From Martha

Are your property rights really safe?

Don't miss our meeting on Tuesday September 11 at 6:30 PM to hear our guest speaker, Glen Morgan, Property Rights Director from the Freedom Foundation. Mr. Morgan will discuss the threats to our property rights and what actions we can take to protect these rights.

Also plan to join us for a free training session on Wednesday September 12, 9 AM p 12 Noon. Location for training session will be at The Father's House, 304 N. 2nd Street. Glen Morgan will lead our discussions as we look toward America's future and election 2012. Topics to be discussed include: Get Out The Vote strategies and how to effectively testify at public hearings.

We will also have information at the meeting on events scheduled for October. Spread the word, bring a friend and see you Tuesday!

In Liberty,

Martha

No duh!

(Click to enlarge)

Thanks to Frank.  Source: 2nd Amendment on Facebook

Walla Walla Resolution 2012-031

On 25 April 2012, the Walla Walla City Council passed Resolution 2012-031, "A Resolution Adopting Greenhouse Gas Reduction Policies And Guidelines" (link goes to a PDF of the approved document, downloaded from City archives).  It says, in part:

  WHEREAS, the City of Walla Walla passed Municipal Ordinance A-2405 on May 13, 1970 which classified the City of Walla Walla as a nonchartered code city under Title 35A of the Revised Code Washington (RCW); and
  WHEREAS, the State of Washington enacted RCW ch. 70.235 to continue its leadership on climate change policy and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; and
  WHEREAS, RCW 70.235.070 requires state agencies to consider when distributing funds whether entities requesting award of capital funds for infrastructure and economic development projects have adopted policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and
  WHEREAS, the City of Walla Walla has recognized in environment and natural resourses [sic] (ENR) policy 14 and other policies in its comprehensive plan adopted by City Ordinance 2008-25 on November 5,2008 that the City should participate in broader efforts to minimize climate change; and
  WHEREAS, the Walla Walla City Council has considered this matter during a regularly and duly called public meeting of said Council, has given said matter careful review and consideration, and finds that good government and the best interests of the City of Walla Walla will be served by passage of this resolution.

There are several key points about this resolution:

EPA Procedures fail to impress Supreme Court

If you want a prime example of Federal over-reach, look no further than the US EPA, which puts landowners into a position of not using their land. or face severe penalties if they do.....without any recourse, including the judicial system.  Ed Morrissey writes about a couple in Idaho who couldn't sue the EPA, until the EPA sued them.  It's an extension of Agenda 21.

This is happening in the United States of America. Today. For real. 

City of Walla Walla doesn't want to follow their own rules

Fair use rules prevent me from copying the entire Union-Bulletin article (linked here [registration required], published on 28 July 2011), but here's the essential part:

Change to rezone rules moves ahead

The City Council signed off on drafting of an ordinance that would give the city greater latitude to change zoning of its lands.

A proposed amendment that would grant planners greater authority to rezone city property narrowly passed City Council on Wednesday night.

Council members Dominick Elia, Shane Laib, Jerry Cummins and Conrado Cavazos voted in favor of having legal staff draft the ordinance that would allow the city to rezone its own property as it sees fit, even if that rezone is not what was stipulated in the city's comprehensive plan.

Fred Mitchell, Jim Barrow and Mayor Barbara Clark voted against drafting the ordinance, arguing it would do away with a key part of the public hearing process and give the city more rights than the average property owner.

"The part that concerns me is that this would allow any city land use designation to be applied. That is a concern ... because in that instance the city is acting as any other landowner in the city," Clark said.

Simply put, city employees would have more input to land use than a land owner.  Even  City Attorney Tim Donaldson agreed: "You could take and sell off a park for commercial development without much public input." 

The vote was only to draft the ordinance, and it is opposed by quite a few people, for a number of reasons (see the Union Bulletin's editorial, "City government should follow same zoning rules as citizens").

And it's certainly another attack on property rights, and definitely denies the public due process in rezoning changes.  That the current zoning process inconveniences public employees is immaterial; the City of Walla Walla does not need this degree of flexibility.  If the process is broken, fix the process.  As the WWUB put it, "City government should have to follow the same zoning laws as the citizens it serves."

If you live inside the city limits of Walla Walla, I recommend contacting the City Council about this.  There will public input on the ordinance.

Local positions up for elections

Below are links with information on open positions and filing dates.  We need to encourage like minded citizens to apply for these positions.

• Walla Walla School Board seats (3 open)
• Walla Walla city Council seats (4 open)
• Port Commissioner (1 open)

"Sustainable Development"

"Sustainable Development" is defined by the International Institute for Sustainable Development as:

"Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts:

• the concept of needs, in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and
• the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs."

 In theory, this sounds fine.  In practice, "Sustainable Development" harkens back to the United Nations "Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and the Statement of principles for the Sustainable Management of Forests". 

Effectively, "Agenda 21" defines the basic planning process for land development for local governments around the world.  The article "Agenda 21 UN: The History of Sustainable Development - Connecting the Dots" is a good read on how this all came about, including the spread of this doctrine across the United States.

What does this mean at the local level?  A good example is Carroll County, Maryland, where a "smart growth plan" called "Pathways" because the mechanism of choice for a land grab by the County a few years ago.  The plan "...proposed a breathtaking reshuffling of land rights:"

• Rezoning of thousands of acres of beautiful, low-density agricultural farmland and protected residential conservation land into office parks
• Down-zoning of agriculture land to prevent future subdivision by farmers
• Up-zoning of low-density residential land around small towns into higher density zoning to permit construction of hundreds or possibly thousands of inclusive housing units, including apartments and condominiums
• Inclusive housing with placement of multi-family construction on in-fill lots within existing residential single family communities
• Endorsement of government-sponsored housing initiatives (subsidies) to ensure healthier, balanced neighborhoods

Fortunately, this plan was defeated by alert community members.  But it's a major example of how private land ownership is under attack by government at all levels.  Another small, but important example of  that movement is the application of eminent domain to private property in New London, CT, for the express purpose of seizing private property for economic development.  A blatant land grab endorsed by the Supreme Court of the United States.

How this applies to the Walla Walla TEA Party Patriots is quite simple:  The City of Walla Walla Sustainability Committee.

This is a permanent committee, with the stated purpose:

To conduct scenario planning to prepare for social, economic, and environmental changes in an efficient and cost-effective manner and to provide advice to the council upon the development and integration of sustainability parameters to be used in the implementation of the goals, objectives, and policies of the Walla Walla Comprehensive Plan.

The committee was formed in 2010, and is just starting to organize itself.  It's part of the City Planning Department, under the Sustainability Office.

This is all quite legal, but it is appropriate that tax payers ask relevant questions.  For example, how much does it cost the city to maintain a "Sustainability Coordinator"?  In light of budget woes, is such a position truly needed?  Are there any costs to maintain the committee itself?  And so on.

Citizen involvement in government is to be encouraged.  But there was an active push to develop this advisory committee at the same time the streets of Walla Walla "lacked a street advocate".  The City Manager, Nabiel Shawa, and Public Works Director Ki Bealey, are involved with the sustainability committee as well, according to minutes on the committee web site.  Granted, they are seeking input on community development.  That's why the committee was formed.

But has the city pushed as hard for a streets advisory committee?  Is there a streets coordinator?  One has to wonder just where the priorities of the City of Walla Walla truly lie.  And if the tax "revenue" so badly needed for street maintenance is more a matter of the priorities of the City of Walla Walla.

UPDATE: I forgot to note that this post is based on contributions from other members of our group.  My apologies.