Spokane7
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March 17, 2011 in City
‘Community Bill of Rights’ group launches new proposal
A group that sponsored a ballot proposal that was thoroughly rejected by Spokane voters in 2009 says it hopes to offer voters a shorter list of requests this year.
Gone from Envision Spokane’s new “Community Bill of Rights” are stipulations for the city of Spokane to guarantee its residents affordable preventive health care, affordable housing, affordable and renewable energy and regulations on local banks.
The new list would contain four rights, portions of which were in the 2009 proposal. They include extra requirements for the approval of certain kinds of development and protections for the Spokane River.
“It’s about getting local self-government and making sure you protect community values,” said Kai Huschke, Envision Spokane’s campaign coordinator.
Huschke said he expects volunteers to start collecting signatures within a week in hopes of making the November ballot.
Local elected leaders remain deeply skeptical of the proposal and say some of it would contradict existing laws and would be overturned in courts. In 2009, all seven Spokane City Council members and Spokane Mayor Mary Verner opposed the measure.
Only 21 percent of Spokane voters supported the 2009 version of the Community Bill of Rights.
“It’s still got the same problems,” City Council President Joe Shogan said in a recent interview.
In the new list, neighborhood residents who are registered voters would be given veto power over any rezoning of land in their neighborhood if the rezoning involved commercial or industrial development larger than 10,000 square feet or residential development with more than 20 units.
Developers of such projects would have to collect signatures from a majority of registered voters of a neighborhood in order to move ahead with the project.
The group also has scaled back the proposal from 2009’s request to give the “natural environment” the right “to exist and flourish.” This time backers are asking only for “the right to a healthy Spokane River and aquifer.”
In 2009, Envision Spokane called for workers to have the “right to employer neutrality when unionizing and the right to constitution protections within the workplace.” The new proposal calls only for the constitutional protections within the workplace.
The final item would say that corporations would “not be deemed as ‘persons’ ” and could not interfere with the enforcement of the Community Bill of Rights.
“Communities are overridden by corporations on a regular basis,” Huschke said. “It’s an open challenge to that case law.”
Spokane Mayor Mary Verner said she hasn’t yet examined Envision Spokane’s new proposal, but she said she opposes adding something to the City Charter that contradicts U.S. Supreme Court rulings – as the corporation rule would.
“It would be a waste of the paper it’s printed on,” Verner said.
City Councilman Steve Corker said given the defeat of the proposal two years ago, he’s surprised Envision is making a second attempt this soon.
MAC faces angry crowd 
ZagChuck on March 17 at 8:38 a.m.
These leftist activist, were supported by out of town money in the last round, but they hid that by failing to report it to the PDC.
They learned a few things from past elections.
They’ve learned they can’t go through the process of elections, by supporting and electing candidates who agree with them, because they lose.
Instead, they’ve decided to change the system to make elections irrelevant, to ensure their minority voice receives majority status regardless who’s in office. They want to change the system, so voters no longer have a voice or vote in the process.
They know it’s the only way they can prevail, and they are driven to take away tax-payers and voters rights and voices, to install their own
Two years ago, this awful proposal was defeated by nearly 75%; that happened for a reason.
Just as last time, these provisions will make be more costly to tax-payers, cost businesses more jobs, and gives unelected leftist activists control of environmental and developmental decisions( and the finances surrounding them) without requiring voter input
Ninch on March 17 at 8:48 a.m.
Way too much far-reaching ideas and egregious abuse of “community rights” to utilize ballot proposals instead of working through the established process and procedures of local government. But I guess if they can pay themselves a salary from other people’s money, then such manipulations to avoid representative government will be tried.
Lulubelle on March 17 at 10:49 a.m.
Ninch - are you talking about Tim Eyman?
Patanjali on March 17 at 3:48 p.m.
Tim Eyman pays himself a large salary from his organization but before you accuse Envision Spokane, a nonprofit, of the same perhaps you should investigate the facts. This nonprofit is supported by its members, some grants from other nonprofits, and other concerned and compassionite citizens. The agenda that the conservative fringe element calls “leftist” is the law in many progressive and enlightened societies.
ZagChuck on March 17 at 4:48 p.m.
“The agenda that the conservative fringe element calls “leftist” is the law in many progressive and enlightened societies.”
Where? Which “enlightened” and “progressive” society?
Please provide a few examples of their success.
ZagChuck on March 18 at 10:03 a.m.
Note the lack of response?
No success story exists.
Another lie from from the left revealed.
THANKS!
WillyPeter on March 18 at 11:22 a.m.
It’s funny that these unelected folks that want to tell the rest of us how to live our lives, can’t be told that we don’t want to do it their way. Anything presented to Spokane’s voters under the ‘Envision Spokane’ banner is DOA. And we’ll have fun killing it.