California Property Rights Journal

The opponents of Proposition 98 have plenty of allies in the press, who seem all to happy to spread misinformation about the property rights initiative.  The typical story focuses on the plight of renters under rent control, who claim they will be "out on the street" if Proposition 98 passes.   The "news" stories either ignore or bury the fact that no one currently under rent control will lose rent control if Prop. 98 passes.    A typical example is this recent story in the San Jose Mercury News, a major metropolitan newspaper.    The focus of the story is residents currently under rent control as potential "victims" of Proposition 98, even though its adoption would not allow their rents to be increased.   This is an example of dishonest advocacy masquerading as  journalism.  The headline  says it all: "Prop 98 one more blow to tiny mobile home park."   

| Posted By Mark Alpert/HKC In Current Events | 1 Comments | Permalink

My law firm is often involved in litigating cases that get press attention.   We typically represent  landlords and developers.  The coverage couldn't be more biased and shallow.   A perfect example is yesterday's Orange County Register, reporting on litigation relating to the interpretation of the ground lease for Huntington Harbor Mobile Estates.  The article by Cindy Carcamo starts with the proposition that the Judge decided "to appraise the land for much more than the land has been historically valued."  Carcamo neglects to mention, the Judge found the land should be valued for what it is currently worth, exactly as specified in the ground lease.   She does find room for a headline suggesting the owner wants to give senior residents "the boot."  Kudos to Rob Coldren, Bill Dahlin and Irene Kiet of HKC who worked on the case.       

| Posted By Mark Alpert/HKC In Current Events | 1 Comments | Permalink

Archstone-Smith owns certain development rights to property adjacent to Anaheim Stadium owned by the City of Anaheim.   Archstone-Smith wants to develop retail and commercial property on the site, which makes the most sense for the location.  The lease between the Anaheim Angels (also known as the Los Angeles Angels) specifies that no residential project will be built on the site.  Looks like we have the makings of an agreement.   Not so fast.  Enter the community activists who apparently have other plans for the property.  The Orange County Register reports a group of about "150 community activists and residents" braved the rain to call for a "community benefit agreement" which provides for "child care facilities, park space, adequate wages and low-cost housing."   I credit City Council Member Sidhu for some straight talk on the issue.

| Posted By Mark Alpert In Current Events | 2 Comments | Permalink

Facing an initiative vote, the Seal Beach City Council began the process of repealing the ban on third story housing, reports the Register.   The Council voted 3-2 to repeal the ban.  I applaud the victory for property rights.  I am not a big fan of the initiative process, but, in this case, it worked.  It's not over yet, as council members are promising "new laws intended to preserve the character of Old Town."  (Translation:   We won't let this "temporary setback" interfere with our right to tell you what you do with your own property) 

| Posted By Mark Alpert In Current Events | 0 Comments | Permalink

Proposition 90 may have been defeated, but there was at least one piece of surprising good news for property rights that came out of the election:  Proposition X (aka "Greenlight II) was defeated, as reported in the Daily Pilot.   I am generally opposed to having land use decisions made by elections, but I am planning on circulating a referendum to bar NIMBYS like Phil Arst from living in Orange County.    That's what I call protecting against urban blight.

| Posted By Mark Alpert In Current Events | 0 Comments | Permalink

I'm not a big fan of  "end justifies the means" type arguments.   In fact, one basic rationale for my belief in limited government is that government can always find a superfically laudable goal for its regulation, but the means almost always does more harm than the "good" the government was supposedly advancing.   I'm a little torn on proposition 90 for that reason.  The most important aspect of the proposition from my perspective is its potential impact beyond "direct condemnation" (where the government affirmatively acts to take property and compensates the property owner).  The problem of governments condemning private property is serious, but property rights are more threated from regulation which is not compensated.   The requirement to compensate is at least some constraint on government action.   

| Posted By Mark Alpert In Current Events | 0 Comments | Permalink

The Orange Country Register reports that a preliminary injunction was granted by Orange County Superior Court Judge Glass, which extends an injunction  banning second-story construction in the Shorecliffs neighborhood of San Clemente.   The City Council of San Clemente adopted an ordinance banning second-story construction in Shorecliffs, despite the fact that second stories were consistent with existing zoning and many residents had purchased their property with the expectation that they could add a second story.  

| Posted By Mark Alpert In Current Events | 0 Comments | Permalink

The City of Huntington Beach adopted a mobile home park conversion ordinance which is being challenged by  a lawsuit.   Bill Dahlin, a property rights attorney in my office exhorts the City to avoid wasting its resources on this misguided ordinance, responding to recent editorial comments in the Orange County register:

"On September 14, 2006, Mr. Steve Gullage wrote a column for the ‘More Viewpoints“ column in The Wave Section of the Orange County Register. Mr. Gullage urged the City Council of the City of Huntington Beach to expend precious taxpayer resources defending a mobilehome park “conversion” ordinance adopted by the City Council in 2004. With all due respect, the position of Mr. Gullage is “hog wash.”

| Posted By Mark Alpert In Current Events | 2 Comments | Permalink

I can’t recall the last movie I saw with Darryl Hannah in it, much less the last Darryl Hannah movie I liked. Apparently, she has nothing better to do than climb a tree in one of the most idiotic protests I have ever heard about. The property they are protesting over is owned by Ralph Horowitz, who outraged the protesters by having the temerity to insist on the right to develop his property for a use that makes money (to build a warehouse), rather than sell it for a fraction of its actual value to be used as a haven for the poor families to grow “crops” on their “urban farm.”  

| Posted By Mark Alpert In Current Events | 3 Comments | Permalink

"There is no such thing as a free lunch" is a well-worn cliché. The political leaders of Brea apparently don't agree. Brea's City Council wants to enhance and preserve the city's open space. In the abstract, that is a laudable goal. The problem is that much of the existing open space is in the hands of private property owners who would like to develop their property. Of course, if the community values open space, it can acquire property for open space. In that way, the community as a whole would bear the burden of preserving open space. The problem is that the community is not willing to pay for it. Well, more accurately, the City Council has decided, why even ask the community to pay when it can impose the burden on a few unlucky property owners?

| Posted By Mark Alpert/HKC In Current Events , Regulation Nightmares | 1 Comments | Permalink

Should A Majority Vote Decide the Rights of Property Owners?

The Shorecliffs development in San Clemente is in the middle of a dispute over the right of property owners to build a second story for homes in the community, most of which have beach views. The original development contained only single story homes, but the developer did not impose any restrictions on building a second story. Until a recent urgency ordinance adopted by the City, which put a 45 day moratorium to any new projects, there were no zoning limitations on building two story homes. The City Council now plans to have an "advisory" vote of the community to help the Council decide whether to make the moratorium permanent.

| Posted By Mark Alpert/HKC In Current Events | 1 Comments | Permalink