Arizona
Taxpayer Nightmare
Costly for Taxpayers.
Harmful to Neighborhoods.
Proposition 207, deceptively titled "Private Property
Rights Protection Act," is a confusing bait-and-switch proposition
on this fall's ballot. It pretends to guard against eminent domain
problems, but in reality it is an extremely expensive, confusing and
bureaucratic measure that forces governments to pay speculators for
alleged value losses or waive zoning laws and rules for them. Our taxes
would be paid to special interests simply because those interests must
comply with laws that protect our homes, our property and our
communities.
Prop. 207 is primarily a project of
out-of-state speculators – they spent nearly a million dollars
just to get it on the ballot. If Arizona voters take their bait
on the ballot this fall, we, not these out-of-state deep pockets,
will have to live with the consequences of this costly and dangerous
measure.
No
on Prop. 207 - Who are the losers if Prop. 207 passes?
Taxpayers – This would enable
irresponsible developers to demand huge payouts from taxpayers for alleged losses
to their property values. Just ask the people of Oregon where a similar
measure was passed in 2004. They now face nearly $4 billion so far
in potential payouts to speculators. This money must be diverted from
critical programs such as public safety, public health, parks and transportation.
Local communities and local voters – Prop.
207 would undermine the ability of local voters to decide what types
of projects are appropriate for their neighborhoods and how their communities
should grow.
Police and fire departments – They
would face tighter operating budgets as taxes are diverted from essential
services and they would have to deal with the inadequate infrastructure
of unregulated development.
Businesses – Prop. 207 invites
lawsuits to determine what actions require what levels of compensation.
This would bring local land-use processes to a halt while courts sort
it all out – delaying and increasing the costs for worthy local
projects.
Neighborhoods – New zoning or ordinances
to protect historic buildings, changes in density or building height
limits, or any neighborhood preservation codes would be impossible
or very costly to implement.
Wildlife, native plants, and natural areas – Protecting
wildlife habitat, native plants, hillsides, and washes would be more
costly or unfeasible under Prop. 207. Far-sighted efforts to preserve
our quality of life, such as Pima County's award-winning Sonoran Desert
Conservation Plan, would be crippled.
Cultural preservation – Prop. 207 would
make it expensive or impossible to protect cultural and archaeological
sites, an extremely important part of Arizona's history and culture.
Vote NO
on Prop. 207
For
more information please contact Paul Barnes at (602) 840-1579 or pbarnes32@cox.net.
To
learn more go to www.NoProp207.org
No
On Prop. 207!