Vote Yes on Initiative 933 this Fall!
We have submitted more than 317,000 signatures to the Secretary of State. I-933 will be on the November ballot.
Now the campaign to reach every voter with the message that politicians should think before they damage private property begins. Contribute today to help fund this crucial effort to protect your rights!
The Property Fairness Initiative will protect our rights, our pocketbooks, our jobs, and our economy. The concept is simple:
We want politicians to think before they act. Initiative 933 will require politicians and agencies to:
- Tell us why they want new regulations.
- Identify the properties they want to regulate.
- Identify how much damage they will cause to the use and value of private property.
- Determine if voluntary, cooperative programs can accomplish the goal.
- If the politicians and agencies then decide to damage the use and value of private property, they must follow the state Constitution and pay for the damage.
The Property Fairness Initiative requires government agencies to be aware of the impact of their actions
To avoid damaging the use or value of private property an agency must consider:
- The private property that will be affected by the action;
- The existence of any legitimate governmental purpose for the action;
- The extent to which the action deprives property owners of economically viable use of property;
- The extent to which the action takes away a fundamental attribute of property ownership, including, but not limited to, the right to exclude others, to possess, to beneficial use, enjoyment, or to dispose of property;
- Estimated compensation that may need to be paid; and,
- Less restrictive options and voluntary conservation or cooperative programs with willing property owners.
The Property Fairness Initiative requires government agencies to follow the state Constitution and not damage use and value of private property.
Examples of damage to private property include:
- Prohibiting uses that were allowed in the last 10 years.
- Prohibiting operation, maintenance, or repair of existing tidegates, bulkheads, and other structures necessary to protect private property.
- Prohibiting operation and maintenance of irrigation and drainage structures.
- Preventing a property owner from protecting his/her property from fire, flooding, erosion or other natural disasters.
- Requiring someone to leave property in its natural state or without beneficial use to the owner.
- Prohibiting maintenance or removal of trees or vegetation.
Damage does not include:
- Restricting the use of property when necessary to prevent an immediate threat to human health and safety;
- Building codes to prevent harm from earthquakes, flooding, fire, etc.;
- Limiting the location or operation of sex offender housing or adult entertainment;
- Requiring adherence to chemical use restrictions that have been adopted by the EPA;
- Worker health and safety laws or regulations and wage and hour laws;
- Setbacks from property lines that were adopted before January 1, 1996.
Government agencies must compensate for damage, or not damage the use and value of private property.
An agency that decides to enforce or apply any ordinance, regulation or rule that would damage private property must first compensate for the damage. The agency could waive the action as an alternative to paying for the damage it would otherwise cause.
Development regulations adopted under the GMA shall not prohibit uses legally existing on any parcel prior to their adoption. Nothing in the GMA shall be construed to allow government agencies to avoid their duty to not damage use and value of private property.
