The 9-111 Report on the Fair Payment for Public Benefit Act represents a historical first. It marks the first time Napa County has ever devoted resources to quantifying the damage that can be done to property values by thoughtless regulation, and the news is sobering. The report, prepared by Seifel Consulting of San Francisco, demonstrates that hundreds of millions of dollars of damage can be done by regulating irresponsibly. Just the three sample land use restrictions that Seifel analyzed in its report produced damage totaling well over $100 million. This is a very significant hit from just three regulations, especially in light of the report’s observation that our County Supervisors pass potentially damaging ordinances and resolutions 15 or 20 times each year.
In the past, the Board of Supervisors has given little thought to the damage they might cause property owners by implementing new land use restrictions. Perhaps because they have had no obligation to reimburse property owners for the damage they cause to property values, they simply haven’t cared. However, if the Fair Payment for Public Benefit act passes next June, they will have to care, because it will make them responsible for the damage they cause, just as all the rest of us are responsible for damage we cause.
The Fair Payment for Public Benefit Act will force the County to consider the consequences of its actions before it acts. This is a good thing. If we don’t analyze the potential impact of each of these new land use regulations before we pass them, how can we know if the benefits the regulations are supposed to bring are worth the price? And why should we be passing regulations that impose huge penalties on property owners if we don’t even know if the benefits outweigh the costs?
If we evaluate the potential damage before we act, we can then make an intelligent, informed decision. Regulations can be tailored or modified to eliminate unnecessary collateral damage and to minimize the unavoidable damage. If the unavoidable damage is too high relative to the benefits, then maybe we shouldn’t enact the regulation.
This seems pretty straightforward, but under present policy, the County just shoots from the hip, and it’s just too bad for anyone who gets in the way. This is no way to run a County. We should govern responsibly. The Fair Payment for Public Benefit act will see that we do. Vote Yes on Measure A when you see it on the ballot next June.