Freedom Advocates

Have you ever bought a puzzle and discovered all the pieces were there – but there was no picture? The purpose of this article is to provide you with that “picture” and a look at both allies and opposition.

Consider the word “sacrifice”. Define this as voluntarily giving up something of value in hope of a return of greater value or for a higher purpose.

What could sound more friendly and beneficial than Scenic Byways? It has the sound of bucolic, small town scenic back roads being preserved for those quiet drives. Like so many ‘good’ programs, this one can cost the holders of property their property rights.

“Right now we don’t go knocking on doors,” said Planning Director Tom Burns. The ambiguity of this statement causes one to seriously question, “When exactly will they be pounding on my door?”

Court warning to Planning officials -- immunity lost!  The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found a silver lining within a gray cloud. The Court applied the findings of the Supreme Court's Lingle v. Chevron to eliminate government's long-held defense regarding private property takings. The court ruled that government officials can no longer rely on the "substantially advances a legitimate state interest" defense when regulating property.

The reaction of the Half Moon Bay City Council to the $36,795,000 judgment was a mixture of shock, mystification and dismay.  In addition to compensating Ms. Yamagiwa for the loss of private property, it is hoped that Chief Judge Walker’s opinion will remind all government decision makers to first ask the question:  “What about the Constitution?”

The recently decided Ninth Circuit case, Crown Point  vs. Sun Valley, illustrates the contrast between social justice and equal justice. Social justice relies on the establishment of  "civil law, " which is designed to expand government and its partners authority at the expense of individual liberty. Equal justice on the other hand respects individual rights and private property. The Crown Point case sets an example for equal justice.

Deed restrictions, mandatory inspections, pre-enforcement and proactive enforcement exist under the banner of "streamlining" and "simplifying" the "permit reform" process. A continuation of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisor's Hearing is April 15 2008.  [The link goes to Agenda Item 37, takes a long time to download and is at times inaccessible. See page 19 of the 126 page document.]

Since 1993, California planning department officials have relied on the State's "Landgate" decision for providing them confidence that they and their employers are immune from claims of abuse. This article describes the history, the relevant law and the legal attack on the Landgate precedent. Michael Shaw, President of Freedom Advocates is a plaintiff in both cases described in that attack.

On April 30, 2007, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association presented a new initiative to the Attorney General’s Office entitled the “California Property Owners and Farmland Protection Act” to be voted on at the June 2008 election. It will reverse the eminent domain Kelo case for Californians by specifically defining “public use” as meaning use and ownership by a public agency for the public use stated at the time of the taking, such as roads, parks and public facilities.

The Clean Water Authority Restoration Act (CWARA) moves the Clean Water Act (CWA) beyond protecting wetlands and waterways, and creates legislation that would regulate nearly every wet area in the nation. This could include ditches, farm ponds and possibly groundwater. "Navigable" is the one little word deleted from the Clean Water Act.