(click on ads for more details)

Governor Patton’s “Smart Growth” Task Force Is Coming To All Of Kentucky

by Pat Pending (7-30-01)

Governor Patton has organized a “smart growth” task force, which is now holding meetings around Kentucky.  What does this mean?  Let’s use an example to illustrate what it means.

Imagine that you are a farmer on the outskirts of a city.  You have worked hard all your life to pay off the mortgage, and your plan is that, when you are ready to retire, you will sell the farm to a developer.  So, you plow the fields and drive the combine, working long, hot hours until you finally have the place paid off.  As it turns out, you are one of the last farms left in the area, and subdivisions have been built all around you before you are ready to retire.  Then, when you are finally ready to put your property up for sale, the people in the neighboring subdivisions decide that they don’t want your property to be developed.  They want it to remain as open space or “green space”.  The neighbors think it would be too expensive to buy your property and turn it into a park, so they decide to use the government’s planning and zoning apparatus to prevent you from building on your property, effectively turning your property into a park without having to pay for it. 

Your “smart growth” neighbors like this arrangement, because it keeps “green space” or “open space” available in their area, and it doesn’t cost them anything.  But where does that leave you?  You still hold the deed to your property and have the obligation to pay the property taxes, but your neighbors have the effective control over your land.  They have, in effect, used the state’s planning and zoning apparatus to steal your property.  You have just lost a tremendous amount of money, and your retirement years will be very lean indeed, but the “smart growth” people don’t care.  They all firmly believe that developers are evil and need to be stopped at all costs, especially if they can force you to bear those costs.

And that is what this so-called “smart growth” is all about.  Instead of respecting the rights of the property owner – the person who has actually worked and sacrificed to buy the property – the “smart growth” people want to control the property without having to pay for it.  They want to use the apparatus of government to steal the property’s value from the real owner.

Aside from being immoral, this theft of property rights also does not result in the beautiful, scenic environment the “smart growth” people say they want.  For example, if you were the farmer in the foregoing example, and you knew the “smart growth” people were lurking around the corner to steal your property rights if your land turned out to be the last “green space” in the area, what would you do?  Would you wait and continue to farm as long as you could, risking your property value being taken from you, or would you jump at the first opportunity to develop your property?

The property owner is the one who has made the sacrifices to buy the property, and, as the owner, he has the greatest interest in maintaining the value of the property.  If a group of property owners gets together and agrees to put restrictions on their own property, as is commonly done, especially in housing subdivisions and industrial parks, that is fine.  But the restrictions should be entered into voluntarily, not by force.  You will hear lots of scare stories about people building a factory in the middle of a subdivision if there is not a zoning board to stop them, but that is just a scare tactic.  Cities like Houston have grown and thrived without zoning, and they have beautiful areas just like any other healthy city.

And what about the temptation for corruption among the members of the planning and zoning boards?  These political appointees have the power to make decisions that have a tremendous impact on the value of property under their control.  If they allow the property to be zoned for one use, it will have a high value, but, if they restrict it to another use, its value will be very low.  Under these circumstances, the temptation to accept pay-offs and to be susceptible to other corrupting influences is great, and, indeed, the zoning process is a hotbed of corruption around the country.  Is that what we want for Kentucky?

If you live in the Cincy or Louisville areas, meetings are coming up today and tomorrow, and you should plan to attend.  Check this link for times and places http://smartgrowth.state.ky.us/calendar.htm

Here are the official announcements:

For Northern KY:  Important Meeting July 30, 2001, 6:00 PM Eastern Time The Governor's Smart Growth Task Force Northern Kentucky ADD Counties Meeting (Boone, Campbell, Carroll, Gallatin, Grant, Kenton, Owenton & Pendleton counties) Otto Building Theater, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights contact John Mays  (859) 283-1885

For Louisville area:  Important Meeting July 31, 2001, 6:00 PM EST The Governor's Smart Growth Task Force KIPDA (Regional Planning and Zoning Agency for the following counties) (Bullitt, Henry, Jefferson, OLDHAM, Shelby, Spencer and Trimble) Holiday Inn, 1325 S. Hurstbourne Pkwy at I-64 Louisville contact Jack Scriber (502) 266-6084