[Grovenet] Fwd: Land Use Update August 16th

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

Ever since Measure 37 was twice approved by a majority of the people of
Oregon, I've been seeing misstatements like this:

> But the Washington County numbers are truly
> staggering.  Stimson seeks to develop 36,086 acres
> (7.6% of Washington County) of pristine forest, and
> would see a spectacular payday if Measure 37 stays
> on the books, many times their $30,000 contribution
> to the Measure 37 campaign in 2004.

I find it disappointing that the writer of that bit failed to note that
Stimson would NOT see a "spectacular payday" unless they are able to make a
case that they had previously suffered an equal "spectacular loss" at the
hands of the state that M37 is now correcting. The purpose of M37 is to make
people who suffered a previous loss whole again by restoring what was taken
away from them. 

No doubt there are those who will try to "cash in" inappropriately by making
false claims. Is that the fault of the law, or the fault of the people
making the claims? Have any of them succeeded? If so, why, since the claims
must pass scrutiny by our county and state officials? 

If there are holes in M37 that need plugging to keep the crooks out of the
system, I'm interested, but I've yet to see a single such hole documented.
Indeed, as the writer notes, Stimson paid a significant amount of money to
help with the passage of M37. If Stimson has a bona fide claim, that amounts
to their having to pay a $30,000 "ransom" for the return of value taken by
the people of Oregon years ago. Yet they aren't asking for reimbursement of
that loss. 

It's important to remember that M37 does NOT require that any development be
allowed to occur. Whether any "...large housing subdivisions, big-box
stores, and strip malls..." are built remains totally within the control of
the people of Oregon through our government representatives. M37 only
requires that those who suffered bona fide losses at the hands of the state
be reimbursed for those losses to the extent that they can document and
prove them. 

Ron  D'Eau Claire