State Study of Off-Road Vehicle Noise Offers Online Survey – Make Your Voice Heard by November 6

The Washington State Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation (IAC) has been asked by the State legislature to develop recommendations for the 2007 legislative session to improve the control of ORV noise in Washington State. The purpose of this study is to evaluate various approaches available for addressing ORV noise and to make recommendations to improve the control of ORV noise.

The IAC is asking for your input on recommended options for addressing ORV noise. There are two basic techniques for controlling ORV sound: (1) limit it at source and/or (2) limit the amount of sound that reaches neighboring properties. The IAC is looking at actions that can be taken using both techniques, but they need your help. There is a potential for changing noise rules at both the state and the local jurisdiction levels, and an online survey provides questions which address both possibilities.

Click here to complete the online IAC survey regarding options for addressing ORV noise.

The survey must be completed by November 6th.

For more information on the study, click this link or contact:

Greg Lovelady
Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation
1111 Washington Street SE
PO Box 40917
Olympia, WA 98504-0917
360/ 902-3008 ~ 360/ 902-3026 (fax)
TDD 360/ 902-1996
http://www.iac.wa.gov/

If I-933 is So Good, How Come The Oregonian Is Recommending a “No” Vote?

Throughout the debate regarding I-933, we’ve read and heard a great deal about Oregon’s Measure 37. I-933 is modeled on Measure 37, which was passed two years ago. Opponents of I-933 point to Measure 37 as a demonstration of the potential costs of I-933 while supporters of I-933 say that Oregon’s experience with Measure 37 proves that I-933 won’t be expensive and will achieve its intended effects.

Now The Oregonian has chimed in with its editorial, entitled “I-933: Don’t follow this Oregon trail; Washington voters should reject“.

If Measure 37 was so good for Oregon, why wouldn’t The Oregonian want it’s like to be exported to Washington state?

The Oregonian’s article starts clearly enough:

“You can have it, Washington. All of it: The millions of dollars in legal fees, the billions in potential property compensation and the infinite cost of watching precious places, such as Oregon’s Steens Mountain, possibly opened to development.

You, too, can have all this. All you have to do is pass Initiative 933.”

It continues:

“Measure 37 has spawned more than 2,000 claims in Oregon, requesting more than $3 billion in compensation. Those are big numbers, but I-933 would surely ring up much, much larger costs for the taxpayers who fund Washington’s local and state governments. Washington is dealing with tremendous growth-management problems, and in significant ways I-933 is even more radical than the Oregon law.”

And then, for me (a homeowner here in the Griffin Neighborhood), the clincher:

“It’s not worth it. Oregon’s property-rights law hasn’t led to a sweeping improvement in the fairness of the land-use system. Instead, it’s picked new winners and losers, led to substantial legal and bureaucratic expenses, bitter fights among neighboring property owners and a confusing, chaotic system that can no longer ensure careful growth management.”

I don’t want any part of that. That’s why I’m voting “No” on I-933.

And one last little bit of information. . . Lest you think opposition to I-933 breaks along partisan lines, there’s this information, from The Olympian:

“Mainstream Republicans have joined two former GOP governors in opposing Initiative 933’s proposed rollback of land use restrictions.”

UPDATE (10/25/2006): A new survey conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research strongly suggests that Oregonians regret passing Measure 37. The phone survey was conducted in mid-October among 405 Oregonians who voted in 2004.

Its key finding?

“In 2004, Measure 37 passed with 61 percent of the vote in Oregon. Yet, support for the measure has dropped precipitously. In fact, Oregon voters now oppose Measure 37 and if the election were held today, Measure 37 would lose by a nearly 2-to-1 margin.”

Read it here.

Click here for more information on “No on I-933.”

Conserving Communities Forum, October 19

On October 19, the Thurston Democrats will hold a forum on environmental protection and growth issues. Entitled “Conserving Communities, a conversation on growth management and environmental protection.”

The forum will be held at St John’s Episcopal Church at 114 20th Ave SE, Olympia (map) from 7 to 9 p.m.

The forum will be moderated by State Senator Karen Fraser.

Speakers to include:

  • Eric de Place, a senior research associate, with the Sightline Institute and blogger at the Daily Score. He has written extensively about the property rights and the impact Measure 37 (a proposition similar to I-933) has had on Oregon.
  • David Troutt, chair of the Nisqually River Council, a decades long effort to bring together residents of the Nisqually watershed to assure protected natural resources and a strong economy. The council recently released a sustainability plan that will advance these goals.
  • Sandra Romero, a former state representative, and active member of Livable Thurston will represent the No on I-933 campaign.

Here are a few of interesting links:

No On I-933
Livable Thurston
This Land: The Northwest Property Rights Movement
High Country News: Taking Liberties