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Defend our property rights
March 12, 2008 - 3:38 PM
I come to you as a voting, taxpaying citizen of Holmes County. I find myself between a rock and a hard place, torn between embracing history and preparing for the future.
We have been backed into a corner by our state and local officials, requiring us to have a revised comprehensive plan before 2010.
Property owners in Holmes County have worked very hard on low incomes in order to acquire and pay property tax on the land they own. That is excellent management and something to be proud of.
We don’t need elected officials dictating how this land should be used. Many of these citizens own property that has been in their families for hundreds of years. It has great value to them.
This value is something that our elected officials can’t comprehend. They haven’t experienced hard times involving these properties which create this great sense of pride and value. Their value is in money, the almighty dollar.
I wonder how they would feel about a mandated comprehensive plan for their 401K, someone to dictate how they should spend their money or how much they were allowed to save. Essentially these properties are many peoples’ 401K. They have sacrificed to hold onto their farms, believing they would always have something to fall back on.
This comprehensive plan and its invasion on property rights, just ripped their belief to shreds. It requires that you be locked into a zone; whether it be agricultural, residential, commercial, and so forth.
What happens if you change your mind about your land use? I’m sure our elected officials can refer to this plan and tell us what to do.
If all else fails, I understand you can sell your property rights. Isn’t that the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever heard?
Those producing this comprehensive plan say their goal is to conserve agricultural properties. How can this be if this mandated plan has been enforced elsewhere in the state where growth has not been regulated and these agricultural properties do not exist?
They also speak of countywide water systems. How can this be feasible without a population explosion? I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready for apartment complexes in my back yard.
I talk to people everyday who move here because of the nice people, nice quiet neighborhoods, and good schools, not to mention unsightly cost of living in their previous locations. We have all of these wonderful things. Precious gifts of a rural community, but they will disappear before our eyes. This plan opens the doors for those with money and power to prevail.
I am a young person with three young children and I love Holmes County. I realize we need some growth, especially industry, but there has to be a balance.
We can’t allow these people to take advantage of what they consider downtrodden citizens with this plan. Taking a persons’ property rights tips the scale - there is no balance.
I plead with the citizens of Holmes County, if the precious things we have are valuable to you, speak out.
If you own property here, or ever plan to, get involved. People are making decisions for us and they have no idea what life here is like. Honestly, I hope they don’t discover this “good life,” they just may want to move up here.
Many of us have deep roots in Holmes County, even newcomers can appreciate this and it shouldn’t be given up. There has to be consideration of the history of land use before deciding about future land use. If this comprehensive plan is adopted, we can kiss our paradise goodbye.
We have been backed into a corner by our state and local officials, requiring us to have a revised comprehensive plan before 2010.
Property owners in Holmes County have worked very hard on low incomes in order to acquire and pay property tax on the land they own. That is excellent management and something to be proud of.
We don’t need elected officials dictating how this land should be used. Many of these citizens own property that has been in their families for hundreds of years. It has great value to them.
This value is something that our elected officials can’t comprehend. They haven’t experienced hard times involving these properties which create this great sense of pride and value. Their value is in money, the almighty dollar.
I wonder how they would feel about a mandated comprehensive plan for their 401K, someone to dictate how they should spend their money or how much they were allowed to save. Essentially these properties are many peoples’ 401K. They have sacrificed to hold onto their farms, believing they would always have something to fall back on.
This comprehensive plan and its invasion on property rights, just ripped their belief to shreds. It requires that you be locked into a zone; whether it be agricultural, residential, commercial, and so forth.
What happens if you change your mind about your land use? I’m sure our elected officials can refer to this plan and tell us what to do.
If all else fails, I understand you can sell your property rights. Isn’t that the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever heard?
Those producing this comprehensive plan say their goal is to conserve agricultural properties. How can this be if this mandated plan has been enforced elsewhere in the state where growth has not been regulated and these agricultural properties do not exist?
They also speak of countywide water systems. How can this be feasible without a population explosion? I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready for apartment complexes in my back yard.
I talk to people everyday who move here because of the nice people, nice quiet neighborhoods, and good schools, not to mention unsightly cost of living in their previous locations. We have all of these wonderful things. Precious gifts of a rural community, but they will disappear before our eyes. This plan opens the doors for those with money and power to prevail.
I am a young person with three young children and I love Holmes County. I realize we need some growth, especially industry, but there has to be a balance.
We can’t allow these people to take advantage of what they consider downtrodden citizens with this plan. Taking a persons’ property rights tips the scale - there is no balance.
I plead with the citizens of Holmes County, if the precious things we have are valuable to you, speak out.
If you own property here, or ever plan to, get involved. People are making decisions for us and they have no idea what life here is like. Honestly, I hope they don’t discover this “good life,” they just may want to move up here.
Many of us have deep roots in Holmes County, even newcomers can appreciate this and it shouldn’t be given up. There has to be consideration of the history of land use before deciding about future land use. If this comprehensive plan is adopted, we can kiss our paradise goodbye.
