Comprehensive Land Use Plans Can Invalidate Private Property Rights

Private property rights are protected in America by the US. Constitution which recognizes that the right to life, liberty, and property, are given by GOD—not by “some men” to “other men.”

The right to own property is the basic foundation of freedom in America. Citizens are free to be self-reliant, govern themselves, engage in free market enterprise, and determine the best use of their land.

In countries ruled by tyranny, private ownership and control of property is never allowed—property and people are controlled by the government. It has been said that “either you own property, or you are property.”

Comprehensive Land Use Plans in counties and cities across the nation are violating private property rights by:

• Placing decisions for the use and control of physical land and resources under government control.
• Declaring the environment and habitat as entities with equal rights to that of humans, thus jeopardizing property rights for environmental concerns.
• Declaring that ownership of private property violates the ideology of “equity.” Reasoning that those who worked to secure property have an unfair advantage over those with no property.
• Declaring that decisions made by “expert planners,” NGOs, and government agencies for the use of private land, is superior to decisions of the private property owners’ who pay taxes on the land.
• Declaring that land should be used for economic activity for political gain by the government.

Land Use Planning today encompasses far more regulations and controls from past plans:

Increased “Affordable Housing” for low-income and no-income residents ● “workforce housing” for “human capital” employed by the government ● farming restrictions based on regulations of environmental concern ● tracking energy creation and limiting consumption ● strict tracking of industry operations ● modes of transportation ● taxes ● increased control of mineral extraction ● education curriculum ● today’s planning involves inventory & control of every aspect of our lives.

Le Sueur County is Currently Updating the “Comprehensive Land Use Plan”

It is imperative that citizens demand the language used in the draft of the written land use plan be open for review by the public, to ensure it is free of ambiguous language which could make it vulnerable to the interpretation of someone wishing to impose baseless regulations, restrictions, and requirements on private property rights now, and in the future. It also needs to be recognized that a Land Use Plan is a voluntary blue-print that does not need to be enacted. If the county commissioners choose to adopt the document as policy, it will then become a contractual agreement that can be upheld in a court of law. Any violations of the written land use can revoke ownership of private land. It is in the best interest of all, for the commissioners to use the plan as a blue print only, and not subject land owners to interpretations of NGOs, developers, stakeholders, and government agencies, that are hungry for control of private property.

93 % of the land in Le Sueur County is privately owned.

Everyone needs to be involved. This is about power and control of the government over property and people. What are you currently allowed to do on your property without getting permission from a local government agency? The matter will only get worse with the Land Use Plan, and without property rights, there is no freedom. WE NEED TO STOP BEING SILENT!