Everett, Wash.
Published: Wednesday, November 1, 2006

Don't be fooled by I-933's farm-friendly masquerade

John Burbank / Syndicated Columnist

 Tuesday night, you were probably confronted at your door by children masquerading as monsters. Next Tuesday or, if you vote by mail, for the next six days, you will be confronted by many political choices, some masquerading as what they are not and some depicting honestly what they are.

One ballot initiative, Initiative 933, is masquerading as "protecting farmland." In fact, the initiative goes in the opposite direction, enabling farmland to be cut up, paved over and converted into mini-malls unless the public pays the property owner to abide by the land use laws that have been in place for the past decade.

I-933 comes to us in a "home-grown" costume, while underneath the shroud you will find a New York City real estate magnate, Howie Rich. He has donated more than a quarter million dollars to the I-933 campaign through his organization, Americans for Limited Government.

Initiative 933's third costume is "no cost." In fact, over the next six years, according to the state's Office of Financial Management, the bill for administering I-933 and paying out claims will run between $7 billion and $9 billion over the next six years. That is about equal to what the state budgets for all the community colleges in the state, plus Western, Eastern and Central Washington universities and The Evergreen State College.

The most creative costume for Initiative 933 is "property fairness." I-933 would require the public to pay a property owner to not violate zoning and land-use laws. If we don't come up with the money, then the property owner could do whatever he wanted on his land. He wouldn't have to consider (or pay for) the damage that his actions did to neighbors' property or on water quality in adjacent rivers, lakes or Puget Sound.

Initiative 933 is so poorly written that it can be used to blow up neighborhood zoning in cities. It poses this question: Should you get paid to abide by the zoning in your neighborhood? If I-933 passes and you live in Lakewood in Pierce County, you could stake that claim. That's because I-933 would enable property owners to request payments for area-specific zoning regulations that have been in place since Jan. 1, 1996. Since Lakewood was incorporated in February 1996, all its zoning is considered "new" since then.

So let's just pretend that an adult entertainment company wants to locate a new "branch" in Lakewood. The company buys up a parcel of land next to a residential neighborhood. The residents aren't thrilled about the prospect of having this business nearby. Their property values are threatened. They will be a little nervous about having their kids outside, playing next to an adult entertainment center.

But I-933 doesn't consider the "property fairness" for the neighbors. It only takes into account the estimated projected difference between what that business might make and what it won't make if zoning prevents its operation.

So, how about the farmers? Many farmers oppose I-933 because they understand that the initiative's pay-or-waive system will imperil their agricultural land and livelihoods as farmers. That's the opinion of Cliff Bailey, a farmer in Snohomish, and a retired Republican state senator.

But other farmers support I-933. Ironically, several of these are also beneficiaries of the federal farm subsidy program. Twenty of the farmers and farm corporations that have given $250 or more to the I-933 campaign have received more than $2.3 million from the federal government in the farm subsidy program. One contributor, Roger Miller of Colfax, has received $564,165 in federal crop subsidies.

These farmers don't argue about government handouts when they come their way. But now they want Initiative 933 to force the public to further compensate them for keeping their land the way it is. And they would also get their crop subsidies!

Will voters be tricked into an initiative that burdens them with billions of dollars in the years to come? Will the projected 35,000 complainants under I-933 get their pay-off treat of more than $7 billion from the taxpayers over the next six years? Or should we realize that just as Halloween was yesterday, not to be repeated today, Initiative 933 should be left behind us on Election Day?

John Burbank, executive director of the Economic Opportunity Institute (www.eoionline.org), writes every other Wednesday. Write to him in care of the institute at 1900 Northlake Way, Suite 237, Seattle, WA 98103. His e-mail address is john@eoionline.org.
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA