A judge gave approval this week to the wording on a "property fairness" initiative that could suspend land-use zoning throughout Washington. The title of the initiative that would appear on the ballot closely follows what the Washington Farm Bureau asked for. Here's the text:
"This measure would require compensation when government regulation damages the use or value of private property, would forbid regulations that prohibit existing legal uses of private property, and would provide exceptions or payments."It sounds innocuous. But since cash-strapped governments would likely make zoning exceptions rather than pay landowners, the rules could be gutted.