OUT
01 COfflffliSSiOQ
BY !PM UNiNGER
lnjUnction Junction
What's your function?
Enforcing land use laws.
· M
Y apologies to Schoolhouse Rock, but my point
today is pretty elementary. Lane County should
rely more heavily 1m injunctions to secure com-
pliance with land use laws. When landowners repeatedly
defy the county's land use code, we shouldraise the stakes.
· The scofflaws may not care much about the contempt of their
neighbors, but they'll pay attention when they're in contempt of court.
Imagine that you own a home in rural Lane County. You've enjoyed the peaceful, _
bucolic setting for several years. All of a sudden, your neighbor decides he needs to
earn a little extra money, and he agrees to host the "Lane County Monster Truck Rally"
on his property every Friday night. You don't share your neighbor's enthusiasm for
squealing gears and flying mud, so you alert the county that your neighbor is violating
the zoning rules for his property. What happens next?
In most counties, your phone call will lead to one of three responses. First, the coun-
ty might do _nothing, hoping the problem goes away by itself. Second, the county might
impose a fine each time the neighbor violates the land use laws. Third, if the neighbor
won't pay his fines, the county might foreclose on his property to recover the value of
the unpaid fines. So basically there's a spectrum of possible r~sponses: shine 'em, fine
'em, or flat-line 'em.
A
complia·nce strategy limited to these three tools will prove ineffective in many
instances. As Ben Franklin wrote, "Penalties that are too lenient are seldom re-
spected, and penalties that are too strict are seldom imposed." Some landown-
ers couldn't care less about fines. They treat a fine notice like a parking ticket. They fig-
ure that the county wouldn't dare to foreclose on a residential property, and they're
often right. If a defiant landowner calls the county's bluff, and the county doesn't im-
pose a meaningful penalty, then the county loses its credibility in the long run.
Another problem with the fine-and-foreclose approach is that it doesn't protect
the aggrieved neighbors. Even if the noncompliant landowner decides to pay his
fines, he might just intensify the illegal activity (for example, he might hold more
monster truck rallies and increase the admissions charge) in order to maintain his
profit margin. If foreclosure becomes imminent, he'll become even more brazen in
order to make as much money as possible before the jig is up.
Finally, an enforcement strategy that relies primarily on fines creates the
appearance that the government has a conflict of interest. Illegal activity should
cease; the government shouldn't demand a piece ~f the action. When ttfe sheriff
busts a m.eth lab, he doesn't require that the property owners pay him a fine for
each subsequent week when they cook meth._
A county that is serious about enforcing its land use laws will occasionally seek
an injunction against a noncompliant landowner. An injunction is basically a court
order forcing a person to do something or refrain from doing something. Once a
court has issued an injunctio_n to a landowner, compliance isn't much of a problem.
A circuit court judge speaks softly and carries a big stick.
I
'm glad that Lane County's Land Management Division is more enlightened than
many of its counterparts in other Oregon counties. Our LMD has some talented,
hard-working staff who aren't afraid to take an aggressive approach when circum-
stances require it. I hope that LMD will frequently seek injunctions as part of its en-
forcement strategy. When a property owner violates our land use laws, it shouldn't be
the neighbors who suffer.
·
Tom Lininger is the county commissioner for the East Lane District.
ADVERTISING
National Sales Manager Mark Frisbee
Senior Marl<etlnq
Consultant Bill Shreve
Display Mariletlnq Consultant Rob Weiss
Advertislnq Traffic Coordinator Geneva Miller
Classified Manager Jennifer D'Angelo
Classified Mari<etlnq
Consultant Jeffrey Stout
BUSINESS
EDITORIAL
Editor Ted Taylor Executive/Arts
Editor.Lois Wadsworth
Associate Editor Aria Seligmann Contrlbutlnq Editor Anita
Johnson Staff Writers Alan Pittman, Bobbie Willis
calendar Editor Ben Fogelson Contrlbutlnq Writers Brett
Campbell, Rachel Foster. Kate Rogers Gessert, Jerry Harris,
James Johnston, Sharleen Nelson, Mary O'Brien, Vanessa
5alvia, Sally Sheklow, Lance Sparks, Martha Ulman West
Interns Celene Carillo
ART DEPARTMENT
Art Director/Production
Manager Kevin Dougherty
Graphic Artlst/Webmaster James Bateman
Graphic Artists Katie Beckman, Todd Cooper Contributing
Photographers
Kurt Jensen, Paul Neevel, Linda Smogor
General Manager John Herron
Circulation Manager Deena Miller Controller Paula Hoemann
Customer care
Specialist Marah Busey Distributors Laurel
Caccivio, Sam Hauk, Sue Hunnel, Terri Molitor. Vona C. Riel, Will
Thornton, Pedalers Express Printing Signature Graphics
HOW TO REACH US BY E·MAIL:
(letters): editor@eugeneweekly.com
(advertising): ads@eugeneweekly.com
(classifieds): ,classy@eugeneweekly.com
(personals): romance@eugeneweekly
.com
(calendar): cal@eugeneweekly.com
(music/clubs/special shows): music@eugeneweekly.com
(art/openings/galleries): visualarts@eugeneweekly.com
(performance/theater): performance@eugeneweekly.com
(literary arts/readings): books@eugeneweekly.com
(movies/film screenings): movies@eugeneweekly.com
(circulation): distribution@eugeneweekly.com
Locally owned and independent since 1982, now with 91,000 regular readers.
6 AUGUST
14, 2003 eugene
weeKLV
·
Le11ers
1° THE
gp112e
SAVE THIS SAFE SPACE
Before the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) re-
moves the median and trees down the middle
of Franklin Boulevard, will the city and LTD
first hold a community forum on how pedestri-
ans and bicycles will be safely accommo-
dated? There is a preexisting problem of con-
flicts between pedestrians . and cars along
Franklin, especially at the intersection of Onyx
where students are being seriously injured reg-
ularly ( Oregon Daily Emerald, 11/4, 2002).
While the city is busy studying nodes,
could it be missing the wider picture by not
seeing how the freeway-like Franklin BRT
plans will sever connectivity between neigh-
borhoods drastically? Allowing for a design
that would preserve the entire median would
let LTD avoid compounding the pedestrian and
bicycle safety problems. Outside the new Lillis
Complex, the university planners have in-
stalled what they refer to as a pedestrian refuge
on 13th in the middle of the street. It would be
wise if these planners could see past the core of
campus to its edge where along Franklin a very
useful pedestrian refuge faces removal.
Bryn Anderson
UO Environmental Science major
BUSH: THIEVES' PET?
I've always been interested in how chil-
dren grow from being so similar at birth to
being so vastly different as adults. One area
of personality is the amount of self-direction
a person has. Some children are not secure in
their own identity and they allow themselves
to be controlled by a bully or a gang because
they want to be loved and accepted, and the
bad boys or girls will entice them with prom-
ises of glory or riches. All manner of things
can distort truth and make a person vulnera-
ble to pursuit of false happiness. Sometimes
the weaker person will be duped into perpe-
trating a crime and the bullies laugh behind
his back, enjoying their power and someone
else's stupidity.
I think this is what happened to George W.
Bush. For whatever reasons he took the bait
when Kissinger, Wolfowitz, Ashcroft,
Cheney, Rumsfield, et al offered him power
and a share in their riches. He listens to them
while they fill his head with ideas about what
he should think, say and do. He has said very
little to us that wasn't a prepared speech. He's
been used by a gang of people because he has
the looks and smile and phoniness that so.
many ofus (I use the term lightly) bought
into. He's the emperor with no clothes on and
the truly bad people are laughing all the way
to the bank.
Come on everyone, let's show the world
what we Americans can do besides waving
flags and--consuming more than everyone
else. Let's start by getting rid of the crooks in
Washington.
Bernadette Bourassa
Eugene
TWO TAX IDEAS
Oregon is the hungriest state in the nation.
People with disabilities
are dying.
Corporations are getting huge tax cuts. The
state government is short on cash.
When the economy was good, instead of
saving the extra for tough times, it was given
away, and still is being given away. The only in-
terest in Salem for raising more revenue is a
sales tax. But you can do something. You can
contact your state senator and representative
and tell them you want something on the special
election ballot in September to raise revenue.
For those of you who do not know who
your representatives are, you can call the
Lane county elections office at 682-4234. If
you have internet
access
go to
www.leg.state.or.us/findlegsltr/findset.htrn
I have two suggestions. I am not including
a corporate tax here because the Republicans
would never let it get to the ballot. My first
suggestion is a tax on all credit card pur-
chases. This is like a sales tax but because
credit cards are a convenience, it is a volun-
~ tary tax.
•
My other suggestion is a state school tax.
It could be like a property tax except the rate
. you would be charged would be based ori
your income. That way, if your income was
low you could not ge.t taxed out of your
house. It is important to press our legislators
to let us increase our taxes. Also, there are ini-
tiatives in the works to increase corporate
taxes. Stay tuned.
Anand Keathley
Eugene
DRUG CRAZE
I am wondering what, beyond spending
$400 billion, the current legislative effort to
provide a prescription drug plan for seniors
really accomplishes. The cynic in me says
that, with the 2004 elections looming, it is es-
sentially about the Republicans wanting
something compassionate and conservative
to crow to their constituents about, and - on
the other side of the aisle - no Democrats
left behind.
The fact is that savings from the current
proposals are inferior to what can already be
obtained by individuals with a simple web
search for Canadian pharmacies or a bus trip
across the border. It is illegal to import pre-
scription drugs, but the reality is, don't ask
don't tell. Simply legalizing the reimporta-
tion-of U.S. manufactured drugs would bring
mote relief to our nation's taxpayers and geri-
atric lawbreakers than the convoluted pro-
posals in process.
But the larger question is: Why ean other
countries control drug costs, while the U.S.
cannot? And the answer is: Big Pharma. Our
representatives' votes are bought and paid for
by the industry. With courage and a little
mentoring, our legislators would be able to
control prescription drug prices and negotiate
volume discounts as is being done by our
much smaller neighbor. And we would save
$400 billion.
Benton Elliott
Eugene
WHAT TO BELIEVE?
The World Trade Center was leased less
than two months before the "attacks" of Sept.
11 to Larry Silverstein who then controlled
both the maintenance and security depart-
ments. He immediately began to replace se-
curity personnel and work on the subter-
ranean level of the trade towers. After the
towers collapsed, Silverstein demanded $7
billion from insurance companies.
Do steel structures collapse from fire?
Check the physics involved for yourself. Did
the buildings implode in a fashion consistent
with common demolition
practices?
Interesting.
At a risk of venturing outside the range of
permitted discussion on the subject, there are
a number of coincidences I'd like to hear
more about.
Why is it that all four hijacked planes
were 80 percent empty on that particular
www.eugeneweeKtv.c
om