This is Floyd Wynne with THE VIEW FROM HERE (12-28-05)

What effect is the passage of Measure 37 having?
Reports from upstate seem to indicate that there are fewer
people challenging the land use laws and filing petitions to either
have the zoning on their property changed or the government having to pay them the difference in value.
With the limitations on the state budget....there is very little chance that the state would opt to purchase the property...and the other option is to lift the restrictive zoning.
One of the biggest areas that is drawing fire at the moment is
the fact that the state has demanded in the past that a farmer could not subdivide a five acre tract to build a home for other members of his family unless the land produced a minimum of $80,000 dollars in revenue per year. That limitation also held true for forestry areas.
Those now filing for relief from the zoning are mostly those who do want to split off a small parcel of their farmland to construct a home for one of their immediate family.
That is somewhat ironic to me.....because back in the years when I was a Commissioner and we were struggling to put together a land use plan that would be approved by the LCDC board.....one of the provisions we had was that a farmer could partition off a five acre plot on his acreage....preferably the least useable portion....and construct a home for his family. That would enable the farmer to retire at some time...remain in his family residence....and turn the land over to his children.
We also added the limitation that such acreage could not then be further subdivided for another 15 years....a provision that we hoped would gain the five acre program.
However....LCDC ruled against us....and stated that we were only trying to open up prime farmland to subdividing.
In all this hubbub over Measure 37.....I think it is important that urban areas be allowed proper zoning in order to control growth to some degree.
But...that zoning need not be so restrictive that it downgrades the property involved.
The biggest changes will undoubtedly come in the larger cities where already they have stretched their urban growth boundaries...and expansion is their next alternative.
In this County....we can see that the five acre principle can be an important issue..but what of such issues as the power plant which
is projected for the Bonanza area.
Undoubtedly such a plant will have a negative effect to some degree on the farmland in the area.
I’m certain there will be other areas which will be open to challenge now and in the future.....time will tell.....but the current controversy merely proves to me...that we tried to apply some common sense to the land use plan we had for this county....only to have the LCDC reject it and apply one plan to the entire state.

This is Floyd Wynne and that’s THE VIEW FROM HERE.