---------Good Bills this 2006 legislative session---------This latter bill, which could be legitimately titled the "Closing the Barn Door After the Horses Have Escaped" bill is no doubt the result of the efforts of the Ogden City Administration's paid lobbyist, Mr. Jolley, to prevent one of our local citizen activists from raising any more hell with the Wal-Mart Superstore project, should the Ogden RDA ever miraculously (i.e., by divine intervention) have the condemnation power restored by the legislature.
Note: Wow! There are some very aggressive land use bills on the capital this go around. This should be a very very interesting legislative session. According to Craig call, there is some real hostility towards lobbyist on the capital this go around and the land use bills are plentiful.
Local Government Land Use and Impact Fee Revisions -- Mansell, L. A. SB 170
This bill is a bombshell to municipal land control. The professional land planners are trying to kill this bill and have named it the "let em sprawl bill" and is anti Gov. Huntsman's Envision Utah goals. It prohibits counties and municipalities from imposing stricter land use requirements or higher land use standards than required under statute. Today cities can take your freedom and pass any ordinance "more restrictive" than the state code. This bill clips the cities wings in effect. It also says the city must "protect property rights." What a radical concept.
"Local Government Land Use and Impact Fee Revisions"".
Bramble's Redevelopment overhaul looks like two different bills. No text yet. Just named. SB 0196 and SB 0245.
"Resolution Restricting Use of Eminent Domain" -- Dougall, J. HJR 029 -- No text.
"Eminent Domain Amendments" -- Stephenson, H. SB 0117 -- Requires vote by whole council and not just the mayor. And notification to affected property owners before the decision to use eminent domain.
"Limitation on Municipalities" -- Harper, W. HB 423 -- No text yet.
------------Bad Bill-----------
"Property Law Amendments" -- Jenkins, S. -- SB 0210. No text yet. This bill may expand the use of eminent domain to stop little old ladies from buying property to stop a city project.
As you will recall, it was our own Dorothy Littrell, retired CPA and frequent contributor to this blog, who garnered national attention, when she took on the neoCONS at Ogden City Hall and Uber-Corporate Land-grabber Wal-Mart and won:
Ogden, UT -- Fighting the world's largest retailer is an unenviable task. But a core group of concerned citizens in Ogden, Utah, led by 76-year-old retiree Dorothy Littrell, did just that--and won. In an act of both legal significance and brash defiance, Dorothy even purchased a parcel of property in the middle of Wal-Mart's proposed development, after the company's plans were revealed. Together with filing a pro se lawsuit, the group staged rallies, using materials provided by the Castle Coalition, wrote letters to the editor and exerted a vast amount of political pressure through the media and state legislature. In early 2005, a little over a year after the big-box was announced, the group's activism ultimately culminated in an eminent domain reform bill that was signed by the governor, effectively stopping the development and saving a neighborhood. Yet another victory against seemingly insurmountable odds. Castle Coalition
I spoke briefly with Ms. Littrell this morning by phone, and asked how it feels to have the local government's arrogance and hubris directed toward her through a Senate bill drafted specifically to strip away her civil rights with respect to the downtown parcel of property that she owns.
"I just want you to know that I have arrived. It is my own Senator from Weber County who is going after little old ladies to keep us at home and from buying property to stop the big bad government. I think this is a hoot," she said.
If you ever get a chance to meet her in person -- "little old lady" WON'T be a description that leaps to mind. the lady has fire; and she doesn't take crap from ANYONE.
Property owners of Ogden owe Dorothy Littrell a debt of gratitude for putting her money where her mouth was during our successful 2005 pro-property rights fight.
If any of our gentle readers who care about private property rights would care to deliver a few choice (but gentle) comments to the obviously-misguided Senator Jenkins, I'm inserting his email address here: sjenkins@utahsenate.org
The floor is now open for discussion.
