Agenda 21 in action
November 14, 2012
Dear Lincoln County Planning Board Members and County Commissioners,
I am writing in opposition of the proposed zoning district overlay for the Turtle Lake area in Lincoln County near Eureka. While I live in Whitefish, I am part of an ownership trust of my mother’s lot GG, and my brother owns, lives and farms on the lot next door, both on the lake. I spend about twenty weekends a year there. I am also a professional land use planner with twenty years experience in the public and private sector, most of those years spent writing and enforcing zoning ordinances in Alaska and Montana. I believe this proposal is inconsistent with the Lincoln County Growth Policy, which I will outline below. I will also include an item by item analysis of the text of the proposed zoning document, which includes comments and concerns on many items which from my experience are inconsistent or would be very difficult to enforce.
Some well meaning neighbors have put together a draft zoning overlay district for the Turtle Lake area. The zoning, which states its primary purpose is to curb people living in RV’s, also attempts to impose some of the owner’s existing covenants on lot owners that currently have no covenants. Establishing covenants for a new subdivision is a method often used to protect property values and increase the value of undeveloped lots by setting ground rules for development. However, trying to impose covenant-like rules on neighbors who have small existing lots with no covenants that don’t want them infringes on property rights and is down-right un-neighborly.
As a planner, I support good planning and believe zoning can be an effective tool for communities to protect property values and amenities while minimizing neighborhood conflicts. However, zoning documents are often challenged. They need to be well written, have clear objectives, be concise, and they must implement the goals of adopted long range plans. If you are creating and imposing zoning from scratch in a rural county like Lincoln where there currently isn’t much zoning, it’s a pretty big deal. Zoning regulations shouldn’t be slipped through over the holidays in the winter when the people most affected can’t be there to protest. That’s not very fair.
Zoning should to be accomplished through a broader, community-wide discussion of goals and objectives for various types of land uses and as a direct implementation of an adopted Growth Policy and an adopted area plan which includes specific land use goals for neighborhoods. This proposed zoning district is not based on a long range plan. It is poorly written, over-reaching, difficult to enforce, and most importantly, and inconsistent with the zoning chapter of Lincoln County’s own Growth Policy.
Montana Law and the Growth Policy
In order to enact zoning in the State of Montana, State Statute 76 says that all zoning regulations adopted must be consistent with an adopted County Growth Policy.
MCA 76-2-203. Criteria and guidelines for zoning regulations.
(1) Zoning regulations must be: (a) made in accordance with the growth policy
In response to the article on proposed zoning…
Emerson would be upset to know this zoning document would forbid him from building his rustic cabin on Walden’s pond. Ms. James is quite correct in stating that this came about as a way for the lots on the Turtle estates second subdivision to enforce their covenants on the first subdivision owners(Lots A,B,C,D) and actually the rest of the owners on Turtle Lake. By creating a zoning district this places enforcement directly on the county and thus the tax payers of Lincoln County. If this document was only about RV’s and lot densities, it would read, minimum lot sizes for divisions and minimum square footage for single family dwellings, period. This document goes far beyond their supposed intent and is a direct attack on property rights, small businesses and agriculture in Lincoln County. In order to impose this mob rule (60%) and poorly written zoning on their neighbors, the lots in the first subdivision had to be gerrymandered eliminating lots A and B (the founding lots) from a vote or participation. They may argue that they do not have lake front, but neither does lot AA on their side. As a third generation Montanan and third generation farmer I have some serious problems with their zoning regulations. My grandparents made it through the great depression (Highwood Mt.) by having a subsistence farm as opposed to a citified “hobby farm” as proposed.” 1 large hoofed and 2 small hoofed animals per acre, all animals fenced and or caged, no pigs, no cows, no dairy”. As a retired licensed and insured building contractor in Mt. I’m wondering who is going to enforce the building codes proposed, but mostly, who is going to pay for this building inspector ? (That’s right tax payers of Lincoln county! ) In the article I was quoted as saying I was going to build an earthship home when actually I used this as an example of a 15,000 sq ft mansion built by Denis Weaver in Colorado with no cement foundation. What about sono tubes/post and pole foundations? Or slab on grade shops? Or post and pole barns…etc…Having built multi - million dollar alternative energy mansions in the Flathead for 20 years, I find their proposed ticky tacky stick framed vinyl clad low efficiency dwellings to be an affront to the new alternative green technologies and detrimental to my property values and the environment. As to businesses, no manufacturing, does this include signs? Wood products ? Nope just hotrods, farms, hmmm doesn’t sound personal, just like chain sawing down my solar greenhouse, attempting to burn me out or desecrating my pet graves…OK…now for legal control paid for by my good friends and other neighbors who pay taxes and live here or moved here to get away from this same BS elsewhere. Just wait till zoning comes for you!!!
Taxed enough already
Dan Taylor
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This zoning is how liberals and one worlders think. If
they don't like guns, nobody can have one. If they want to build lavish and
expensive homes, then everyone around them has to go into debt and build
beyond their means, or give up their land and be driven out.
This kind of collectivism is what is ruining this
country and destroying freedom, AND IT'S BEING DONE DELIBERATELY TO REMOVE THE MIDDLE CLASS FROM THE LAND.
This is part and parcel of what Agenda 21 is all
about and it's happening right here in Lincoln County.
How about it Mike Cole? Are you
going to stand up for Freedom, or are you going down the road to allowing
zoning in the middle of the county engineered by a few hot shots who
have big ideas about the values of their own property at the expense of their
neighbors and are willing to gerrymander the line of a zoning
district to get their way?
Are you going to stand up for freedom and liberty,
or are you going to be part of the problem of too much government that is
killing America?
Are you going to keep your OATH OF OFFICE BEFORE
GOD ALMIGHTY TO THE CONSTITUTION or are you going to become an
oathbreaker right out of the box? Read the Constitution and
find out your duty to protect Freedom and Liberty and your neighbor's God given
rights to own property.
You said during the campaign that you didn't think
as county commissioner you would have to spend much time on Agenda 21. Well here
is your first dose. You don't even know what Agenda
21 is or does do you? It's time you get Glenn Beck's new book "Agenda 21 and
get your education. Earn your pay Mike. Keep your oath.
The classic definition of ignorance is "Not knowing
what is required by one's station in life". How about starting out your new job
with making that not apply to you?
If you need some help in getting up to speed on
that score feel free to call me. I have lots of materials for you to study on
Agenda 21.
Here are some links to get you started educating
yourself.
Sincerely,
Paul Stramer
SLC Distributing
PO Box 116
Eureka MT 59917
800 889 2839
pstramer@eurekadsl.net
SLC Distributing
PO Box 116
Eureka MT 59917
800 889 2839
pstramer@eurekadsl.net
