It is critical citizens know the importance of their voice to policy makers, both personally and at election time.
What is happening to land use in our communities, is changing the culture and character of all our lives and the only way to reverse it is for citizens to be heard. A change of policy makers can change policy.
Housing concerns are foremost, but the high density being pressed upon the people, is an artificial means to force citizens into apartments and condominiums in the cities, to stop “sprawl” and “preserve farmland.” Planners really want to preserve the land for more high density and don’t want people to know.
Clark County Citizens United has proof that thousands of acres of fake agriculture and forest land were created with just an aerial photo, regardless of soil and activity. Large lots were zoned to prevent landowners from dividing land.
Policy makers created an artificial housing and population formula, where only 20 percent of the people could live outside cities, and the remaining 80 percent must live in cities. At the time, 50 percent of the people were living outside cities. The result is a forced migration of citizens into high density cities, destruction of local culture and character, higher housing costs and shortages.
This unreasonable planning came from the Washington State Growth Management Act, adopted in 1990. Voters rejected it, but legislators pushed it through, anyway. The law dictates a county to create Comprehensive Land Use Plans, and gave policy makers too much power. The Act also put unelected, governor appointed, Growth Management Hearing Boards to oversee their work.
Appellants must file there first, before grievances can be heard in court. These boards overreach their power continuously and dictate aggressive mandates to counties. The board ordered the Hirst water decision and the court upheld it. Without the board, it would not exist. The citizens must protest this unelected power grabbing and insist to legislators that the hearing boards be removed from the Act, or the Act be removed, entirely.
Between 1996 and 1999, CCCU challenged the county and won in the courts against the fake planning formula. The courts said the county cannot ignore existing development, cannot put a cap on rural growth, and deemed the formula illegal.
The county ignored those court rulings, and in 2004 to 2007, changed the formula to say only 10 percent of the citizens can live outside cities, and 90 percent must live inside cities. After being rejected by the hearing board, CCCU is challenging the high density formula again, in the courts.
Citizens must not allow rights and grievances to be ignored by policy makers. If constitutional rights are lost, they will be replaced by a totalitarian government. People have a voice and their vote counts. Only a few local and state legislators have attempted to resolve land use concerns of both rural and urban dwellers.
Statistics show people want affordable homes, want to live outside the cities and in rural areas, and don’t want high density. But, only voters can make that happen. “Preserve the farm” and stop “sprawl” continues to be the buzz words, which creates a shortage of homes and an increase in housing costs. To reverse that trend, critical changes must be made to local and state governments.
