Seattle Times editorial columnist Bruce Ramsey has a particularly vivid example in his latest column. Steve Capeder wanted to start a small organic farm in King County, but finally gave up because he could not navigate all the obstacles placed in his way by the county's Department of Development and Environmental Services. (It's funny how often a government department's name is the opposite of what it does.)
Example:
To pave a driveway, the blueprint — one sheet — cost $1,000. The county, which funds its permit department through fees, wanted $22,000 to review the one sheet. Capeder hired a lawyer, and they settled for $10,000.
The county regulations didn't just stop Capeder from having his farm; they also stopped him from hiring people to put in the improvements he thought he needed, and the workers he would need from time to time, even on a small farm.
The current county executive is Dow Constantine, who served on the county council before becoming executive. His predecessor was Ron Sims. Both men are "urban imperialists"; that is, they tend to treat rural areas like conquered provinces. If any of our local journalists want to find out why we have this job-killing regulation mess, they should start with a few questions for Constantine and Sims. (Sims now has a position in the Obama administration. He is not a bad man, but even his friends would not claim that he is a great manager.)
Cross posted at Jim Miller on Politics.
(More here from Dave Ross, a Democratic talk show host, who gave Capeder a fair hearing.)
Posted by Jim Miller at March 04, 2010 11:28 AM | Email This###
"He's got a great idea," says Julia Larson, the county's coordinator for rural economic strategies. Several other farmers have had similar ideas, she says, and have made them work successfully.)
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Ramsay's piece itself says that OTHER farmers in King County made similar plans work, so if this guy wasn't able to, it's an indictment of the King County system?
That's total bollocks, as the British would say, and lazy advocacy "journalism".
Posted by: Joe Szilagyi on March 4, 2010 03:18 PMWhat a mouthful! Pretty much says it all regarding government land "management" practices these days, where urban elitists who managed to decimate their own neighborhoods and quality of life dictate to farmers and rural folks how they plan on destroying ours as well.
Posted by: Saltherring on March 4, 2010 03:46 PM...we waive the "Welcome to WA" flag in one hand and a small-business tazer in the other...
gee...why is WA small business so skittish and covering their private parts ?!...why indeed...!
clueless legislators--why don't they all do a mandatory "teacher's in-service" day or 2 and mop floors in a small shop, handle customer complaints, flip burgers, deliver porta-potties or bus tables in a small deli as a practical real life internship?
then--you can govern us; come visit the trenches for a while and meet the REAL entrepreneurs--
Posted by: jimmie howya-doin on March 4, 2010 08:34 PMThe Rotton Urbs force people off the land into high prices rabbit warren concrete condoes and makes them slaves to rents, taxes and fees.
The 'other' farmers that made it work, may have already had much of the requisite infrastructure in place before some of the rules and regs that Capeder would have had to face (actually did face) were created.
So yes, it is somewhat an indictment of KC in that it is easier to create and keep a hobby farm or 'other use' on farmland here than an actual farm on land perfectly suited for such.
Now that he's selling, and presumably going to sell parcels instead of the whole as one, the hobby and other-use models will continue to rise instead in the Sno Valley as opposed to more useful working farms.
Posted by: Brian on March 5, 2010 09:37 AMNo, it's a combination of shallow reporting AND an indictment of the King County system. Little boutique farms that work are frequently clients of grant-funded NGOs, working in cahoots with the County to run Potemkin 'farms' that look pretty to passersby but have signed over to the County most of their land value. They don't work without open or hidden subsidies, they hire negligible workforces and their products are only 'economic' if one spends the time and resources to leave the megalopolis and visit them - and then writes off the travel cost.
Perhaps Capeder had the temerity to wish to remain in control, and follow laws of supply and demand instead of those of centrally-planned 'land use'.
Posted by: Insufficiently Sensitive on March 5, 2010 09:30 PMNot in rural areas. This makes NO sense there. Clearly, a different set of rules and regulations are needed for urban, and rural areas, this is just common sense! Perhaps splitting off rural King County is the way to go?
Posted by: Proteus on March 6, 2010 12:05 AMWow - what happened? First education, now regulation? Agreeance again! :) One size fits all regulation NEVER works, but unfortunately that's the model that Government likes because it's easy. The benefit of the governed is ignored for the convenience of the governors...
Posted by: Shanghai Dan on March 6, 2010 08:40 AM