Paving Paradise > Rexroad.com

A New Perspective? This report is nothing but a regurgitation of boring data. Why don't they analyze the real problems and offer some real solutions? Cities and government need revenue and everyone wants a bite. They offer solutions like urban infill, which is smart. Higher density, which is smart. But thiese ignore the facts that a lot of people, given the choice, don't want to live in stacked boxes and prefer a rural lifestyle and desire some elbow room. Most probably don't want to buy 20 or more acres in Yolo Co., but that's the game if you want to have some acreage for hobby farms and horses and livestock, etc. The County won't let us split off an acre or two. Another thing, why don't they address the problem? How about a solution like "leasing" the development rights to all prime farmland? Problem solved. If you wanted to freeze all development for the next oh 40 years, the development rights for the 2 million acres (reported to be at risk over the next 42 years) would cost what, about $5 billion dollars. That's only about $150 per person in this state? About $4 per year per resident. Let's tax all the residents (legal residents of course). The cities could take half for their economic impact loss and the landowner would get the balance, spread out over 40 years. At the end of 40 years (if global warming hasn't completely made the valley a lake) maybe we could build a few homes again or maybe we could lease it all again.

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