Take Action
Thank You for Taking Action: SB 75 Defeated
Jun 21 2009
SB 75, introduced by Senator Edwin Murray, would require a municipal vote on the completed Master Plan before it can become law to direct the future development of the city. By introducing this bill, Senator Murray is supporting and engaging in what is known as ballot box planning. This is a procedure that is frowned upon by respected land use attorneys and urban planners and places the average citizen in the position of passing judgment on a complex, city-wide document that reflects land use compromises reached through arduous negotiations in neighborhood after neighborhood across the municipality.
Placing the plan on the ballot could reverse everything, allowing powerful special interest groups to lobby for self-serving changes. Local citizens groups cannot hope to match the budgets of these larger organizations, and their voices would no longer be heard.