Pro-PDR grassroots campaign under way
April 3 referendum will decide if controversial land preservation plan will start in county
By DAVE RANK - GM Today Staff
March 3, 2007
A campaign in support of creating of a county purchase of development rights (PDR) rural land preservation program will have its public start Thursday night with a rally at the West Bend Mutual Insurance Co.
The "yes to PDR" rally will run from 7 to 9 p.m., said Alice Nixon of West Bend, an organizer of the event.
There is strong and growing grassroots support for a county PDR program, said Nixon, campaign volunteer coordinator.
The Washington County Board voted 19-10 in January to put the PDR preservation issue on the April 3 general election ballot.
Last year, the board split on two resolutions, first passing one 17-11 in March to start a PDR program, then in May recinding the first resolution on a 15-14 vote.
A third resolution, passed the same day as the referendum question, authorized starting a county-run PDR program if it is approved April 3. That vote was 16-13.
If enacted, the PDR program would begin in 2008.
Specifics on how the program will be run would be determined by a board subcommittee, based on recommendations made by the PDR task force he chaired more than a year ago, said Daniel Stoffel, County Board supervisor from the town of Kewaskum and a leader of the pro-PDR wing of the county supervisors.
Backers of a PDR program, which would be the first such county-run program in the state, say it will protect agricultural lands, water recharge tracts and natural areas from encroaching residential and commercial development, and allow the county’s $630 million annual agricultural industry to continue.
PDR opponents say the program will be costly, benefit too few people, infringes on property owners’ rights and would increase government regulations.
The Land Conservation Partnership (LCP), which is promoting the PDR preservation initiative, has launched a campaign to educate voters why the program is needed in Washington County, said Sue Millin, LCP coordinator.
The LCP has spun off a political action arm, called the Washington County Citizens for Farmland and Natural Areas, which is organizing what its members call the grassroots support for the PDR program.
"The proposal would commit at least $800,000 a year in county funds for a period of 10 years to preservation," Millin said. "It would require an equal amount of matching dollars from other sources, such as state and federal funds or private donations.
"At the heart of the program will be the purchase of development rights ... from willing sellers," she said.
Simply stated, a PDR is a legal easement permanently placed on a parcel of land so that land remains in agricultural use and is protected from urban development, essentially forever, Millin explained.
PDR programs has been used in counties across the United States and has been used several times already by the state’s Department of Natural Resources to preserve farm and natural areas in Washington County, primarily in the Milwaukee River Watershed.
The land seller receives the difference between the value of the land for farming and the value of the land in the marketplace for development. "The landowner receives no more or no less than he or she could have received from a private buyer," Millin said.
The public is invited to the rally. To RSVP, contact Alice Nixon, nixon@hnet.net or 338-3820.
The PDR referendum question
The April 3 referendum on the proposed purchase of development rights (PDR) program reads:
"Shall the Washington County Board of Supervisors allocate at least $800,000 per year for 10 years funded by either sales tax, long-term debt obligations and property tax or a combination thereof to preserve prime farmland, water resources and natural areas in the County through purchase of development rights, land acquisition or similar programs from willing sellers, on the condition that all County expenditures are at least equally matched by non-county funding sources?"
Who do you help?
The Washington County Citizens for Farmland and Natural Areas, the political action arm of the Land Conservation Partnership (LCP), is asking for donations and volunteer for its pro-PDR campaign over the next four weeks.
Bob Retko, chairman of the organization said, "We need the help of hundreds of people across the county to make sure the voters understand the issue and its importance for the future of our county," said Bob Retko, chairman of the organization.
Information on the proposed purchase of development rights (PDR) rural land preservation program and the April 3 referendum is available on the LCP’s Web site: www.lcpwc.org.
Documents offered:
- Downloadable question and answer fact sheets
- County PDR Task Force Report (2006)
- Pros and cons of various land preservation tools
- Links to other sources of information
To contribute to this campaign to pass the PDR program, make checks out to Washington County Citizens for Farmland & Natural Areas, and send to Bill Neureuther, Treasurer, Washington County Citizens for Farmland & Natural Areas, 1351 Oak Drive, Hubertus, WI, 53033.
To volunteer to help with the campaign, contact volunteer coordinator Alice Nixon, 262-707-0359.
For more information on the Land Preservation Initiative go to www.lcpwc.org/voteyes
or contact Sue Millin at 262-707-4981 or voteyes@lcpwc.org.
This story appeared in The West Bend Daily News on March 3, 2007.