We sure had some beautiful weather this week. I hope you all had the chance to get away from the stresses of college life to enjoy it. If you’ve never been to Mount Pisgah, it’s just a few miles east of here, and it offers some breathtaking views of the Willamette Valley. Plan on going sooner than later, though – before too long, you may be looking at 1,400 acres of gravel extraction and 700 acres of housing developments, courtesy of the Wildish Construction Company and your local government.
Remember those midterm elections last November? The ones that saw political power in Congress shift from Republican to Democratic control? Here in Oregon, excitement wasn’t so tangible. Neither of our Senators faced reelection, and all five Representatives were voted back into office relatively comfortably. State ballot measures drew a similar lack of enthusiasm. We voted against a couple of tax measures (yawn). There was that proposal which would have required 15 to 17-year-old girls to get parental permission when seeking an abortion – by no means unimportant, but unless you’re a priest, or you really like unprotected sex, this one was unlikely to have much direct impact on you.
Unfortunately, we overlooked something. It’s big. It’s bad. It’s threatening to permanently alter the face of Oregon as we know it. It’s Measure 37, and we voted for it. Twice. The measure stipulates that if any government body at the state or local level diminishes the value of a private property through regulations, its owner may file a Measure 37 claim seeking elimination of the regulation or compensation for losses of property value incurred.
This sounds like a great idea. In 13th-Century feudal Europe, it would have been. Back then, a landlord could knock on your door and, with orders from the King, he could seize your land and take all your possessions. Compensation for losses incurred was not a part of the conversation.
The times have changed – but it appears as if the mentality hasn’t. We have a Constitution, and in it there are laws protecting us from this sort of thing. Don’t believe me? Here’s how the Fifth Amendment ends: “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”
But that didn’t stop Oregonians in Action, a conservative Political Action Committee, from sponsoring Measure 37 in the name of protecting our property rights. With financial support from more of our friends, notably in the real estate and timber companies, the measure was passed in the 2004 election with 61 percent of the vote.
Whoops. In the 28 months since its initial passage, more than 6,500 Measure 37 claims have been filed in the state, citing losses in property value that add up to nearly $10 billion. Thirty-four thousand acres are in dispute in Lane County alone, the most noteworthy of these coming from the Wildish claim at the base of Mount Pisgah.
It’s easy to see why construction and real estate developers were so eager to jump on the Measure 37 bandwagon. Companies owning large pieces of Oregon land are entitled under the law to claim damages and seek compensations that they would not even consider otherwise. The Wildish Company’s 1,400-acre claim amounts to $15 million in property damages from the state. It’s good to see government looking out for the little guy.
You were duped. We were all duped. Well, I wasn’t. I was writing for the Oregon Voice during the ’06 Election, and my column, “Midterm Madness,” warned of the measure’s dangers:
“…The passage of this measure will deal a crippling blow to low-income housing, making the cost of living for graduates looking to pay off loans and find affordable housing even more difficult than it already is.”
See? At least I called it. Still, the ego boost pales in comparison with the resentment I feel when government cuts industry a blank check under the cheap veil of individual rights.
Public support for the measure turned in the months following its inception. But when it reappeared on the ballot in 2006 (this time as Measure 39), it was once again passed – this time with 67 percent of the vote. They caught us sleeping, people. Packed snugly away in the midst of an underwhelming election, a ticking time bomb blew up in our faces. And we’ve got no one to blame but ourselves.
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