February 4, 2013
On January 31, 2013, The Bandon Western World ran an article titled “Light fight will be on March 12 city ballot.” The paper missed the point. This issue is not so much a fight, as it is a choice denied to the people of Bandon by the City Council.
The City Councilors could have put the measure on the ballot. They could have given the voters of Bandon the opportunity to decide on whether or not to yoke property owners with the burden of more intrusive regulations. The Ballot Title submitted by the city to the County Clerk was a little misleading. The title read, “The Ordinance adding outdoor lighting regulations to the Bandon Municipal Code.” The City of Bandon already has a lighting ordinance, so there is an established remedy for these types of residential problems. In addition, citizens can currently file nuisance lawsuits in civil court against those violating their property rights, so there is no need for more rules.
What should really be disturbing to the people of Bandon is that the US Fish & Wildlife Service had undue influence in the construction of this law. The Service made sure that the law designated the Bandon Marsh as one of the protective zones in the ordinance, so now a complaint from an officer in the USFWS can warrant a fine for a city resident. This would give a Federal agency unprecedented advantage over local law enforcement and sway the power of local governance from the people to an out-of-control bureaucracy, whose authority
will continue to grow with the expansion of The Service’s territory. Eventually, this will affect every municipality in the county.
In a recent article about the Bandon Lighting Ordinance published by www.Landscapeonline.com, the author
demonstrates in a picture the type of outlawed landscape lighting designs contained in the new commandment.
One quote states, “This of great importance to Oregon lighting professionals, as a proposed change in the ordinance would hamstring a popular lighting technique.” Law-making busybodies, whose only goal is to make mundane life more oppressive and expensive for their neighbors, always overlook these unintended
consequences. With every passing law, it becomes more apparent that the individual members of the Bandon City Council are morphing into a clone of that nosey neighbor on Bewitched, Gladys Kravitz.
The Committee for Citizens Involvement, under the direction of the City Council, will subject the people of Bandon to more restrictive regulations if the voters do not keep a tight and unrelenting leash on these groups. The people on these committees are more concerned about building their perception of Bandon tomorrow rather than troubling themselves about the condition of Coos County today. It is sad when city leaders have tyrannical desires to turn our hometown atmosphere into a strangely perverted Community Association, with little to no
input from the disenfranchised.
The City Manager is trying to make this issue about the person who filed the referendum. However, the manager overlooked the very important fact that one person alone cannot put a measure on a ballot---it takes the signatures of 178 riled up residents to file a referendum, therefore making this a community driven policy. Ironically, that is exactly what most people wanted from the beginning.
When the ballots go out at the end of February it will be an opportunity for the voters of Bandon to take back their community from a rogue group made up of a minority of citizens. Please, do not hesitate---immediately fill out, and submit the ballot, because the opposition is counting on public apathy to win the day. Stay vigilant and do not give them the satisfaction. Read the Bandon Lighting Ordinance for yourself at the city’s website and
make your own objective decision. Then Vote NO on Measure 6-148. Vote NO on the Bandon Lighting Ordinance. There is more information on this subject at www.CooCountyWatchdog.com and please sign the“NO Bandon Marsh Expansion” Petition while visiting the site.
On January 31, 2013, The Bandon Western World ran an article titled “Light fight will be on March 12 city ballot.” The paper missed the point. This issue is not so much a fight, as it is a choice denied to the people of Bandon by the City Council.
The City Councilors could have put the measure on the ballot. They could have given the voters of Bandon the opportunity to decide on whether or not to yoke property owners with the burden of more intrusive regulations. The Ballot Title submitted by the city to the County Clerk was a little misleading. The title read, “The Ordinance adding outdoor lighting regulations to the Bandon Municipal Code.” The City of Bandon already has a lighting ordinance, so there is an established remedy for these types of residential problems. In addition, citizens can currently file nuisance lawsuits in civil court against those violating their property rights, so there is no need for more rules.
What should really be disturbing to the people of Bandon is that the US Fish & Wildlife Service had undue influence in the construction of this law. The Service made sure that the law designated the Bandon Marsh as one of the protective zones in the ordinance, so now a complaint from an officer in the USFWS can warrant a fine for a city resident. This would give a Federal agency unprecedented advantage over local law enforcement and sway the power of local governance from the people to an out-of-control bureaucracy, whose authority
will continue to grow with the expansion of The Service’s territory. Eventually, this will affect every municipality in the county.
In a recent article about the Bandon Lighting Ordinance published by www.Landscapeonline.com, the author
demonstrates in a picture the type of outlawed landscape lighting designs contained in the new commandment.
One quote states, “This of great importance to Oregon lighting professionals, as a proposed change in the ordinance would hamstring a popular lighting technique.” Law-making busybodies, whose only goal is to make mundane life more oppressive and expensive for their neighbors, always overlook these unintended
consequences. With every passing law, it becomes more apparent that the individual members of the Bandon City Council are morphing into a clone of that nosey neighbor on Bewitched, Gladys Kravitz.
The Committee for Citizens Involvement, under the direction of the City Council, will subject the people of Bandon to more restrictive regulations if the voters do not keep a tight and unrelenting leash on these groups. The people on these committees are more concerned about building their perception of Bandon tomorrow rather than troubling themselves about the condition of Coos County today. It is sad when city leaders have tyrannical desires to turn our hometown atmosphere into a strangely perverted Community Association, with little to no
input from the disenfranchised.
The City Manager is trying to make this issue about the person who filed the referendum. However, the manager overlooked the very important fact that one person alone cannot put a measure on a ballot---it takes the signatures of 178 riled up residents to file a referendum, therefore making this a community driven policy. Ironically, that is exactly what most people wanted from the beginning.
When the ballots go out at the end of February it will be an opportunity for the voters of Bandon to take back their community from a rogue group made up of a minority of citizens. Please, do not hesitate---immediately fill out, and submit the ballot, because the opposition is counting on public apathy to win the day. Stay vigilant and do not give them the satisfaction. Read the Bandon Lighting Ordinance for yourself at the city’s website and
make your own objective decision. Then Vote NO on Measure 6-148. Vote NO on the Bandon Lighting Ordinance. There is more information on this subject at www.CooCountyWatchdog.com and please sign the“NO Bandon Marsh Expansion” Petition while visiting the site.
Related Posts:
City of Bandon---Outdoor Lighting Ordinance Measure 6-148
Bandon: The City of Ordinances
Keep the Lights ON in Bandon
Public Law 107-40
The National Defense Authorization Act of 2013
The National Fish & Wildlife Foundation
The US Forest Service Is Involved With Another Land Grab in Coos County
My choices for the Ballot in the General Election of November 2012
The Voice of the Voters
The Administrator
Matt Rowe for Mayor Rally
“Coos County Today”
Silent victory over Urban Renewal in Coos County
There was an incident at the Fair.
The Realm of Business
A Meeting About Nothing....
City of Bandon---Outdoor Lighting Ordinance Measure 6-148
Bandon: The City of Ordinances
Keep the Lights ON in Bandon
Public Law 107-40
The National Defense Authorization Act of 2013
The National Fish & Wildlife Foundation
The US Forest Service Is Involved With Another Land Grab in Coos County
My choices for the Ballot in the General Election of November 2012
The Voice of the Voters
The Administrator
Matt Rowe for Mayor Rally
“Coos County Today”
Silent victory over Urban Renewal in Coos County
There was an incident at the Fair.
The Realm of Business
A Meeting About Nothing....
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