RE: [lpsf-discuss] Re: Eminent Domain/Bayview Redevelopment

Starchild,
    Lots of people send a reply to Robert because his name is in blue at
the bottom of the e-mail, so no need to be sorry.
    I talked to Judith Christensen today and she said she'd try to call you
as she knows most of the answers. However, I did learn a couple of new
things from her: The lawyers who helped our group are from the "Institute
of Justice." Our petition is modeled after the law that Maxine Waters got
through as a hHouse Resolution, but the Senate dropped it.
     There were 4 petitions to start with. 2 have dropped out. Senator
McClintock felt that he couldn't do it without lots of money. The only
other one still gathering signatures is the one by Anita Anderson (whoever
she is) and it is funded by a Libertarian Contractor from New York who gave
1.5 million dollars. The main difference between ours and theirs is that
theirs still contains the word "blight" as an excuse to take the property.
As "blight" is not defined, the bill really doesn't do much. McClintock
has signed them both, but Maxine Waters would only sign ours. The 2nd
major difference is that theirs includes just compensation for "regulatory
taking." This means if the government devalues your property for such
things as restricting your use because of the endangered whatever or if the
government puts on rent control, then the government has to compensate you
for your lost income. While this may in fact be fair, the Sierra Club and
other environmental groups told our group that they would actively lobby
against any such initiative that containe "regulatory taking" in it. Also,
anyone in a rent controlled city such as S.F. would vote against it even
though the initiative would not be retroactive. Anyway, we have to take
small steps and try to get on the ballot something that will pass.
      There is an existing eminent domain group in the Bayview. I think
Phil knows who they are. I know that Loraine Wallace in our San Jose
section has met with the Bayview Group and was even on Ms. Radcliff's
radion station.
      Our group is a loose collection of volunteers. Anyone can join and
help us. They can e-mail me or go to the website
www.LimitEminentDomain.org and sign up there or e-mail the group's
discussion group (like this one) at the addresses above in the From and To
section of this e-mail. The one with yahoogroups.com goes to everyone on
their e-mail list and the one at just yahoo.com goes to the San Jose group,
I think.
        If you are computer savy (you probably are, but Bob and I say we
are BC (before computers), then you can download petitions from the
www.LimitEminentDomain.org website being VERY careful to follow what I
think are complicated directions. The state is evidently very fussy about
margins and both sides must be printed so that the whole petition legal
language is there.
         As far as the San Mateo Libertarian Party is concerned, we know
Jack Hickey fairly well and he lives up the hill from us. He took some
petitions.
         Thank you for any help. Pass out petitions, get people to sign,
have people call or e-mail for help and/or directions. I'll mail to
petitions to people who can't easily get them any other way. They are
pretty easy to get signed except it takes time. Bob has over 1,000 and I
have about 400.
Marge
650-208-5233