w_howey said:
Ironicly, only two state have specific laws against it. Illinois, and strangely enough California.
In California they orchestrate the ordanances, the *public* lands and the zoning regulations, really well. What they pull is often unbelievable. Much of what they pull, takes ten years or more to bear fruit, but often makes many people really rich. They don't get it by immenant domain they get it the good old fashioned crooked way. Politicians, developers and investors operating as a group.
I wonder sometimes if the environemntalist and the developers are working together. The environmentalists seem to be able to work the system to get many private lands purchased by the state, then set aside as a nature preserves or whatever, that invariable end up in the hands of developers. Kind of like slow poison. I've seen it happen too many times to be an accident. There are some really brite and morally questionable people out there, with money to invest that can wait years to make a big killing. They use zoning changes like a big club, when your taxes go up a thousand percent because of a zoning change, many people are tempted to sell.
I've often wondered if many of the big fires in Southern California weren't set by the developers. Back in the old days, after a burn, the status of the land would often change and developers had a chance at a grab. The same thing when the titles change hands, from the private to the State, County, Municipality or whatever. every time the titles change hands, the developers have a chance at a land grab.
I've also often thought one reason the developers, the environmentalists, the politicians and others dislike four wheelers so much. Something that kind of sprung into the old grey matter, was they don't want a group of reasonably intelligent witnesses to what is going on, four wheelers have a tendancy to visit out of the way places on a regular basis, places Joe citizen is hardly aware of (until it's a golf course). The fewer witnesses the fewer questions.
