Citizens' Alliance for Property Rights
Restoring Private Property Rights Since 2003
This picture was taken the same day as the previous picture
Tony Zgraggen has thirty acres near Enumclaw. He has three contiguous ten-acre lots. Tony lives in a small room attached to his machine shed. Tony wanted to build his dream home on one of the lots, about where his tractor sits in the photo. The farmers who lease his property practice crop rotation between corn and hay. Corn does not grow well in wetlands.
When Tony applied for a building permit from King County he was told that he could not build his house because his property was Class 2 wetlands. King County uses different wetlands designations now but the result is still the same. No new development.
Across the road and slightly south (less than 1/4 mile) is a fire station. It was built while the same regulations that prevent Tony from building were in place. The only difference was private citizen versus governmental entity. As the second picture clearly shows the fire station property floods. Neither property is a wetland but King County does everything in its power to prevent citizen taxpayers from building on their properties in the rural area. This story clearly shows that saving "wetlands" is not in play here. Neither property is actually wetlands. The real story is abuse of power to promote an ideology.
This could be what lies in the future unless we all do something. Cities decide what property they want for the new line of transportation and take houses and property away from owners, condemn houses to be torn down so they can build what they want, on your old property. Note the boarded up house that will be torn down that can be seen under the new roadway in the air they have built with your tax dollars. You didn't even have a say in any of it.
When you got married and started raising your kids you bought land and built a nice house in the suburbs. Your kids had lots of room in their surroundings, lots of friends living in similar circumstances, and schools nearby that they all went to with the opportunity to develop close friendships. You had the foresight to buy extra land around your home thinking that eventually your kids too could build their dream homes nearby. Their families and your grandkids would be close to their grandparents and the special relationships that come with all that.
But instead you may find out the bureaucrats in city hall have decided your area has developed as far as is acceptable to them. Or you might have what they decided are wetlands where you grew crops until the kids were ready for the land. You may not be allowed to split your property as planned. Your kids are not allowed to build next door. Your dreams may be shattered by city hall.
Instead, they will be forced into living in small places, stacked together, their friends and neighbors now in the apartment next door, not across and down the street as you had planned for them. City hall instead has decided what's good for them. Available land to build is far away and way too expensive for your kids. Your nearby family dreams have been shattered by city hall.
Paul Thiry has a home on May Valley Road in the Renton, Washington highlands. In the early 1980s, May Creek was moved close to his home to make way for some new homes nearby. Moving the creek caused his home to start flooding. Mr. Thiry complained loudly enough that the King County Executive, Randy Revelle, came to May Valley to see the problem for himself. There was increased flooding in other parts of the county so Mr. Revelle created a new division of the King Count Department of Natural Resources called Surface Water Management Division. A new tax was placed on rural property to fund the efforts of Surface Wate Management.
By 2000 the county had collected $180,000,000 to manage surface water and flooding was dramatically worse all across the county. The steps to Mr. Thiry's house had also sucuumed to the flood waters. He tore them off and started to rebuild them. He received a stop work order (red flag) because he did not have a permit for the work of rebuilding three steps. Mr. Thiry is an architect so he drew up plans, filled out the application and submitted it all to King County. His application was denied on the basis that the two 4X4 posts he proposed to hold up his handrail would increase the flood level on his upstream neighbors. Those are the same neighbors for which the creek was moved in order to accomodate their homes.
Meanwhile, King County was forcing the state of Washington to place huge root wads with sections of stumps attached into May Creek approximately 150 yards downstream. The State was required to do so as "mitigation" for the redesign of the intersection of State Route 900 and May Valley Road where several people had died due to the inadequacies of the original design. People are no longer dying at that intersection so the increased flooding on Mr. Thiry's house is probably worth it but Mr. Thiry still has no steps.
You can get more information about this and see video as part of the May Valley Video.
American property rights are based on the fundament union of human labor and natural resources. Those who wish to change America to a collectivist state devoid of property rights achieved a stunning success by removing the once mighty timber industry from our vast renewable forests via the spotted owl. We now know that it is the bigger barred owl that threatens the spotted owl, not loggers, but the die has been cast. False accusations of harm to some species can be used to move people off the land.
Now that the loggers have been moved into the cities, the rural areas of the great Northwest are being attacked using salmon. We are told that human misuse of watersheds is causing the extinction of Pacific Salmon and that everyone living in those watersheds must move into the cities.
Many of the numbers used in this article are based on the work of Dr. Leonid Klyashtorin of the Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography. He has been studying salmon fluctuations since 1980.
It is helpful to think of the North Pacific as the “pasture” for pacific salmon. Just like any pasture it has a maximum carrying capacity which varies from year to year based on the amount of food available from species lower in the food chain. The carrying capacity of the North Pacific for salmon is 1.4 to 1.7 million tons in periods of maximum production and 600 to 800 thousand tons in the minimum periods. We harvest about 70% of the fish so the harvestable amount will vary from 1.2 million tons to 420 thousand tons.
Dr. Klyashtorim has established that salmon and several other species both in the Pacific and the Atlantic achieve peak populations roughly every 60 years. The last peak cycle topped out in 1995 with a harvest of just less than 1 million tons. Shortly thereafter runs returning to Washington were declared endangered and the war against rural landowners was begun and continues.
You can read an overview questioning the salmon recovery efforts in the Northwest in the January-February 2006 issue of The Naked Fish. See Dr. Robert Crittenden�s story of the sordid agenda behind salmon politics at http://capr.us/PDFs/Crittenden_Two_Studies.pdf (206 page pdf).
The United States of America was created as a Constitutional Republic as were the individual states. Local governments such as cities and counties are usually democracies though some have charters or similar instruments that serve much the same purpose as constitutions. Voters elect representatives to federal, state and local governments. Those representatives are supposed to govern based on the will of the majority while respecting the rights of minorities as provided in the constitutions.
Unfortunately, more and more governing is being done at the regional level by appointed boards of bureaucrats, politicians and activists that have not been elected to their regional position by anyone. They spend your tax dollars to decide how to manage the lives of everyone in their region with no regard for constitutional guarantees. Seats at the table are normally filled by hand-picked representatives of whatever agenda is being pushed. Property owners are usually under represented if they are represented at all.
Google WRIA, PSRC, ABAG and MTC to see if any of these entities actually represent you.
CAPR News
The Fiscal Cliff and the Showdown Between Redistribution and Property Rights
The original article at this page is good but the discussion in the comments at the bottom of the page is outstanding.
...more‘Tulip Mania’: Agenda 21′s Carbon Nuts Getting Money For Nothing
How about a carbon dioxide cap-and-trade program? The problem was that CO2 is not a pollutant, and therefore the EPA had no authority to cap its emission. Al Gore took office in 1993 and almost immedi
...moreREED: Wayne Hage and the rout of property rights: An American tragedy
It didn’t make headlines, but it should have. A July 26 ruling released to little fanfare by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., was a landmark blow to proper
...moreAmerica can't trust the public trust
In March 1972, in the case of Lynch v. Household Finance Corp., the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that "A fundamental interdependence exists between the personal right to liberty and the personal right in
...moreThe Last Line of Defense: Property
"Property is theft." Proudhons classic anarchist paradox is more than a catchy slogan for international leftism. It encapsulates a complete and comprehensively absurd view of humanity -- one which f
...moreSustainable Communities’ Impact on Property Rights
“Sustainable communities” are the blueprint for future property development in the Bay Area of California. You will be told where to live and how to commute. You will be “encouraged” to use public tr
...moreBonner County moves for caribou coordination
SANDPOINT — Bonner County is pressing ahead with efforts to challenge the designation of habitat for endangered woodland caribou.
The board adopted a resolution Tuesday insisting that the U.S. Fish
...moreEarmark investigation: Rep. Norm Dicks and Puget Sound
Olympia, Wash. — In January 2007, Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) became chairman of a congressional subcommittee that gave him the power to secure millions in federal funds to environmental projects in his
...moreWoman faces jail time for planting vegetable garden in front yard
When Julie Bass planted a vegetable garden in her front yard, the last thing she expected was facing jail time for refusing to remove the plants.
...moreEconomists in the Wild
Far from damaging brains and killing seals, applying basic economics to the environment preserves it.
The industrial revolution that began about 200 years ago has changed humanity’s relation to, an
...moreTea Party network emerges as counterbalance to state-level green pressure groups
Across the country, private citizens and business owners are joining forces with Tea Party activists to push back against well-funded green pressure groups that work with government officials. Over th
...moreTexas House passes property rights bill
AUSTIN — The Texas House tentatively approved a bill on Wednesday that clamps down on governments' ability to seize property using eminent domain, an issue Gov. Rick Perry declared an emergency at the
...moreOne Man's Trash Is Another's Treasures
ELBERT COUNTY, Colo. -- The country is colliding with suburbia southeast of Denver, where Elbert County commissioners Wednesday unanimously passed a proposed law on rubbish.
Ordinance 11-01 passed
...moreThe Floating Dollar as a Threat to Property Rights
TO BEGIN, consider one of the most important measures of property, the kilogram. It’s a measure of mass or, for non-scientific purposes, weight. According to the papers last week, a global scramble is
...moreResidents win $2.5M settlement after blaming Seattle for floods
Twelve Madison Valley residents, tired of being flooded out of their homes, have won a nearly $2.5 million settlement with the city of Seattle.
They claimed the city chose to let their homes flood
...moreTHE HORRORS OF AGENDA 21 AND ICLEI IN FLORIDA
This horrendous threat to our lifestyle and the Constitution is making rapid progress, infiltrating every aspect of our lives from the air we breathe to the food we eat. It has to be stopped and only
...moreBIG NEWS: Federal Court Halts Shocking Property Rights Abuse
When my son came back from Kuwait he couldn’t believe it. He said, “Mom, what’s going on?” And I said, well they want to get rid of us and they’re finally doing it. He was upset. He said, “I’m
...moreSan Diego County Supervisors Disagree About Private Property Rights
San Diego County Supervisors disagree over the effects of their new general plan for future growth in the unincorporated areas. The board is grappling with requests from more than 200 property owners
...moreProperty rights upheld Monday
Homer property owners shouldn’t have it spelled out for them how many crab nets or recreational vehicles or cars can be stored on their property.
That was the consistent message to the Homer City Cou
...moreCity’s Beef With A Poultry Processor
Katy Grimes: The city of Sacramento is quickly on its way to infringing on the life, liberty and property rights of yet another business and land owner.
New American Poultry, a family owned Sacrame
...moreCity officials rally for redevelopment; Brown wants to divert money to other uses
Local officials are taking part in a six-figure League of California Cities media campaign to whip up public support for redevelopment.
The campaign centers on a petition warning legislators agains
...moreDon't take away private property rights with buffers
Regarding the article “Bill would undo trout protection,” (AC-T, March 5), I have studied the rules of the N.C. Department of Natural Resources. The area of private property affected is much more than
...moreCity council shouldn’t be messing around with property rights
I am very concerned, as we all should be, regarding what Delta City Council is trying to pull with Joyce and Rudy Rodriguez’s property rights! The “grandfather clause” was devised specifically to prot
...morePopulist before it was capitalist
The United States is often held out as the world's principal beacon of free-market principles. To the extent that it backslides, there is thought to be little hope for such principles in other countri
...moreThomas Sowell on Property Rights
“Among the natural rights of the colonists are these: first, a right to life; secondly, to liberty; thirdly to property; together with the right to support and defend them in the best manner they
...moreThe Retributive Theory of Property
Property rights are collections of rights. In the first place: for something to be your property you must have the right to use or enjoy that thing. In the second place, you must have rights of contro
...moreNeal Boortz: Take note of Marx’s mark in classroom
The beginning of another government school year is right around the corner, and with that comes your child’s first experience with the government’s attack on private property rights.
Now I know th
...moreIndependence and the Right to Private Property
It is truly a tragic sign of the times, that to be in favor of private property is increasingly viewed as being extreme. Witness the manner in which the New Left demonizes the political right, sneerin
...moreDorothy English is not the end of the story on land-use planning abuse
Advocates of land-use planning laws should celebrate rather than mourn the victory that the Oregon Supreme Court has granted to the estate of Dorothy English. If they are wise enough to respect this a
...moreAmericans relate to Founders, not Progressives
Democrats are reportedly planning to raise $125 million for a campaign to sell Obamacare to the voting public. Apparently the idea is that what 50-plus presidential speeches and statements and months
...moreThe battle to preserve property rights is in danger of being lost
It would be nice to find effective means of alerting the public as to what’s happening to our property rights without necessarily shouting at the top of one’s lungs.
A more graceful way of comment
...moreUgly debate embroils beautiful Salt Lake City neighborhood
Walking the dog by her 1922 Tudor, a woman winces at two behemoth homes that eclipse hers from a block away. On Yale Avenue, another lives in the shadow of an ambitious builder's latest redesign and f
...moreThe Horcrux Theory of Property
Among the several thousand articles I'm allegedly writing is one tentatively entitled The Horcrux Theory of Property. A confluence of events and ideas this week has prompted me to write about it here
...moreHotel Conference Center May Trump Private Property in Eminent Domain Case
In Auburn, New York, the city is threatening to invoke eminent domain to seize private property for a private hotel conference center, saying the public good outweighs the private property rights of s
...moreHistoric Preservation vs. Private-Property Rights
The recent battle between a property owner and the Morrison Historic Preservation Commission in Illinois has again reinforced the importance of private-property rights.
The battle centers around a
...moreMan urges repeal of growth plan
Educate yourselves in Montana law, Dan Cox told more than 80 people at a Tuesday night meeting supporting repeal of Flathead County’s growth policy.
Only then, according to Cox, will private landow
...moreAncient Indian Village in Rhode Island Pits Preservation Against Property Rights
NARRAGANSETT, R.I. — Long before this town existed, there were Indians of that name who lived, camped, hunted, fished and grew maize in the woods and fields along the shoreline.
Now, archaeologica
...moreS.F.’s housing mob and the death of property rights
By Michelle Malkin • April 5, 2010 10:13 AM
I’ve reported many times about the housing entitlement mob over the past several years. Boston has self-proclaimed bank terrorist and housing entitlement
...moreBanks, Basketball, and Property Rights
On March 11, Barclays Capital took out a full-page ad in the front section of the Wall Street Journal to declare that it is “proud” to celebrate the groundbreaking for the new Barclays Center in the P
...moreSetting Boundaries for Property Rights
The U.S. Supreme Court surprised many when it decided it would review an unusual Florida property rights dispute this fall. That case, Stop the Beach Renourishment v. Florida, involves some of the mos
...moreAvatar’s hidden pro-property message
Forget its left-wing themes. At its core, the movie is about defending property rights — something conservatives should embrace.
Conservatives have been very critical of the Golden Globe-winning fi
...moreErosion of ownership rights
Property rights are under assault on at least six different fronts, from all branches and levels of government. The only encouraging news is that a seventh front - the beachfront property of Supreme C
...morePLF scores win in fight to save Puget Sound homeowner’s property
The Washington Court of Appeals this week handed a major victory to a Lummi Island homeowner, represented by Pacific Legal Foundation attorneys, who has been blocked by county officials from protectin
...moreNo economic reality for Redford
Robert Redford is an example of the human species at its finest — rich and good-looking, I mean — so naturally he would never consent to live in anything so tawdry as a "subdivision." During his vi...more
Experts: County should focus regulatory energies on upland areas rather than shorelines
An estimated 300 islanders crowded into Friday Harbor High School's Hall Gym on Tuesday to hear a panel of well-credentialed experts take issue with the state's best available science and pending chan
...more65% Taking Declared Illegal
...moreCounty Sued in Federal Court
The County of Santa Barbara isn’t in the clear yet when it comes to litigation from Adam Brothers Farming, Inc., which had a lawsuit filed in federal court on its behalf by attorneys from the Pacific
...moreCan't Keep Them Down on the Farm
Rural King County residents are fighting back against environmental restrictions imposed by Seattleites. And they’ve just won a key battle.
...moreLimitations put on challenges to growth
A Supreme Court ruling limits the ability of outside groups to challenge past growth decisions in Thurston County, a decision that has ramifications for property owners, developers and environmentalis
...moreRural property owners win one
Almost four years ago, urban area members of the King County Council launched an outrageous assault on property owners in the unincorporated areas of rural King County.
Over opposition from some o
...moreCourt rules against KC land clearing regs
In a July 7 decision, a panel of three Court of Appeals’ judges ruled that King County’s land clearing regulations, which are part of the so-called Critical Areas Ordinance that became effective in 20
...moreKing County's rural-land restrictions go too far, court rules
In a case that could determine how far local governments can go in limiting forest-clearing across entire watersheds, a state appeals court ruled Monday that a King County law went too far.
Rural p
...moreLandlords may be held accountable for drug houses
RENTON, Wash. - King County may soon push for landlords to be held accountable in helping to shut down drug houses.
Councilman Reagan Dunn is pushing for an ordinance that would require landlords
...moreEminent domain measures' battle ends
A pitched battle between two ballot measures promising eminent domain reform - one of them backed by the California Farm Bureau - came to an end this week, with California voters choosing Proposition
...moreOld law lets developers use old rules, thwarting Puget Sound protection, critics charge
On a forested parcel of land in Burien, above streams, wetlands and steep slopes, a new condo development is being built.
When it's done, the Westmark Development Company's Emerald Pointe condos, p
...morePaying landowners to protect Puget Sound
Everybody, it seems, wants to save Andrew Albert's farm.
The 90 acres of green hay fields and barns near Arlington hug the Stillaguamish River, which, with some restoration, could be home to abunda
...moreThe Cascade Agenda: a new conversation
The Cascade Land Conservancy is welcoming 1,800 of its closest friends to breakfast today. The annual awards program — the 13th — combines honors and coveted recognition of community leaders with the
...more‘Smart growth’ plan met with opposition
Two dozen ranchers, contractors and real estate agents—most from the North County — asked county supervisors this week to delay or, preferably, kill the county’s long-awaited “smart growth” proposals,
...morePilot project, or land grab?
The King County Council's comprehensive plan committee held a meeting last week at Snoqualmie Middle School to take input from the public on several proposals. The change proposed for Snoqualmie Valle
...moreSupport landowners who keep their property in forestry
Conversion of forestland is at an all-time high and accelerating.
The main force behind this is the difference in the value of land for development, versus growing timber.
...moreProperty rights are lawyer's passion
Hanging in the Sarasota conference room of law firm Brigham Moore is an earth-tone print of six Plains Indians seated and standing around a table with a parchment copy of the U.S. Bill of Rights in th
...moreForget global warming: Welcome to the new Ice Age
Snow cover over North America and much of Siberia, Mongolia and China is greater than at any time since 1966.
...more
Big land deal, big questions
When the government sells public land, the law usually requires competitive bids so taxpayers get the best deal.
But King County is bypassing that rule for one of its largest land sales in recent y
...morePermanent burn ban planned in rural areas
The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, which is in charge of air-quality laws in the three counties, announced Monday that it is planning to impose a permanent ban on burning related to land clearing and a
...moreLet ferry users pay
I sent the following letter to each member of the King County Council regarding the taxes that will be levied to support the creation of the new ferry district and surprisingly, received only one repl
...more$36.8 million award for undevelopable land
Half Moon Bay city officials said Thursday they are stunned by a federal judge's order that the city pay a landowner $36.8 million for coastal property the court says the city damaged.
...moreBigger floodplain, bigger worries
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is in the middle of a dramatic revision of the country's floodplain maps that could curb development on several billion
...moreProposal jeopardizes future property rights
What's Measure 49 really about? The future. If Measure 49 passes, that future is bleak.
...moreKing County raises taxes to rebuild levees
King County residents will pay an additional $32 million in property taxes next year to rebuild levees that protect low-lying areas from floods.
...more
Property rights group forms to fight Upper Sims project in Port Townsend
PORT TOWNSEND - A property rights group has formed to fight a proposed redesign of Upper Sims Way and creation of a taxing district to finance the project.
...moreProperty rights battle rages in Bonney Lake
The rights of private property owners are being debated in Bonney Lake these days.
...moreA little "donut hole" creating a big problem for Maple Valley
MapleValley marks its 10th anniversary this week. The desire for self-determination of how the Maple Valley area would develop, and frustration and disagreement with the vision that King County held f
...moreHigher taxes? Court clears way
Homeowners in some parts of the state could see larger local property-tax increases as the result of a state Supreme Court ruling on Thursday.
...moreU.S. Sues Property Rights Ranchers Over Grazing on Federal Lands
WASHINGTON, DC, August 30, 2007 (ENS) - The U.S. Justice Department Wednesday sued two ranchers and the estate of a third rancher for trespassing on federal lands in Nevada. The ranchers, both living
...moreOn property rights, no better friend
John McCain has done a service to the conservative cause by injecting the issue of private property rights into the presidential campaign.
...moreFoot ferries nearing a rebirth
A new-style Mosquito Fleet could ferry passengers across Puget Sound, and maybe even Lake Washington, under a plan approved unanimously Monday by the King County Council.
...more
County parks levies get panel's OK
The Metropolitan King County Council has moved a step closer to asking voters in the August primary to levy $217 million in property taxes to maintain and expand parks.
...moreMaking a loud noise for fair use of property
The property-rights movement, said the speaker, "is not going away." He added, "At some level I think they're going to be successful."
...moreMole traps can lead to mountain of trouble
The surveillance meant hours in an unmarked car, staring down at a Kenmore home, waiting for something to happen. But, in the end, wildlife officer Lance Stevens Jr. got his man.
David Krick, aka,
...moreL'Eggo My Lego
Some Seattle school children are being told to be skeptical of private property rights. This lesson is being taught by banning Legos.
A ban was initiated at the Hilltop Children's Center ...more
CAPR has given birth!
It's official. CAPR has a brand new San Juan chapter due to the organizing efforts of Frank Penwell. Frank has rounded up some willing helpers and has started our first official chapter. Stayed tuned
...moreRegulation chokes housing market
For many years, people of all income levels were able to buy homes in the Puget Sound region because there were houses available within affordable price ranges. Today, a shocking proportion of the pop
...moreFrom CAPR Blog
Property Rights Are Not Secure in Washington State
2013-06-13By cindy
Property Rights Are Not Secure in Washington By Preston Drew, President, Citizens' Alliance for Property Rights In 2008 the Washington State Court of Appeals threw out the most controv...more
The Persecution of Jeremy Hill
2013-05-08By Rodney McFarland
The Persecution of Jeremy Hill by William Norman Grigg. ...more
Vilsack Says Rural America is Less and Less Relevant
2013-05-01By cindy
by truthfarmer in Uncategorized The USDA has been working concertedly since the 1930?s to decrease the number of citizen’s in the US who are actually engaged in farming. The focus, especially since t...more
Federal Government Loses Big in Supreme Court Property Rights Case
2013-05-01By cindy
This will lead you to an uplifting article on Citizen Review Online. Written by Damon W. Root ...more
Picky Historic Conservation Board Interferes with Family's Plans
2013-05-01By cindy
Property rights battle in Dallas by JASON WHEELER DALLAS - Brittany Bailey and her husband are building a new home in Belmont, the bastion of historic preservation in east ...more
Monroe County, Florida Loses in Land Takings Case
2013-05-01By cindy
County to Appeal Loss in Land-Takings Case By KEVIN WADLOW Property owners who want to develop 10 acres on No Name Key as the Galleon Bay subdivision won a victory in state appeals court Wednesday -- ...more
Supreme Court: Property Owners Win Takings Case
2013-05-01By cindy
If the federal government destroyed your property by flooding it, you’d probably expect that they would be required by the U.S. Constitution to compensate you for your property loss. Remarkably, in th...more
Fiscal Cliff and Redistribution
2013-05-01By cindy
The Fiscal Cliff and the Showdown Between Redistribution and Property Rights by Tim Kowal on December 6, 2012 As the so-called fiscal cliff so-called negotiations...more
Hands off! Ruling makes it tougher for state to seize private property
2013-05-01By cindy
By Eric Boehm | PA Independent FORFEITURE: In a decision filed last month, Commonwealth Court Judge Dan Pellegrini called the state’s civil asset forfeiture law “state-sanctioned theft” and ordered...more
King Co CAPR Precautionary Principle Discussion
2013-05-01By cindy
King County CAPR's Thursday, December 6th meeting featured speaker Daniel Himebaugh, of the Pacific Legal Foundation, who spoke about The Precautionary Principle vs. Essential Nexus. An in...more
Water Rights Battle, Ventura, CA
2013-01-03By cindy
There is a proposal for the Casitas Municipal Water District to use eminent domain to take over the Golden State franchise in the Ojai Valley. Casitas has not even released results of a study of ...more
SFBayArea CAPR chapter on the Blaze!
2012-12-12By cindy
Our San Fransisco Bay Area CAPR chapter has been busy and effective! Thank you Mimi Steel! San Fransisco Bay Area Property Rights Activists receive recognition from Glenn Beck on Blaze TV, promoti...more
Economists in the Wild — The American Magazine
2011-04-29By Rodney McFarland
Far from damaging brains and killing seals, applying basic economics to the environment preserves it.The industrial revolution that began about 200 years ago has changed humanity’s relation to, and at...more
Monopoly/Rent Seeking vs. Property Rights/Intellectual Property « State of Innovation
2011-04-14By Rodney McFarland
Here are three easy questions for Libertarians, Socialists, and Economists to determine if a right is a monopoly or a property right. 1) Does the right arise because the person created something? ...more
The Constitution and Property Rights – Tenth Amendment Center
2011-04-05By Rodney McFarland
It is sometimes suggested that the Founders did not consider property rights important because the term “property” was mentioned only once in the Constitution. The truth is that the Founders were...more
Residents win $2.5M settlement after blaming Seattle for floods
2011-03-26By Rodney McFarland
They claimed the city chose to let their homes flood instead of fix the problem. The city admits no wrongdoing in the settlement.The residents across a two block region of the neighborhood said they w...more
Central Planning
2010-07-26By Rodney McFarland
Hippodamus of Miletus was a Greek architect of the 5th century BC. He was the first practitioner of urban central planning. His first project was the city of Miletus, an ancient city on the western co...more
Taking, Nuisance, or Theft?
2010-04-07By Rodney McFarland
I originally wrote this during the heat of debate over the King County CAO amendments. It is still applicable as the rest of the state bears the brunt of their own CAOs and Shoreline Master Plans....more
Amnesty
2010-03-31By Rodney McFarland
King County’s Department of Development and Environmental Services (DDES) has had a long-standing marketing program known unofficially as “1-800 Turn in Your Neighbor.” It has been a very effective wa...more
What the Heck is a Distractor?
2010-03-31By Rodney McFarland
Anyone who has ever taken a multiple-choice exam has experience with distractors. Every question has one or more answers that look good, appear to be logical and just feel right. But they are wrong. S...more
Buffer, Buffer, Who gets the Buffer?
2010-03-31By Rodney McFarland
As you listen to your favorite practitioner of the Great Green Lie extol the virtues of ever larger buffers on your 5 or 10 or 15 acres, please keep the following photos in mind. The buffer on the str...more
Individual Control or Collectivist Control?
2010-03-28By Rodney McFarland
Many land use issues boil down to the question of who should make the decision as to the most appropriate use for any given property. Private property rights advocates will usually choose the owner...more
Clean Water Restoration Act is not about restoring clean water
2010-02-18By Steve Hammond
January 2010 saw my first attendance at the annual event in Washington DC promoted by American Land Rights Network. This year’s event(s) was entitled The Clean Water Restoration Act Briefings and ...more
Hi! I’m with King County and I’m here to save your lifestyle!
2010-02-18By Rodney McFarland
Run! I did and if you want any semblance of a “rural” lifestyle, you will too. The King County vision of a “rural economy” can be summed up in two words: ...more
The problem with Evironmetalism
2009-12-21By Steve Hammond
I keep trying to remind people that environmentalism is, well, an "ism." Folks who want to be good stewards aren't necessarily into the religion of environmentalism. Those who "believe" strongly keep ...more
Private property distinguishes free countries from the rest
2009-12-21By Steve Hammond
What is it that makes a free country? Is it becuase the country is corruption-free. Nyet. Is it because the free country has taxation below a certain level? Nine. What distinguishes a free country is ...more
The Latest From Reason
Property Rights
All Reason.com articles in the "Property Rights" topic.
Seeking Just Compensation for Damages from Federal Flooding
Posted on 18 July 2012 | 1:00 pm
Betraying the Arab Spring (Slum Clearance Edition)
Posted on 11 July 2012 | 8:46 am
Tulsa Officials Destroy Woman's Survival Garden
Posted on 21 June 2012 | 7:13 am
Restoring the Right of Self-Defense Is Not a License to Kill Cops
Posted on 14 June 2012 | 11:04 pm
The Supreme Court Fails to Stop 'the Nonstop Shenanigans of Local Governments'
Posted on 13 June 2012 | 3:29 pm
Reason TV: Zoning vs. Eminent Domain - How Ventura County Shut Down The Pine Mountain Inn
Posted on 30 May 2012 | 11:30 am
Zoning Out Muslims
Posted on 29 May 2012 | 8:19 am
Is It Even Possible to Lower Property Assessments "Improperly"?
Posted on 25 May 2012 | 11:13 am
Land Use Wars: George Lucas Strikes Back
Posted on 22 May 2012 | 6:20 am
Phonehenge Architect Sentenced to Pay For Demolition, "See Dead People"
Posted on 18 May 2012 | 1:50 pm
City of Austin Ruins Man's Home, Gives Him the Bill for the "Service"; He Now Sues
Posted on 9 May 2012 | 6:54 am
Connecticut Agency Seeks to Whitewash Its Role in Kelo Eminent Domain Abuse
Posted on 27 April 2012 | 9:49 am
Supreme Court Refuses to Hear NYC Rent Control Case
Posted on 23 April 2012 | 7:38 am
Will the Supreme Court Review New York's Rent Stabilization Law?
Posted on 12 April 2012 | 10:02 am
The Cure for Humanity's Natural State of Abject Poverty
Posted on 10 April 2012 | 2:15 pm
The Latest From PLF
PLF Liberty Blog
Pacific Legal Foundation is America's premiere freedom-oriented public-interest legal organization, fighting in the nation's courts for private property rights, economic freedom, racial equality and a balanced approach to environmental regulation.
We've moved!
Posted on 1 November 2011 | 4:41 pm
The Endangered Species Act can run from the Constitution, but it can't hide
Posted on 31 October 2011 | 5:04 pm
Obamacare: PLF urges Supreme Court to address federal spending issues
Posted on 31 October 2011 | 10:39 am
Supreme Court declines to review constitutionality of delta smelt regs
Posted on 31 October 2011 | 7:29 am
Obamacare...unrepealable?
Posted on 28 October 2011 | 2:50 pm
Holiday gifts for the constitutional bookworm in your family
Posted on 28 October 2011 | 11:20 am
PLF op-ed on the Fisher case
Posted on 27 October 2011 | 4:23 pm
"How did the tiny delta smelt end up before the U.S. Supreme Court...?"
Posted on 27 October 2011 | 2:11 pm
KGO's Bill Wattenburg speaks up for Sacketts, Sterlings, and PLF!
Posted on 27 October 2011 | 12:10 pm
Supreme Court calls for response from Florida in interior-design case
Posted on 27 October 2011 | 10:32 am
Government permission to drive a taxi now costs $1 million
Posted on 27 October 2011 | 9:38 am
PLF's Timothy Sandefur talks with Peter Schiff
Posted on 26 October 2011 | 5:13 pm
We're moving our blog!
Posted on 26 October 2011 | 4:15 pm
Gnatcatcher controversy continues ...
Posted on 26 October 2011 | 11:34 am
Federal agency congratulates itself for illegal delta smelt biop
Posted on 25 October 2011 | 11:55 am
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