The
average planning and zoning meeting consists of the planning and zoning
commissioners, a room, and very little else. They are often dry
meetings dealing with rules and regulations for business and home licensing, property lines, and nuisance ordinances.
So when the Borough of Kodiak, AK (Pop. 13,600)
chose to attempt to entirely revamp the zoning code and place greater
restrictions on property owners, including a $1,000 fine per violation,
they expected there to be little opposition, and little knowledge of the
change.
Instead, the Solutions Institute assisted local
resident Jamie Fagan, and he along with a team of people rallied over
300 residents to attend the meeting.
Even though many residents could not attend due
to flooded roads and driving rain, there were over 69 speeches, nearly
all in opposition to the new code, totaling over 4 hours of testimony
against it.
The zoning code in question, drafted by Bob
Pederson, enforces many of the suggestions of the United Nations’ 1992
“Agenda 21” treaty, including making it easier for local officials to
seize private property.
Jamie was excited to have some assistance defending his home:
I can’t thank the Solutions Institute enough.
From helping us to choose an appropriate name for our organization to
setting up Facebook groups, editing videos, to helping in ways that one
might describe as “unorthodox” but are breathtakingly effective, it
really is a joy to work with these guys and there is no doubt in my mind
that our group would not have been nearly as effective without their
help.
Though the code has not been defeated yet, Jamie
has no doubt that with the amount of people who came out to try and
stop it, it is only a matter of time before the new code is scrapped.
Read More
No comments:
Post a Comment