Mimi Steel  Announces Launch of

San Francisco Bay Area Chapter, Citizens Alliance for Property Rights

January 29, 2012

            I am pleased to announce the launch of a new grass-roots citizens organization that will focus on the protection of property rights – the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the Citizens Alliance for Property Rights.

            The parent organization, known by the acronym CAPER (pronounced “caper”), was established in the State of Washington in 2003 to serve as a voice for property owners whose rights were under assault from many directions.

            It is important to remember that the Founding Fathers of our country recognized that private property rights are the foundation of all of the fundamental liberties we take for granted – freedom of speech and freedom of the press, the right to worship according to our own conscience, and the right to be secure in our homes. Furthermore, human experience has shown that private property owners are by far the greatest stewards of our environment.

            The concerted assaults on the rights of property owners come in many guises. The most popular buzzwords today include “sustainability,” “smart growth,” “social justice,” “open space protection,” and other noble-sounding terms that are never defined. The common denominator, however, is an erosion of the rights of the owners of private property.

            We have been compelled to organize to focus exclusively on the protection of property rights in the face of a well organized and well funded alliance of private and public special interest groups that share a common goal of reshaping our society through centralization of control over all land use policies under non-elected regional government authorities. Here in the Bay Area, the effort to centralize control over land use is being driven by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) along with several other regional authorities. These organizations are funded by taxpayer money, governed by boards that are not subject to accountability at the polls, and assisted by numerous “non-governmental organizations” (known as “NGOs”), many of which have virtually unlimited funding from tax-exempt foundations and special interest groups.

            CAPR is a private, non-profit, non-partisan citizens organization. Our mission is to serve as unified voice in support of the rights of property owners. Our members include citizens of all political persuasions who share a common interest in protecting the rights of property owners.

            In the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area, the most imminent threat to property owners – and, for that matter, all of the residents of the Bay Area – is a draconian plan known as “One Bay Area.” One Bay Area is a comprehensive plan that would centralize control over land use, transportation, and housing under the authority of unaccountable regional government organizations. It is a 25-year plan, which means that an entire generation of Bay Area residents will have fewer choices about where and how they will live, work, and enjoy one of the most beautiful areas in the world.

            The plan rests on a number of highly questionable assumptions concerning Bay Area population growth, economic growth, and the availability of billions of dollars in federal funds to pay for the huge expansion of government, subsidies for low-income housing, and expansion of money-losing mass transit systems. Ironically, the plan relies on diversion of gas tax revenues from road and highway construction to public transit systems even while promoting policies that would discourage the use of private automobiles and dry up revenues from gas taxes.

            The so-called “visioning sessions” that have been held throughout the Bay Area to solicit public input have been a cruel hoax. These sessions are carefully organized to create a false impression of broad public support for a  plan developed behind closed doors. These sessions have been managed by professional “facilitators” employed by proponents of the plan. They use proven techniques to marginalize opponents and limit discussion to meaningless alternatives. For example, no discussion or debate has been permitted on the underlying assumptions about population growth, economic development, or availability of federal funds to support implementation of the One Bay Area.

            As you can see, this is a very comprehensive plan that would fundamentally transform our way of life. We can learn a great deal from the frequent use of the term “smart growth,” which proponents are very careful to avoid defining. The use of this term evidences an elitist attitude that a small handful of unelected bureaucrats and special interests know what is best for millions of Bay Area residents.

            One Bay Area is a clear threat not only to the owners of private property but to anyone who values personal freedom.

            We invite everyone who shares our concerns and wants to learn more about the threat to our way of life posed by One Bay Area to join the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of CAPR.