The month of July has always been a very invigorating time for me. I'm not sure whether it is due to the beautiful summer weather, the many family events and picnics that take place, or the spirit of Independence Day that makes this time of year so exciting, but whatever the case, it is certainly a time of great renewal.

For me, renewal means more daylight hours to spend with family and friends outdoors; it means more exercise, yard work and recreational enjoyment. It also means a renewed dedication to God and Country. Of course, wherever there is a spirit of renewal, there is the temptation to become overly zealous in one aspect of our life, and perhaps overly neglectful in other areas. That's why balance is so important!

In order to help achieve this balance, I suggest very copious scheduling. Yes, scheduling! And, a very good way to begin this scheduling process is by penciling in the date for our League of Kentucky Property Owners Annual Meeting on Tuesday, October 5th, at Triple Crown Country Club in Richwood. As planned thus far, we will have a terrific spread of buffet-style appetizers and a speaker who will address property rights from a standpoint we have not yet attempted - the courtroom.

For many years our League has been asked to involve itself in legal battles, however, we have carefully avoided such confrontation because our group was created to serve an educational purpose, not to engage in costly litigation. On the flip side, because of our intense involvement in issues affecting landowners, we have come to know some of the best property rights attorneys in the nation. And this year, one of the nation's top attorneys will be our speaker!

On October 5th, William Perry Pendley, President and Chief Legal Officer of the Mountain States Legal Foundation, will tell us how to take on big government as it continues to invade our sacred property rights through the unConstitutional application of eminent domain laws and condemnation powers.

Believe me, if you've ever really wanted to know how these battles play out in the Courtroom, this is your opportunity to hear from the best. I hope to see you there!

Cordially,
Brett C. Gaspard
LOKPO President

LOKPO Annual Meeting

Mark your calendar for Tuesday, October 5 for our annual meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Triple Crown.

Our speaker, William Perry Pendley, was born and raised in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He received B.A. and M.A. degrees in Economics and Political Science from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He was a Captain in the United States Marine Corps, after which he received his J.D. from the University of Wyoming College of Law, where he was Senior Editor on Land and Water Law Review. He served as an attorney to former Senator Clifford P. Hansen (R-Wyoming) and to the House Interior and Insular Affairs Committee. During the Reagan Administration, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy and Minerals of the Department of Interior, where he authored President Reagan's National Minerals Policy and Exclusive Economic Zone proclamation. He was a consultant to former Secretary of the Navy John F. Lehman, Jr., and was engaged in the private practice of law in the Washington, D.C., area before his return to the West in 1989. He is admitted to practice law in Wyoming, Colorado, Washington, D.C., and Virginia.

We look forward to seeing you on October 5th!

Boone Comprehensive Plan Update

Under Kentucky law, every 5 years each Planning and Zoning Commission must review its plan for the future growth of its county and update the plan if necessary. In Boone County, the Planning Commission proposed a "Goals & Objectives" document to the Fiscal Court and each city government for their approval. Once approved, the Planning Commission develops the elements of the plan and a new Zoning Map.

In Boone County this is to be completed in 2005. To date, members of the Boone County Long Range Planning Committee and their staff have spent the last few months holding hearings and obtaining input for these goals. As I write this, it has passed out of the Long Range Planning Committee and the full Planning & Zoning Commission and awaits approval by Fiscal Court and the individual cities of Florence, Union and Walton.

Many thanks must go to the Long Range Planning Committee members and its chairman Dick Knock for the long hours they put into developing the 2005 Goals & Objectives. Several of our members have made contributions and suggestions to this document and some were adopted due to the cooperation of staff planners Kevin Costello, Dave Goehegan and Robert Jonas.

This document is 10 pages long and contains approximately 5,800 words, and for the most part, the above people and process have yielded a good document.

We feel that a little word-smithing on less than 1% of the document would improve it immensely. Members of the board have been, and continue to work toward, accomplishing this by urging changes to just a few words or paragraphs in the overall document.

Additionally, this is just the first step in what is still a long process. The elements of the plan and the Zoning Map must be developed next. We urge our members to keep abreast of the process, as the board is, and to make contributions to the process as you see fit. Remember, this is part of the process that develops the laws that you, as property owners, must live under. As the old adage goes; "You get the government you deserve." This means if you don't stay informed and contribute to the process, others will, and you might not agree with their input and subsequently the laws that get written.

Submitted by:
Jay Weber
Vice-President

Eminent Domain: How it Works, How it is Abused

Eminent domain is the power of government to take away a person's home or business. It has rightly been called the "despotic" power of government. Because of the vast potential for abuse of such a serious and drastic power, the U.S. Constitution states that private property shall not be "taken for public use without just compensation." This constitutional provision imposes two important limits on the taking of private property: first, if the government takes your property, "just compensation" must be paid; and second, the government can only take your property if it is for a "public use." If private property could be taken for any use at all, including transferring land from one private owner to another, the term "public use" would not have been included.

Originally, "public use" was understood by everyone-courts, local governments and the general citizenry-to have its ordinary meaning, and eminent domain was intended only for projects that would be owned by and open to the public, such as to construct public works like roads and water systems and to erect public buildings like police stations.

Gradually though, government has come to ignore these limits. Now, local governments take individual private property and give it to other more politically influential private parties for their economic profit. After a private entity like a developer identifies the parcels of land it wants to acquire and city agencies approve a "redevelopment project," the city attempts to confiscate these private properties and transfer them to the developer. They routinely ignore the personal values of home and business ownership of the individuals being evicted. They do not understand that many homeowners and business owners are happy where they are and simply have no desire to sell their property. They attempt to justify that the taking is for a "public use" by citing economic benefits.

Courts, instead of acting as a check on these abuses of government power, for years significantly abdicated their role and simply have deferred to whatever claims of "public purpose" a legislature or administrative agency made, no matter how attenuated. With a strong economic incentive and little judicial check on the use of eminent domain, state and local governments outrageously began to use government power to condemn private property and evict the rightful owners.

The erosion of the "public use" doctrine led to predictably appalling results. In 1981, Detroit destroyed Poletown, the last racially integrated neighborhood in the city, and gave the property to General Motors to build a plant. The closely-knit community could not be replaced, and the plant did not live up to its promise of bringing economic prosperity to the city. Likewise, when the City of Oakland decided that it didn't want the Raiders football team to move to Los Angeles, it tried to exercise eminent domain to take ownership of the team and force it to stay. And in 1984, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Hawaii to engage in a wholesale transfer of land from owners to renters.

There are plenty of cases here locally as well, and the best way to help defend your property rights is through an organized group that presents strength in numbers. Please continue to support our League, and ask as many as your friends to join as possible. Our very modest annual dues of just $25 make it possible for everyone to help defend the American Dream.

Update from the Al Yelton Chapter in Grant County

Thanks to all those who attended the The Al Yelton Chapter in Grant County fish fry and fund-raising event that was held on May 15, 2004.

We appreciate your support and continued membership in the Al Yelton Chapter in Grant County.

Hope to see at you again next year at our annual fish fry!

Charlie Phillips, President
Al Yelton Chapter in Grant County