Central Alabama Counties to adopt policy statement that condones legalized theft of private property rights.

Tuesday, May 15th, 2007 Millbrook, Alabama - A citizen-initiated meeting convened to hear Ken Freeman and Don Casey, Chair and Co-Chair of Alliance for Citizens Rights, explain the various components of Elmore County’s proposed "comprehensive plan".

Among the individuals whose interest in civic affairs led them to the meeting in an effort to learn more about the proposed "comprehensive plan" were two County Commissioners, Joe Faulk and Don Whorton.

Displaying an attitude of anger with accompanying foul language, behavior unbecoming an elected official, Commissioner Don Whorton did not engage in meaningful and civil dialogue with Mr. Freeman, Mr. Casey or any member of the audience. Shortly before departing, he stated the "comprehensive plan" must be adopted.

Joe Faulk, Chairman of the County Commission, dialogued cordially and acknowledged that the $60,000 plan was funded by the taxpayers of Elmore County. Chairman Faulk explained that because the County did not have "home rule", it could not enact ordinances required to enforce the tenets of the proposed comprehensive plan. The "plan", an official policy statement of local government, would, therefore, be a paper tiger. He further stated that the voters of Elmore County had soundly defeated a "home rule" initiative in the last referendum and expressed his accord with the vote. When asked – why would he support the adoption of a "plan" that calls for "home rule", a position he does not support, he replied that the county could not apply for grants from upper levels of government without a plan in place. Mr. Freeman responded that grant money is not free – strings are attached which require the County to take specific action after receipt of the grant.

Strings secure a commitment from local government, to the Federal level, to implement the United Nations’ "sustainable development" program. See footnote one for Secretary of State Colin Powell’s comment at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, acknowledging the United States’ commitment to this global philosophy.

Chairman Faulk stated that adoption of the policy would honor the commitment of the individuals that had volunteered their time to help in the authoring of the document.

The following is a brief description of the supposed "paper tiger plan":

"Elmore County and Global Standards"

The "plan" in Section II states that: "Participants in the comprehensive planning process have issued a regent (governing or authoritative) call for Elmore’s future development to be sustainable and balanced." "The term sustainable development, (was) popularized following the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit,…". Utilizing the typical logo of three interlocking circles,1a the "plan" explains that through the ethics of the United Nations’ "sustainable development" program, Elmore County will "be carefully nurtured to achieve a healthy, just and efficient state."

Page II-2

The "Efficient State" guided by the United Nations’ principles of "sustainable development" will:

Ensure that relevant provisions of Elmore County’s Comprehensive Plan are "…used to guide all decisions regarding

• land use
• the environment
• the economy
• transportation
• housing or
• any other topic of potential impact to the quality of life enjoyed by the people of Elmore County." Page I-2 formatting changed

Ensuring that residents of Elmore County enjoy a "sustainable" "quality of life", the County proposes the following:

• "Ordinances must be adopted to create the regulations and enforcement authority to implement the Comprehensive Plan." Comprehensive Plan pp. 1-5

The first item on the agenda is "land use". Hence, the County will:

• "Utilize code enforcement programs to eliminate blighted areas…" page V-6
• "Hire codes enforcement (officers)/building inspections official" (italicized text added)
• "Establish a permitting system and fee schedule to offset cost of services"
• "Establish enforcement guidelines (i.e. due process)"
• "Require deed disclosure statement with all building permit applications" page V-8

LEGALIZED THEFT!

The following, quoted from Elmore County’s Comprehensive Plan, set the stage for "legalized theft" - "theft" without fear of punishment! The following rights are high on the hit list: "right of inheritance", "development rights" and the "ability to utilize property as the owner sees fit".

"The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution generally states that private property must not be taken for public use without just compensation. Simply defined, a taking occurs when a public agency either condemns property to build public projects (also referred to as eminent domain) or physically occupies or damages property. In the case of a government regulatory action (such as sub-division regulations), a "regulatory taking" is considered to be an action that so interferes with the use of private property that it has the same effect as a physical appropriation."

"In most cases, the test of whether an action is a taking is whether the regulation denies an owner of all economically viable use of the property. It is important to note that the courts have been very clear on this last issue; a taking does not occur simply because a regulatory action may impose limits on the use of property. The Takings Clause is often misconstrued as a prohibition against any regulation that either decreases property value or prohibits individuals from "doing what they want with their land." A loss of potential market value is not enough to trigger a takings claim." Emphasis added.

After imposing a "regulatory taking" (stealing) - the County makes the following comment about the property owner’s remaining "use".

"The remaining use does not have to be the owner’s planned use, a prior use, or the highest and best use of the property." Pages I-9 &10

Thus, after adoption of the globalist agenda, the Elmore County Commission is stating that it can:

• violate all but the menial aspects of property rights
• increase the size of government
• implement a fee and permitting system to pay for the increase in government and seizure of property rights.

Chairman Faulk holds a naïve and perilous belief - that the adoption of an official policy statement which embraces the basic tenets of tyranny is benign because the County Commission does not possess the authority to enact ordinances to enforce the policy. The belief denies the obvious – future passage of State legislation that requires the adoption of local "comprehensive planning" would transform Elmore County’s proposed "plan" from a paper tiger into a true man-eater.

Whether the "plan" is adopted or not by Elmore County, its existence is indicative of a socialist agenda being promulgated in central Alabama by the authors of the "plan" – the Central Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission (CARPDC). The intent is to foster similar plans on Autauga, Montgomery, Macon, Tallapoosa, Coosa and Chilton Counties. This ensures "…that applicable Comprehensive Plans or Plans for each jurisdiction are mutually compatible with the goals and policies of this Comprehensive Plan."2

You may download the Elmore County Comprehensive Plan at www.carpdc.com.

"President Bush and the American people have an enduring commitment to sustainable development." www.gcrio.org/OnLnDoc/pdf/powell_johannesburg020904.pdf

1a. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_development