Our County Commissioners are preparing to update our County-wide Planning Policies and Shorelines Master Plan. The commissioners will impose more restrictions on private property. North End Commissioner Steve Bauer is already concerned the county surrendered too many development rights. Fact is, the commissioners have no rights in our private property. They certainly have no interest in open discussion of property rights.

When you hear the term “property rights,” if you envision a gun-totin,’ chainsaw-weildin,’ stream-pollutin,’ tree-cuttin,’ environment-destroyin’ person who cares not a hoot about quality of life, please think again. The probability is that you are deeply invested in property rights even if you are not aware.

Real property is the source of all wealth generation in our economy. Our founding fathers were so keenly aware of the importance of private property ownership to individual freedom that it became an underlying consideration in the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. The importance of preserving property ownership and property rights can also be found in every land purchase or acquisition treaty undertaken by the federal government. The words of the Fifth Amendment, guaranteeing protection of private property, certainly place property on a level of protection equal to that provided for speech, religion, and assembly.

The “rights” associated with property are attached to the property. Property ownership extends the ability to exercise the rights to the owner. I will repeat that relationship because it is critical to the discussion about land use regulation. Property rights are inherent in the property and only the owner of the property, not government, has the ability to exercise those rights. Since each parcel of property is unique, the specific “rights” are also unique to each parcel.

So what are these “rights” and why do they matter? First there is the “Right to possession and control” – it is the property owner who gets to make the decisions about the property. He who holds the title holds the power over the property. Second is the “Right to enjoyment in use” – the property owner gets to decide how the property will be used, for simple things like where the house will go and how big the house will be. Third is the “Right of exclusion” – the power to say who may and may not enter the property. Fourth is the “Right to disposition” – the owner determines if the property shall be rented, sold, or leased, in part or in whole. Associated with “rights” are responsibilities for the property owner. In exercising individual property rights, one owner cannot do harm to the property of another. But notice the restriction against harm to the property of another is vested in an owner and not to some non-vested body of individual exercising “group rights.” A property owner who agrees to self-imposed homeowner association regulations or covenants must abide by that agreement.

Respect for property rights and protection of those rights is essential to the continuation of individual freedom. When government extends it’s authority to eliminate or diminish the rights of property, government first exceeds the authority and power granted by the people and, second, works to destroy both our economic and individual freedom. When a property owner is not allowed, by arbitrary political decision, to make best use of property the value of the property is diminished and the ability to create wealth is destroyed. When government gets to decide the proper use for property for the “common good” the owner becomes little more than a source of tax revenue for government. When government policies attempt to disassociate the rights of property from unique property parcels they undermine and destroy the value of that property.

Property rights, like all other rights, will soon be lost if not exercised and protected. If you are looking for a property rights “activist” you need only look in your mirror.