The July 16 letter titled “Measure would be very costly to state” is inaccurate and misses the point of Initiative 933.
I-933 would require government to compensate property owners when land-use regulations damage use or value of private property.
When government regulates specific parcels of private property for a public benefit, such as requiring rural landowners to establish buffers along waterways, the public should share the cost.
The full economic burden should not be placed on the property owner. This is a matter of fairness.
The letter writer also repeats the opposition’s charge that taxpayers would be required to pay property owner’s attorney’s fees, even if a claim for damages is denied. That is simply not the case.
I-933 is an effort to rein in government excess, and force government to consider the impact its actions have on private property.
Government should not be allowed to damage use or value of private property without paying compensation. That’s a principle contained in both our state and federal constitutions, but one that state and local governments too often ignore.
Instead of listening to opposition rhetoric, we urge voters to read the initiative for themselves by going to www.propertyfairness.com.
Dean Boyer
Director of Government Relations
Washington Farm Bureau
Olympia
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