President's Message

Each year the League of Kentucky Property Owners has its annual membership renewal drive in order to continue the fight to preserve our property rights. Since we do not have a paid staff or actively recruit new members on a regular basis, this is our main source of revenue and support.

For the modest dues of just $25.00 per year, we have the opportunity to bring together some of the most recognized names in Northern Kentucky to serve on our all-volunteer boards and committees. As a result, many of our initiatives have been passed on both the local and state levels. More importantly, however, because of our significant influence, we have been extremely successful in preventing the passage of legislation that would have clearly eroded our freedom to own and possess property.

In 2004, our organization once again ensured that property rights remained sacred in Boone County by participating in the five-year update of its Comprehensive Plan “Goals & Objectives.” Due to our efforts, language was inserted to prevent Planning & Zoning from using “specific regulatory tools” not in step with the application of common law. Moreover, we were able to include “incentives” for innovative design methods that help provide a balance of land use within our community.

As our planned activities for 2005 now begin to gain momentum, the League of Kentucky Property Owners has already begun to form a new chapter in Campbell County, and will continue to transform our organization into truly local entities while maintaining our statewide presence. In addition, since the Kentucky General Assembly is only holding a short legislative session in Frankfort this year (which is good), we will be working with our elected officials to strengthen your rights protected by the 5th Amendment and weaken the ability of local governments to abuse their authority by condemning property for non-public uses.

In closing, please remember in your prayers our organization. And, if possible, please send your most generous donation so that we may continue our work against poor public policy. Without your support, this organization would positively not exist, and today there would be no right-to-farm in Kentucky, limited access to public services such as sewer and water, and nearly no possible means to argue development design standards.

United in number we have accomplished much, divided in spirit we shall certainly fall victim to the scandalous rapprochement of our Government. Thank you for your generous support of our League of Kentucky Property Owners. May you and yours have a blessed Easter season!

Brett Gaspard
LOKPO President

League Activities Planned in 2005

Following a tremendous success in Boone County with respect to the five-year update of that County's Comprehensive Plan, the League has once again drafted legislation for consideration by the General Assembly to protect your property rights. In addition, we have also agreed to address the banefulness of EPA storm water regulations and help establish a statewide coalition of property rights groups.

In essence, there are three major pieces of legislation which we hope to pass during this "short-session" of the Kentucky General Assembly that began February 1, 2005.

The first piece of legislation directs the Attorney General to establish a consistent review process that better enables state and local government agencies to evaluate proposed administrative actions to ensure that such actions do not result in the unconstitutional taking of private property. The second piece of legislation authorizes the General Assembly to create a Task Force to study Eminent Domain abuse, and the third piece of legislation seeks to create a more clear formula for regulatory proceedings and just compensation.

For your benefit, we have also included in the newsletter a brief synopsis of eminent domain abuse. However, for additional details on this very volatile subject, please visit the Institute for Justice Web site at www.ij.org, or www.castlecoalition.org.

Since this legislative session basically only convenes until March 3rd, we are asking that you please contact your elected officials and ask them to support property rights. Tell them you are a member of the League of Kentucky Property Owners and ask them to support House Concurrent Resolution 57. Moreover, please feel free to provide them with one of the following examples of eminent domain abuse:

(1) In Atlantic City, an entire black middle-class neighborhood was razed in order to build a tunnel to a casino; (2) In Washington, a woman in her 80s was ejected from her home of 55 years for the claimed purpose of expanding a sewer plant, but the City actually gave her former home to an auto dealership; and (3) In Ohio, the City of Lakewood designated a neighborhood of colonial homes blighted because their yards were too small and they lacked two-car attached garages (their replacement called for upscale condos).

Those were disturbing, but here's a real saga: In Cincinnati, the City condemned a Walgreens to build a Nordstrom, condemned a CVS to relocate the Walgreens; and then condemned several small businesses to relocate the CVS. The Nordstrom was never built and became a parking lot!

Again, our organization only exists through your generosity and support. Let's continue to provide strength in numbers by working together against the expanding leviathan of abusive government power. Together we have accomplished much.

Call 1-800-372-7181 and ask the receptionist to copy your message to all members of the Northern Kentucky Caucus. Tell them to support House Concurrent Resolution 57. The phone call takes about two-minutes.

Eminent Domain Abuse for Private Benefit

As early as 1795, the U.S. Supreme Court described the power of eminent domain-where the government takes someone's property for a "public use"-as "the despotic power." Eminent domain has the potential to destroy lives and livelihoods by uprooting people from their homes and business people from their shops. With eminent domain, the government can force a couple in their 80s to move from their home of 50 years. Eminent domain is the power to evict a small family business, even if it means that business will never reopen.

The danger of such an extreme power led the authors of the U.S. Constitution and state constitutions to limit the power of eminent domain in two ways. First, the government had to pay "just compensation." And second, even with just compensation, the government could take property only for "public use." To most people, the meaning of "public use" is fairly obvious-things like highways, bridges, prisons, and courts. No one-at least no one besides lawyers and bureaucrats-would think "public use" means a casino, condominiums or a private office building. Yet these days, that's exactly how state and local governments use eminent domain-as part of corporate welfare incentive packages and political favoritism.

A report compiled by the Castle Coalition and published in April 2003-the first ever to document the uses and threats of eminent domain for private parties-unearthed the following statistics during the five year period from January 1, 1998 through December 31, 2002:

10,282+ filed or threatened condemnations for private parties
3,722+ properties with condemnations filed for the benefit of private parties
6,560+ properties threatened with condemnation for private parties
4,032+ properties currently living under threat of private use condemnation
41 states with reports of actual or threatened condemnations for private parties
9 states with no reports of either actual or threatened private use condemnations

This is only the Tip of the Iceberg. The information in this report represents only a fraction of the number of cases where private property has been condemned for another private party. There is no official database of condemnation for private parties. Many, if not most, private condemnations go entirely unreported in public sources and thus could not be identified for this report.

To give some sense of how infrequently private condemnations are reported, the Connecticut courts recorded 543 redevelopment condemnations from 1998 through 2002. That's 17.5 times more than the 31 we found reported in newspapers! Connecticut is the only state that records those numbers, but there are obviously many more condemnations for private use than this data suggests.

In Kentucky during this same period, there were 168 known filed or threatened condemnations for the benefit of private parties, some actually taking place today. As taxpayers we must foot the bill for the errors of government officials when judges rule in favor of landowners, or even when they rule in favor of the condemnation. On the other hand, as landowners we must also pay the price to fight the power of Big Government in court in order to secure our rights. In every situation, we lose.

This unquenchable abuse of our 5th Amendment rights must be stopped. Please help our organization continue the fight in Kentucky for your rights. Contact your legislators and ask them to support your property rights. Tell them you think it is wrong for government to transfer ownership of your property to another private interest for the supposed public use of economic development!

Update from the Al Yelton Chapter in Grant County

The LOKPO Al Yelton Chapter in Grant County is continuing our work on the proposed transportation ordinance for Grant County. Bud Clancy, our secretary, worked many, many hours preparing a counter proposal. The primary purpose of the proposed draft of the transportation ordinance is to set legal speed limits on the unincorporated area roads in Grant County plus the small town of Corinth in the south end and Crittenden, a fast developing town in the north end.

The speed limit on a road would govern driveway spacing along that road (another way of relieving property owners of property rights). If you are denied right to a driveway then what happens to property values? Many parcels of property will become nonconforming, meaning the property owner becomes restricted in the use of his property in the event of a catastrophe. There are many other aspects of this proposed ordinance that are detrimental to property owners or people who wish to become property owners.

The Board of Directors has reviewed Bud's counter proposal and we gave the planning administrator, Mr. Britt and Judge Executive Link a copy. We are expecting a meeting to be held at Mr. Link's convenience.

Our other concern is the elimination of flag lots in the subdivision regulation. The commission chairperson, John Lawrence, said people were taking advantage of the rules regulating flag lots. Mr. Lawrence made an observation saying some parcels of property were not sub dividable.

Our plate is full as we continue to work hard to protect your property rights.

Charlie Phillips
President, Grant County LOKPO

Welcome Campbell County Chapter!

We would like to welcome our newest LOKPO Chapter, Campbell County! A meeting was held on February 9, 2005 to formalize the chapter. The following Campbell County officers have been newly elected:

President Taunya Jack, VP Larry Leap, and Sec./Treas. Lloyd Rogers.

Tim Nolan will serve as the liaison between the LOKPO and Campbell County Boards.