When we first visited Oregon in November of 2004, they had just passed measure 37 which was what is commonly referred to as 'takings legislation' which heavily restricts the ability of government to regulate property by zoning. Most people, when you talk to them about it, like zoning, as they don't want a factory or motel built in that nice empty lot across from their house. But on the surface, Americans, a freedom-loving bunch, viscerally connect with the notion that people should be able to do what they want with their land, and with ballot measures, a lot of times it's the visceral that wins out.
Which brings us to the present day. Yesterday Oregon voters overwhelmingly approved measure 49 which strictly curtails the effects of 37 and will hopefully keep the worst consequences of the former measure from taking place. A lot of that will depend on the courts. The story says this was an expensive and vicious fight, so it's nice to see that the good guys won. Yay, Oregon!
1 comment:
This is good news indeed. I did a fair bit of work for the Sightline Institute to map the potential new people that would result from the approval and construction of all of the M37 claims, and it's pretty shocking. http://www.sightline.org/research/sprawl/maps
The top three are the ones I worked on for the election.
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