News
BOS Speech CPR vs. JTHG
Jack Shockey, President, Citizen for Property Rights
January 3, 2008
Dear Board of Supervisors,
Citizens for Property Rights of Loudoun County opposes your support for the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Heritage Area resolution (Action Item No. 10).
The importance of land use law is underappreciated. We cannot live, cannot work or cannot travel without using land. Thus, whoever controls the land, controls the people. So when a self-anointed group of preservationists gains control of the use of millions of acres of privately owned land, it's time to examine exactly what is going on.
CPR has examined the JTHG legislation. That is why we are here today.
Yes, historic education may be worthwhile. But, preferring a certain business, tourism, over the detriment of other economic activity is a function of the market, not legislation. The tourism industry can promote itself. Why increase the federal debt?
Let's look at the details to make this vast region into a "sustainable tourism" attraction. Who will be hurt? What are the trade-offs? The press, predictably, has neglected this analysis.
The key word is preservation. We know that Gettysburg, Monticello, Harpers Ferry are already preserved. Many historic sites in the region are already preserved. Just reviewing the list of preservation groups in the region informs us that preservation is alive and well.
What is left to preserve is where the present lives. People cannot live in the past; they must live their lives in the here and now as they create future history. JTHG will thwart the economic life of citizens not engaging in tourism or in working the landscape.
JTHG expects development to be "context sensitive." That is, development must be consistent with JTHG preservation goals-to preserve the natural, the historic, the scenic. (What is left?) Even federal activity must pass through the JTHG gauntlet. Businesses with too many employees would fail the "context sensitive" test. Businesses that use too much land would fail the "context sensitive" test. Roads would have to be "context sensitive." We already know what that means: traffic calming using lower speeds and expensive plantings. Commuting is not "context sensitive."
The entire economic life of the region will be determined by people who already have their estates, have what they want. Housing development would be discouraged. Our grown children, priced out of Loudoun due to our restrictive zoning, will no longer be able to flee to nearby areas where housing is not considered contraband. These areas will fall under the shadow of JTHG.
It is a gray day for the rising middle class. Most will experience a lower standard of living with JTHG. Recall what the first downzoning to 3-acre lots did to black citizens
in St. Louis and other such communities in Loudoun. Or would you rather forget? CPR hopes Mr. Albert Bland of St. Louis will be around a long time to remind you, because the same is now happening to all races who are without home equity or fat wallets.
JTHG is excessive. It is prescriptive. Moreover, the legislation allows JTHG to undertake "any other initiatives that advance the purposes of the Heritage Area." Such power! To achieve its goals, JTHG will have to dictate the economic life of the region. Sorry, but "to promote alternative economic models" is not the answer. We will be less free to use our land as we wish, to live where we want to live.
Preserve the Bill of Rights instead and tell JTHG enough is enough. While claiming to promote history, JTHG undermines the purpose of studying it-that is, for us to appreciate the liberty made possible by the sacrifices our forefathers. Such irony!
Citizens for Property Rights appreciates that liberty. We see our liberty curtailed by JTHG. That is why we are here.
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