Washington's so-called property-rights initiative, I-933, is receiving only lukewarm support from business groups that generally want to roll back land-use laws, according to a report today. Supporters of a similar measures a decade ago reportedly are taking a pass this year because they see it as a lost cause.
Don't be so sure. While there may be differences over this specific initiative, momentum is behind the "government causes our problems" mindset, especially in exurbs and rural parts of the state.
Over breakfast in Concrete, Skagit County, today I noticed that the latest Sedro-Woolley Times-Courier carried an opinion piece by the Building Industry Association of Washington, laying blame for the state's affordable housing cruch on restrictive growth-management laws. Technically the group isn't working to pass I-933 but its efforts to undermine land-use laws will help the measure. Similar screeds are appearing around that state and could easily put I-933 over the top.
Unfortunately the campaign against I-933 hasn't caught fire. They talks about abstractions, like how much traffic the repealing land-use laws would supposedly cause. But it's far from clear that those those abstractions will persuade enough voters to support the status quo in November.