway@aol.com    Albany ? Local governments in the Hudson Valley should have the option of establishing a local tax to help control sprawl, Goshen Supervisor Honey Bernstein said yesterday.    Bernstein was in the state Capitol to lobby for legislation that would allow towns to levy their own real-estate transfer tax to pay for open-space projects.    Two years ago, Goshen and four other Orange County towns ? Warwick, Hamptonburgh, Montgomery and Crawford ? pushed for similar legislation, but the bill died in committee, she said. In November, Goshen voters approved a $5 million bond measure to...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California is set to spend more than $14 million on new river parkways and open land in the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges under the budget signed Saturday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. But Schwarzenegger sliced the nearly $50 million sought by Senate leader John Burton, D-San Francisco, because the two new programs will start halfway through the budget year. It was unrealistic to expect to spend all the money in just six months, budget officials said. The now-$4.15 million mountain program is contingent on legislative approval of a new Sierra Nevada Conservancy, a sweeping new government...

Imagine waking up to a science-fiction world in which voting involves no secret ballots -- the government knows how you voted -- no opposition statements are permitted, multiple votes can be legally cast by the same voter, only property owners vote, nongovernmental friends of the political power structure literally run the elections and voters can change their votes as many times as they like before election day. Is this a scenario for the next century, the voting pattern in Saudi Arabia or Saddam's Iraq or what? No, it's what voters are now facing in Contra Costa County, with mail-in ballots...

The policies of Sustainable Development are changing the very fabric of America. Sustainable Development entered the world officially in 1987 in a report of the United Nations Commission on Environment and Development entitled, "Our Common Future". This commission was chaired by Gro Harlem Bruntland, Prime minister of Norway and Vice-President of the World Socialist Party. A well known mantra that originated from that report is "meeting today's need's without compromising future generations to meet their own needs". If one is to look, this mission statement has been incorporated into many government and non-government organizations. Is it a surprise that it...

<p>PESCADERO, Calif. (AP) - Mark and Dawn Kemp never thought such coastal quietude was possible on the Pacific shore, just 20 miles from the hustle of Silicon Valley.</p> <p>"I can't believe that we aren't seeing hotels and commercial growth scooping all this up," said Mark Kemp, making just his second trip to the seaside.</p>

Private lands spur a public fight Struggle for turf mounts as state growth surges By Jim Wasserman ASSOCIATED PRESS March 21, 2004 PESCADERO – Tourists Mark and Dawn Kemp of Denver never thought such rural quiet was possible on a Pacific coastline just 20 miles from the hustle of Silicon Valley. "I can't believe that we aren't seeing hotels and commercial growth scooping all this up," said Mark Kemp. The two visitors, marveling at miles of uncluttered oceanfront, didn't know about a small, powerful network of nonprofit land trusts, government agencies and foundations that have bought thousands of acres of...

<p>TRUCKEE - The Mountain Area Preservation Foundation and East West Partners have struck a deal that is expected to generate more than $6 million for acquisition of open-space land in the Truckee area during the next 15 years.</p> <p>East West, which volunteered in a development agreement with the town to donate a quarter-percent transfer tax on residential sales in its recently approved Gray's Crossing subdivision, has doubled that amount.</p>

<p>Placer County officials and environmentalists are celebrating the purchase of 961 acres of oak woodlands northeast of Lincoln, property that will be opened to the public as an undeveloped nature area.</p> <p>The purchase is being hailed as the largest regional park acquisition in county history.</p>

<p>AUBURN -- Five environmental groups sued Placer County on Friday, charging that the county's approval last month of the Martis Valley Community Plan Update violates environmental and planning laws. The suit was filed in Placer Superior Court by Sierra Watch, the lead plaintiff, and by the League to Save Lake Tahoe, the Mountain Area Preservation Foundation, the Planning and Conservation League and the Sierra Club.</p>

<p>TRUCKEE -- The environmental organization Sierra Watch has signed an agreement with East West Partners development company to buy and preserve open-space land in the Martis Valley with proceeds from real-estate sales.</p> <p>In exchange for a 0.5 percent "transfer fee" on all real-estate sales in Northstar Village for the next 20 years, Sierra Watch has agreed to drop its appeal of East West's planned Northstar Village expansion. The fees are expected to garner about $5 million for open-space purchases.</p>

It's a Sprawl World After All? By C.C. Kraemer Is John Hieftje a saint or a sinner? Depends on whom you ask. According to the value judgment of Thomas Jefferson he's a sinner. The third president said that "To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical." Despite the timelessness of Jefferson's wisdom and its universal relevance, to the eco-activists and anti-sprawl elitists, Hieftje, the mayor of Ann Arbor, Mich., is most certainly a saint. It is his role as a leader in a movement to...

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- Aquarion Water Co. closed public access to the Putnam Dam in Greenwich Thursday, citing concerns about terrorism and the war in Iraq. No trespassing signs were posted around the dam, and a gate was installed near the spillway to block access by walkers. "In light of Aquarion's heightened alert status and our commitment to do everything we can to protect our public drinking water supplies, Putnam area residents, visitors and all pets are restricted from the Putnam Dam area," said David Medd, operations manager. "Visitors will be subject to arrest." ... Aquarion is one of the 10...

<p>One of the world's richest men wants some of his money to go to the dogs.</p> <p>A nonprofit group headed by retired billionaire industrialist Stephen D. Bechtel Jr. plans to help establish 330 acres outside Lincoln as wetlands for wildlife habitat -- and a site to train hunting dogs.</p>

Half Moon Bay farmer Aldo Giusti says he's given up farming a 100-acre field for lack of water. Water rights fight By Nicole A. Freeling-Half Moon Bay Review--Photos by Mark Jordan Since the Civil War, the fields surrounding the Johnston Ranch have been kept green in the summer by two old sets of wooden planks dropped into Arroyo Leon to form reservoirs. But this year, under an edict to protect endangered salmon, the dams remain open - and instead of leafy rows of mustard greens and brussels sprouts, there are acres of mostly unplanted dirt. The California Department of...

<p>After a year of quiet negotiations, Sacramento city and county officials this week unveiled a landmark agreement that would open 10,000 acres of Natomas farmland to development, while preserving 10,000 acres of open space along the Sacramento River and around Sacramento International Airport.</p>