I-933 is backed by the Washington State Farm Bureau. The initiative’s goal is to reduce land-use restrictions on privately owned property. This is accomplished by requiring the government to either provide monetary compensation to a landowner when regulations prohibit certain uses of the land, or else to waive the restriction on the use of that parcel. This compensation would be retroactive for any regulations passed since Jan. 1, 1996.

Oregon’s Measure 37, which was approved by voters in 2004, provides some, though not all, of the basis for I-933. Oregon’s law allows landowners to apply for compensation or a waiver from restrictions that were passed any time after their property was purchased. Given the tight financial climate for most Oregon governmental entities,

Although only affective for regulations in place since 1996, under I-933, Washington landowners would be able to apply for “relief” regardless of when they bought their property. There would be no filing deadline; and only rules protecting "immediate" threats to human health and safety are exempt.

What kinds of restrictions would the 1996 date within I-933 affect? Basic zoning stays would stay intact.
Habitat protections would be in question – particularly those that require any portion of a property to remain in its “natural state.”
The ability of our state to plan for a 50 percent population growth in the next 20 years would be dramatically hampered as our elected officials would find their ability to regulate land-use significantly reduced.

How much money is this going to cost?

By September 2006, claims totaling over $5 billion have been filed in Oregon based on Measure 37.

We need to ask ourselves - where are we going to get the money to pay such claims? This question isn’t answered in the initiative, making it essentially an unfunded mandate.

What does it mean if I-933 passes and the government can’t afford to pay landowners?

The government in question is this forced into the unpleasant option of waiving the land-use restriction. For example, one Oregon developer has proposed to build a pumice mine and hydrothermal power plant on a slice of private land inside the Newberry National Volcanic Monument in central Oregon. His suit is asking for $203 million in compensation or a wavier of the rules which would let him build his mine.

Is this the kind of development we want to see on Mount Rainer or Mount St. Helens?

Although this initiative is supported by the Farm Bureau, Washington’s farming community is not united behind it. One of the main reasons for this conflict is the possibility of this measure to turn farmland into suburban developments. While this may be helpful to a single farmer who wants to sell off parcels of land – what about the impact on farmers surrounding the new development who must now deal with neighbors that are unused to the noise, odor and other impacts of farmland?

Don’t take our word for it – the Skagit Valley Herald points out this problem.

“Look around Skagit County, where decades of hard work have preserved a fragile balance of development and farmland preservation. Like how it looks? Take good pictures. If I-933 is approved by voters and fully implemented as intended, the scenery will change dramatically. When the dominoes start to fall, you can kiss farming good-bye in Skagit County.”

If a land-use doesn’t pose an “immediate” threat, why should we worry about it?

How much of an “immediate” threat was Hurricane Katrina a few years ago? Governments have to be able to plan for major, likely potential threats, even if they aren’t immediate.

Yet I-933, could require counties and cities to waive measures necessary to qualify for federal flood insurance. This means that the federal government would suspend the county or city from the program leaving property owners unable to renew their flood insurance when it expires each year. Not only does this put homeowners at risk for flood damage, it could cause major head-aches for homeowners who need this insurance to keep their mortgages. Let’s not become another New Orleans.

Want to learn more about Initiative 933?