Unintended consequences of law

Or is that backwards?

According to a recent article in The Oregonian, state and local government agencies might have a harder time implementing Measure 37 than anyone thought. And by anyone I mean, of course, everyone who voted in favor of the Measure. The drafters and supporters of Measure 37 purported to restore balance to property right in Oregon. Development rules are very strict in many places in the state and, the argument goes, these strictures unfairly steal property value from property owners. Measure 37 restores the land-use rights attached to property at the time of purchase to the owner of the land.

For example, fifty (50) years ago I buy some farmland. At the time I could conceivably build anything I wanted - a school, a factory, a housing development. Then ten (10) years ago the local government enacts some zoning that restricts my land use to say, farming. Measure 37 rolls back the regulatory clock to fifty (50) years ago for me, but *not* for anyone who has purchased land in the last 9 years.

Well imagine the confusion when people go to use Measure 37. They can't sell the property to a developer because then the updated zoning laws apply to the new owner. If they can't sell the land for the new purpose, and they don't don't have the capital to perform the improvements themselves, then the property owners don't benefit from Measure 37. And in other cases, the records for which laws apply to which properties creates an entirely new realm of red tape, record keeping and regulation.

But all this confusion and caterwauling misses the fundamental problem with Measure 37: the government is *and always has been* empowered to regulate property. For highway right of way. To encourage economic growth. The protect the health of it's citizens. The government (local, state, and federal) have jurisdiction over land use. To act otherwise is retarded. If you bought a farm fifty (50) years ago and NOW you want to try to benefit from urban sprawl, too frickin' bad. You should have been more involved with local ordinances or you should have sold at an earlier point in time.