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Monday, July 16, 2007
Debra J. Saunders :: Townhall.com Columnist
This State Can Take Your Dreams, Too
by Debra J. Saunders
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Waters-Sensenbrenner can't help John Revelli. In February, he settled with Oakland, which paid him $615,000. Also, the project for which the city seized Revelli's business received no federal funds, according to City Attorney John Russo's office.

Russo bristles at the notion that Oakland kicked Revelli out of his property. "I believe that the Revelli case, for him, was a case of stubbornness and sentiment," Russo told me, adding that the city paid above appraisal for the property.

Russo is right, Revelli is sentimental. Revelli -- who now calls himself "forcibly retired" -- asked Oakland to put off the seizure. Instead, the city took the land -- then left his property unchanged for many months, during which Revelli could have been in business. His father started Revelli Tires in 1949. Revelli owned the property, with a prime location a block from BART, free and clear.

"I created a situation where I could compete with everyone else in the tire business," he explained, "because I worked by myself. I had no employees. Nobody treats the business like the owner treats the business."

Revelli's retirement plan had been to sell his business and lease the property -- if, that is, he felt the urge to retire. Instead, he has $615,000 -- minus legal fees and a whopping capital-gains tax bill. Even if $615,000 is above appraisal, the deal shortchanged his future.

No government should be able to take your land to give it to a corporation. As Susette Kelo noted Thursday, "Our federal tax dollars shouldn't be used to take away our homes and businesses so that developers can build shopping malls and condominiums."

Citizens have an interest in a system that allows governments to take property -- at a just price -- for public projects. But when states and cities, in search of a richer tax base, can take your land and give it to a private developer -- they have license to trample on everyone's rights. And no one, except the very rich, is safe.

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(68 comments so Far)
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Reply # 1
Date: Jul 18, 2007 - 1:20 PM EST
Another tactic?
What looks like another tactic to kick out seniors has been in the news recently: someone with political connections bought a lot that was zoned residential and had it changed to commercial in order to build a service station/garage. Since the city has septic systems except for small pockets that tap into the city next door's sewers and water it meant that a sewer tap-in would be required because the lot is too small for well and septic (less than 20,000 sq ft). Problem now is that a private contractor is laying the sewer line and neighbors will be forced to tap in at a cost of $17,000 to $21,000. Instead of assessing it over a 20 year period they have been told that it must be paid in a single lump sum, not possible for seniors on fixed income.

Stay tuned.

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Reply # 2
Date: Jul 18, 2007 - 1:07 PM EST
alopekos and Ragnar
I recall something a gun writer wrote several years ago in which he described a means of protest that does not involve violence, demonstrations or public rants but can be quite effective: non-cooperation -- as in the words of Sgt. Schultz in "Hogan's Heroes" -- "I saw nothing." Most police are good and do their best but a minority of bad apples are the problem. There have been a few incidents here that, if they become too frequent, could result in such an attitude and police can't do their job without public coöperation. The writer didn't recommend this except as a last resort because it is more extreme than it sounds.

A friend, who is son of a late friend, and I talked one evening just before he entered the Police Academy and I advised him to keep his sense of humor and his sense of perspective; he would be seeing the seedy side because police are not called until the situation has already gone to Hades in a handbasket. He seems to be doing well in that regard.

I learned recently that in Taxachusetts there was a change made that should raise eyebrows. Nationally, the only elected LEO is the County Sheriff but Taxachusetts has msde him/her a political appointee. Did Romney oversee that? Perhaps Pirate would know; if so, that is another reason not to vote for Romney.

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