[WestMALocals] Fw: URGENT ALERT! STOP THE GRAB FOR PUBLIC LANDS!

[Owen Broadhurst]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jill Stein - MCHC" <info at masschc.org>
To: thersites at unforgettable.com
Subject: URGENT ALERT! STOP THE GRAB FOR PUBLIC LANDS!
Date: Fri, 20 May 2005 15:56:29 -0500

> 
> 
> ALERT! CALL YOUR STATE SENATOR AND REP ASAP!
> STAND UP FOR PUBLIC LANDS AND OUR COMMUNITIES!
> 
> Dear Friend of Sustainable, Just Communities,
> 
> Bills are again being quietly pushed in the back rooms of Beacon 
> Hill that would
> deliver some of the Commonwealth's most valuable land into 
> developers' hands. For
> two years, a series of "surplus property" bills have been 
> repeatedly proposed as
> add-ons to the budget - a process that avoids hearings, public debate, or
> recorded votes. These proposals disempower communities, tilt the playing field
> towards unaffordable housing, and make it virtually impossible for 
> municipalities
> to use surplus public property to meet urgent needs for affordable housing and
> greenspace protection.
> 
> Your phone calls and letters have been critical in stopping the 
> recent backroom
> budget maneuvers. But now the rush on public lands has become more fast and
> furious than ever - not only as budget add-ons, but also as rushed, 
> unscrutinized
> legislation.
> 
> Urgent grassroots action is needed to bring this important issue 
> out from behind
> closed doors on Beacon Hill into the light of day. Please take one 
> minute (that's
> all it takes) to contact your legislators ASAP and ask them to:
> 
> 1. Oppose the use of the budget process AND rushed legislation to slip any
> surplus-land bill into law "under the radar".
> 
> 2. Require public hearings in several regions of the state (with 
> adequate notice
> and legislation available in advance).
> 
> 3. Allow the current fast-track auction law to sunset June 30 as 
> planned. (This
> allows surplusing policy to revert to Chapter 7 rules - with 
> safeguards against
> insider deals - while better policy is developed).
> 
> A sample letter/email/phone call to your legislator is attached 
> below, along with
> additional optional talking points. You can find your legislators' names and
> contact information at http://www.masschc.org/write.html . Thanks so much for
> taking the time to embolden our legislators once again to stand up for the
> sustainable, just communities we all deserve.
> 
> Upward,
> Jill
> 
> Jill Stein
> President, Mass. Coalition for Healthy Communities
> info at masschc.org, http://www.masschc.org
> 
> PS. Please cc any emails or letters to info at masschc.org.
> ========================================================
> 
> SAMPLE EMAIL/LETTER TO YOUR LEGISLATOR (or talking points for a phone call)
> 
> Dear Representative/Senator _______,
> 
> I am writing to ask that you oppose the use of the budget process or rushed,
> unscrutinized legislation to slip any surplus-land bill into law. Such an
> important issue as the surplusing and use of state lands should not be decided
> "under the radar," without comment from the many communities whose 
> right to plan
> the use of surplus property will be taken away from them.
> 
> I urge you to ask that the Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital 
> Expenditures and
> State Assets hold public hearings on this legislation in various parts of the
> state including Cape Cod, Western Massachusetts and Central Massachusetts. The
> little time allotted for community testimony on May 11 was entirely 
> inadequate,
> especially considering the hearing date was set only one week in advance, the
> text of the bills was unavailable, and many municipal officials were unable to
> attend.
> 
> The fast-track auction law currently governing surplus property 
> should be allowed
> to sunset on June 30 as planned. Then "Chapter 7" rules will again 
> govern surplus
> property. While these rules need to be improved, they provide a good "holding
> pattern" while better solutions are developed. In the meantime, Chapter 7
> protects community planning rights, and provides safeguards against insider
> influence in the selling off of state land.
> 
> Bills affecting our irreplaceable public lands should not be rushed into law
> hidden from public view as add-ons to the budget or as 
> unscrutinized legislation.
> The use or misuse of scarce land resources has profound and lasting impact on
> community life as well as municipal budgets - far exceeding their value as a
> one-time cash infusion to the state budget. Communities and 
> municipal officials
> deserve a chance to testify and help shape surplus land-use policy 
> that confers
> lasting benefits - not permanent burdens - on their communities.
> 
> I urge you to stand up for public lands and the public trust by insisting that
> regional hearings be required to allow the broader public to participate in a
> matter so important to the public trust and the future of our communities.
> 
> Sincerely,
> __________
> 
> ==================================================
> ADDITIONAL, OPTIONAL TALKING/WRITING POINTS
> 
> --As a fundamental principle of democracy, the legislature must not 
> use the state
> budget or unscrutinized, rushed legislation to quietly slip into law measures
> that take our control of our future away from us.
> 
> --Rushing bills through the budget or the legislative process 
> prevents adequate
> scrutiny of proposals BEFORE they are adopted. This was the problem 
> with the fast
> track auction law. It should not happen again.
> 
> --The effort to rush these measures is a red flag that they would 
> not hold up in
> the light of day.
> 
> --Community-based smart growth principles should be considered in any future
> surplus land legislation. These principles recognize local 
> communities as the key
> decision-makers in the use of surplus properties - while providing state and
> regional guidelines to insure these public resources are leveraged for needed
> affordable housing creation and open space protection.
> 
> --The proposed bills/budget amendments continue the indefensible strategy of
> selling off critical state lands to raise a one-time cash infusion 
> for a chronic
> budget shortfall.
> 
> --The proposed bills/budget amendments continue forcing municipalities to buy
> back property already in the public domain in order to avoid 
> harmful development.
> 
> --The proposed bills/budget amendments continue to put critical land use
> decisions in the hands of Beacon Hill agencies and committees that 
> have not been
> part of local planning and are not accountable to the communities 
> who must live
> with the agencies' decisions.
> 
> --The proposed bills/budget continue to concentrate decision-making in Beacon
> Hill entities within the "sphere of influence" of the powerful 
> developer lobby.
> 
> --The proposed bills/budget amendments lack needed checks and balances.
> 
> --The proposed bills/budget amendments are premised on a misleading 
> campaign to
> portray the expiration of the auction law as an emergency, when in 
> fact, repealing the
> auction law ITSELF is the emergency action that's needed. When the 
> auction law expires,
> state land disposition will revert to the pre-existing Chapter 7 
> system that provides the
> accountability and transparency needed to deter insider influence 
> to which land dispositions
> are vulnerable.
> 
> --The alternative to these budget amendments is a community-based smart growth
> proposal for surplus lands that empowers communities to be key 
> decision-makers in
> the use of surplus lands. This plan utilizes local land-use 
> expertise, promotes
> the protection of open space and the development of affordable housing, and
> provides funding mechanisms to help communities reach these urgently needed
> goals. See http://www.masschc.org.
> 
> Additional information is available about the community-based smart growth
> proposal as well as the disempowering budget amendments and rushed 
> legislation at
> http://www.masschc.org. Please cc info at masschc.org with any emails 
> or letters to
> your legislators.
> 
> 
> Update Member Info:
> http://ezinedirector.com/subscriber/member_profile/?skid=29455544
> 
> Cancel Subscription:
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> 


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