This week the State Assembly will have the opportunity to deal with several "Bad Neighbor" bills drafted by private property advocates and special interest groups.   Please recognize that Assembly Bills 806, 807, 808 (still in Committee), 809, 810 are building blocks of a "takings" package of land use deregulation introduced by Rep. Albers and others.  Taken separately, the five bills impose bureaucratic regulations and legal expenses on state and local government.  The new standards created in this legislation will cause needless litigation and will discourage local officials from protecting their communities.

Taken together, the five bills enhance the notion of "it's my property and I'll do what I want to with it."  These bills seek to weaken local land use ordinances and  state agency rules that protect the environment and our communities.  Conceptually, the bills strike at the heart of government itself by attacking its ability to govern effectively.

The League of Wisconsin Municipalities opposes this assault on our communities, which will turn back the clock on responsible land use planning in Wisconsin.

On February 26, 1998, the editorial in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel read: "Today could turn out to be a bad day at Black Rock--and Black Earth, Black River Falls, Hartland, Ashippun, Madison, and any other municipality that has zoning laws, which means pretty much every community in the state. "... "The specific bills under consideration are complex, but the issue isn't. Billed as a property rights matter by proponents, the so-called 'takings' movement gets its main support from homebuilders associations and developers who resent local governments telling them where and how they can build their 5-acre lot subdivisions and strip malls."

On February 26, 1998, the Wisconsin State Journal editorial read: abusing their planning and zoning powers and infringing upon the rights of property owners. That may be true in some cases, but the bills proposed by Albers are akin to killing a fly with a sledgehammer. "... "Everyone has a stake in land-use planning and zoning. Across Wisconsin, there are signs that cooperative approaches to development challenges can work... That requires careful legislation, not bills that attempt to fly under the public radar."

We ask you to vote no on Assembly Bills 806, 807, 809, 810, and any similar bills that may come before you in the final days of the 1997-98 legislative session.   Thank you.

Click here to see a description of Assembly Bills 806, 807, 809 and 810.