It
is the goal of the Cady Liberty Caucus to preserve our natural rights
to Life, Liberty, and Property for all landowners and residents here in
Cady, Wisconsin. We do this because if the rights of any one of us are
lost, they are lost for all of us.
Today,
Cady is one of the several towns in the state of Wisconsin that are
still free from zoning regulations. General zoning is optional in
Wisconsin and is not required by state law. It never has been.
Right
now, the Cady town government is working to implement
zoning in Cady this summer. They assume that if you do not protest against it, that you fully approve of it. The
zoning code that they are receiving from the Plan Commission
will require existing Major Home Businesses in Cady to go through the
Conditional Use Permitting process, and be subjected to annual
inspections. There will be limitations on "animal units per acre", no
more than 2 garage sales per year, and limitations on the number of days
that you can have an RV/Camper parked on your property, just to name a
few.
I
have argued since 2012 that the adoption of a zoning ordinance in the
Town of Cady will result a significant loss of property rights, which
will be surrendered to the Town Board. The Town Board has adamantly
claimed that "no one is taking away your property rights", while they
forge ahead in their efforts to implement town zoning. This statement is
patently and provably false. Evidently, the Town Board doesn't really
understand what "rights" are and how they are violently assailed by
governments through zoning regulations.
In
the absence of local zoning regulations, a landowner can generally use
their land as they wish on their own property without any serious
concern that the activity is either forbidden or requiring the express,
written permission of the town government. All uses are considered to be
permissible as long as they don't harm the surrounding properties or
people nearby. You have a natural, unalienable "right" to use your
property as you wish (the pursuit of happiness), without
government interference. In fact, government has a duty to secure this
right, as clearly stated in our Declaration of Independence.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. —
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men,
deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed... (emphasis mine)
What
a general zoning ordinance does is reverse this relationship. It
divides the land up into "zones", each of which has a list of
"permitted" uses. These limited uses are now deemed a "property right",
issued by the governing authorities, and all other uses are subject to
review and approval based on certain specific conditions being met by
the landowner. These conditional uses are legally no longer considered a
"right" of the property owner, but are conditional "privileges" granted
(or rescinded) by the governing authorities.
In
Rainbow Springs Golf Co., Inc. v. Town of Mukwonago,
2005 WI App 163, 284 Wis. 2d 519, 702 N.W.2d 40, the court decided that
a "Conditional Use Permit is NOT" a "property right", but rather a
"zoning
tool" of the municipality, and, therefore, it may be taken away by
without any
compensation to the landowner.
These "Conditional Uses" that the municipality is usually willing to
allow if
all of the necessary conditions are met, are also expressly listed in
the zoning code.
Any
other uses that you can ever imagine that are not
specifically listed as either a "permitted" or "conditional" use are
considered
"forbidden" by the governing authority and cannot legally be engaged in
whatsoever without actually going through the process of changing the
zoning code to have it added as a permitted or conditional use.
Therefore,
under zoning, you no longer have the "right" to decide for yourself how
your property should best be used to suit you or even your
neighborhood. That right has been "appropriated" by the local governing
authorities, with or without your consent. These zoning codes are NOT
put to a vote by the people, but to a vote by the Town Board only. These
three people will decide whether you retain the natural right to decide
how to use your property, or whether they will now take that right for
themselves. If that is not "taking away your property rights", I'm hard
pressed to imagine what is.
There
is a Town Board meeting on Monday, June 4, at 7:30PM where they intend
to "discuss and possibly act on the plan commission update", with an
opportunity for public comments at the beginning of the meeting. If you
cherish your right to use your property to run a business, have garage
sales, manage animals, or just to fulfill you dreams, then now would be
the time to stand up and say so, or the Town Board will assume that you
would rather surrender to them. If only a few of us are willing to stand
up for the rights of the whole town, the chances of success are slim.
However, if enough of us stand up and let the Town Board know that we
will not surrender our rights so easily, perhaps Cady can continue to
remain free.