Posts Tagged ‘Goldwater Institute’

From Goldwater Institute.org - Phoenix–Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Robert H. Oberbillig gave Tom and Elizabeth Preston an opening round victory in their battle to open a tattoo studio in Tempe.

The court ruled that the Tempe City Council unlawfully revoked their special use permit to open a studio called Body Accents in a vacant storefront in a strip mall at 1524 N. Scottsdale Rd. in Tempe. The permit was awarded by a city hearing examiner and upheld by the city’s Development Review Commission before the City Council voted on August 28, 2007 to revoke the permit due to what Mayor Hugh Hallman called a “perception” that the studio would contribute to neighborhood deterioration. In the meantime, the Prestons had signed a five-year lease and invested between $25,000-$30,000 preparing the studio to open in reliance on the permit.
 
The court ruled, “Even the City’s own ordinances and rules reflect that this permit is valid,” and that the Council may revoke it only on a showing of “good cause or public necessity.”
 
The Prestons own and operate a tattoo studio in Mesa called Virtual Reality, which has not received a single complaint in over 15 years of continuous operation.
 
“The Council’s action was a travesty,” remarked Clint Bolick, director of the Goldwater Institute Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation, which represented the Prestons. “The Prestons followed the city’s rules and made a significant investment, only to be sent packing by the City Council on the basis of crude, outdated stereotypes.”
 
The court sent the matter back to the City Council to reconsider in light of its ruling. Meanwhile, the storefront remains vacant, and the Prestons still would like to open a studio there.
 
“This ruling is a victory for the rule of law,” declared Bolick. “If the City can lawfully treat the Prestons this way, then every small business owner in Arizona is at risk of arbitrary government action.”
 
The Goldwater Institute is a nonprofit public policy research and litigation organization whose work is made possible by the generosity of its supporters.

Oro Valley made a deal with a developer to put in the Oro Valley Marketplace. It’s been a hotly contested deal and cost a few council people their seat. The development agreement involved a $23 million sales tax rebate back to the developer.

Goldwater Institute has taken a case to the Arizona Supreme Court arguing that the use of sales tax rebates are allowing local governments to selectively favor one private firm over another.

OV put the payments they agreed to into an escrow account until the court issues a ruling.  From teh AZ Republic today:

At issue is a 2007 agreement between the city and the development under which the developer, after constructing and opening 1.2 million square feet of retail space and parking garages with 3,180 free spaces, would receive 50 percent of sales taxes collected by the city from the development during the previous year. The agreement would go for 11 years, 3 months or until the total reached $97.4 million, whichever comes first.

More broadly, the case is about the circumstances under which cities may enter economic development agreements with private organizations - whether it is sales-tax breaks to major retailers or property-tax breaks to proposed resorts or offices……

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

The Goldwater Institute has until March 23 to respond. Then the other side is permitted a response. After that, the court will schedule the case for review. On that day, the court will decide whether or not to hear the case. If it rejects the case, the Appeals Court ruling banning the agreement stands. If it accepts the case, a briefing schedule will be drafted and a date will be set for oral argument. The court then would rule, but is not required to follow a particular schedule.

 

The outcome on this has ramifications for a number of deals already done, not to mention future projects.

Goldwater Institute Wins Victory on Behalf of Property Owners
County lifts moratorium that stripped property rights around Luke Air Force Base
 
Phoenix–In a clear victory for property owners in Arizona, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors today lifted a moratorium on building permits in neighborhoods surrounding Luke Air Force Base. The moratorium was the target of $20 million in legal claims filed by the Goldwater Institute on February 17 under protections provided by Prop 207, the Private Property Rights Protection Act. 

“We applaud Maricopa County’s action,” said Carrie Ann Sitren, the Goldwater Institute attorney representing the affected property owners. “By repealing the moratorium, the county has returned valuable property rights not only to the owners who rightfully demanded compensation in the past week, but to all landowners surrounding Luke.”

In 2004 the Arizona Legislature passed a law requiring Maricopa County to implement a series of building and development restrictions on land surrounding Luke Air Force Base. The county believed the law was illegal and in 2008 took the state to court to have it thrown out. Pending an outcome in that lawsuit, the county issued a moratorium on building permits in the “Clear Zone” and other areas adjacent to the base. On Feb 9, 2009, Superior Court Judge Edward Burke ruled the 2004 state statute was legal, leaving questions about whether the county would continue to enforce the moratorium. 

The moratorium caused severe reductions in property values–95 percent for vacant lots that were already zoned for housing and 50 percent for lots with single-family homes already built–and has prevented homeowners from doing simple renovations. As a result the Goldwater Institute Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation filed claims on behalf of more than 175 property owners under protections provided by Prop 207, which requires government to compensate property owners when it passes laws or rules that reduce property values.

Maricopa County issued a statement today stating, “Effective immediately, building permits can be granted if they meet all County requirements and are for uses permitted by state statute.”
The Goldwater Institute is a nonprofit public policy research and litigation organization whose work is made possible by the generosity of its supporters.

Arizona Public Schools Received $9,707 per student in 2007-08

By Matthew Ladner, Ph.D.

Arizona’s citizens have been subjected non-stop to the claim that Arizona’s public schools are desperately underfunded. The Superintendent of Public Instruction’s finance report says otherwise.

On page six of that document, you will find a figure for all revenues collected by Arizona school districts from all sources. That number is $9,232,916,095. If you divide that figure by the enrollment number for districts on page nine of the same document, you get $9,707.45 in total revenue per pupil.

For a bit of perspective, the average Arizona private school tuition in 2006 was $4,300 and the average total cost was $5,500. The same revenue per pupil calculation for Arizona charter schools is $7,800.

Some might be inclined (I’m not) to divide the revenue number by fall enrollment rather than average attendance. Doing so effectively gives credit for students that have since dropped out or moved away. Even doing the math this way, this figure is still near $9,000 per pupil.

Facing a catastrophic downturn in revenues, state lawmakers cut 3 percent from the 2009 K-12 budget. The various education associations whipped their members into a frenzy and directed them to send hate emails to legislators. I’ve been getting them myself.

If, however, you go to the JLBC website and look at the budget excel spreadsheet you’ll see a budget line for the Arizona Department of Education of $4,141,201,000 on line 135.

Even if you cut this number by 18 percent, to $3,395,784,820, it would keep state K-12 funding between where it was in 2005 and 2006. Yes there has been some inflation and enrollment growth since 2005, so tightening of belts would be necessary. Average revenue per pupil would remain well above what charter schools receive. 

Dr. Matthew Ladner is vice president for research at the Goldwater Institute.

For Immediate Release: February 17, 2009

Goldwater Institute Files $20 million in Prop 207 Claims against Maricopa County
Institute seeks compensation for homeowners whose property rights have been violated

Phoenix–The Goldwater Institute filed legal claims today against Maricopa County totaling $20 million on behalf of more than 175 property owners. The compensation claims were filed under provisions of Proposition 207, the Private Property Rights Protection Act, which requires government to compensate property owners when it passes laws or rules that reduce existing property values.

In 2004 the Arizona Legislature passed a law requiring Maricopa County to implement a series of building and development restrictions on land surrounding Luke Air Force Base. The county believes the law is illegal for a variety of reasons and in 2008 took the state to court to have it thrown out. Pending an outcome in that lawsuit, the county issued a moratorium on building permits in the “Clear Zone” and other areas adjacent to the base.

“While the Goldwater Institute strongly agrees with efforts to protect the base, it is unfair to ask a handful of homeowners to bear the cost,” said Carrie Ann Sitren, the Goldwater Institute attorney representing the property owners. “In any event, stopping homeowners from installing solar panels or a swimming pool doesn’t protect Luke.”

The moratorium has caused severe reductions in property values–95 percent for vacant lots that were already zoned for housing and 50 percent for lots with single-family homes already built–and has prevented homeowners from doing simple renovations.

Residents in restricted areas are being denied permits for maintenance and upkeep of their existing homes including the installation of pools, fences, and standard repairs on plumbing and electrical work. For example, Robert Landers, a six-year Air Force veteran, has been denied a permit to install a therapeutic spa his doctor prescribed as a precursor to surgery.

“The county is stuck between a rock and a hard place,” said Ms. Sitren. “On one hand it’s being forced by the state to limit these people’s property rights, but on the other its moratorium is overly broad and unnecessary. The people of Arizona spoke loud and clear when they passed Prop 207 by a two-to-one margin in 2006. If the government takes away the value of someone’s property, the owner must be compensated.”

Filing a claim for compensation is the first step in a formal Prop 207 lawsuit. Today’s claims were filed with the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors by the Goldwater Institute Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation. The county has 90 days to respond to the claims, and can either repeal the moratorium, grant waivers to property owners, or pay the requested compensation.

The Goldwater Institute is a nonprofit public policy research and litigation organization whose work is made possible by the generosity of its supporters.

As a college professor, member of Congress, and an author of the 1994 Contract with America, Dick Armey has devoted his life to advancing the cause of freedom. During his tenure as House Majority Leader, 60 percent of the Contract with America was signed into law, realizing the first balanced budget in a generation, historic welfare reform, and free market solutions for the health care, farming, and telecommunications industries. By the time of his retirement from Congress in 2003, however, much of that ground had been lost to the largest increase in federal spending since Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society. As an economics professor at the University of North Texas, he opened every class with Armey’s Axiom #1: the market is rational and the government is dumb. Then, when Ronald Reagan took office, Armey seized the opportunity to advance their shared principles by running for Congress in 1984. Since that time, Congressman Armey has learned a great deal about limiting government in challenging political environments, and today, he puts that knowledge to use as Chairman of Freedom Works, a conservative grassroots advocacy group. Congressman Armey shares the Goldwater Institute’s belief in the need to return to the principles of economic freedom and personal responsibility.
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