| In a show of strength meant to demonstrate to lawmakers and unelected state and local bureaucrats exactly how serious Washington voters are about property rights, the Washington Farm Bureau and the Property Fairness Coalition recently submitted more than 315,000 signatures in support of Initiative 933 — about 90,000 more than they needed to qualify the measure for the November ballot.
The Initiative requires state and local governments to compensate property owners when regulations damage the use or value of private property. About 225,000 valid signatures were needed to qualify the Property Fairness Initiative for the general election in November.
There were many more signatures than the 315,000 available, but petitions all over the state were never picked up by organizers to be turned in.
“We are submitting more than enough signatures to ensure a place on the ballot,” said Washington Farm Bureau President Steve Appel, a wheat grower from Eastern Washington. “The voters in Washington will have an opportunity this fall to tell government to slow down.”
The official ballot title explains the substance of the initiative:
Initiative Measure 933 concerns government regulation of private property. This measure would require compensation when government regulation damages the use or value of private property, would forbid regulations that prohibit existing legal uses of private property, and would provide exceptions or payments.
The battle over votes is expected to be one of the most bitter and expensive in the state’s history, pitting powerful environmental groups such as Futurewise and the Sierra Club, against local property rights advocates such as the Kitsap Alliance of Property Owners (KAPO), developers and Realtors. It’s also being watched nationwide, being viewed as an indicator of the mood of the electorate. If the measure passes in a state like Washington, where the voters tend to be more liberal than conservative, and Democrats outnumber Republicans almost 2 to 1, it will be a huge lift to the property rights movement nationwide.
A similar initiative, Measure 37, passed in Oregon several years ago. Opponents managed to get the measure overturned in court, but the Oregon Supreme Court overturned the lower court’s ruling earlier this year.
For more information about Washington State Farm Bureau, go to www.wsfb.com. For more information about the Property Fairness Initiative and a list of the organizations supporting I-933, visit www.propertyfairness.com. | 
