Napa ValleyDefeats Measure 37 Copycat

Smartgrowth America reports:

Napa defeats Measure 37 copycat, but deep-pockets New Yorker pushes CA-wide initiative

Voters in Napa County, CA last week rejected by a wide margin (64 percent to 36 percent) a measure that would have required governments to pay to enforce planning, zoning and environmental protections, or waive the rules. The measure was a near-carbon copy of Oregon’s Measure 37, which has thrown the state’s local governments and court system into chaos. That cautionary tale, along with local voters’ long history of working carefully to balance urban growth, agriculture, environmental protection and individuals’ use of their property, presented proponents with un-surmountable obstacles, local observers said. Now, though, a larger battle looms over a similar statewide initiative being funded by Howie Rich, a New York real estate speculator who is pushing similar measures in several places. Read more in the San Francisco Chronicle.