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This isn't public review, it's a public vote. A vote is a vastly different barrier to entry than review. One of the biggest complaints I have about the west c

This isn't public review, it's a public vote. A vote is a vastly different barrier to entry than review. One of the biggest complaints I have about the west coast--and, yes, I'm a transplant so I bring my own ideas to the party--is this obsession that everything should be put to a vote. The initiative process is broken in this regard because it increases that expectation. Public officials, especially elected ones, are supposed to have discretion. That's why we elect them. If they screw up, we vote out the people responsible, not erect more set-in-amber barriers to doing things in the future.

timr 12y ago
Yeah, well...you're sort of grinding your axe on the wrong stone, here. This law wasn't passed because people believe "everything should be put to a vote" -- it was passed because a lot of people were (IMO rightfully) pissed that their elected representatives were essentially giving away public land to the wealthy. It's a story as old as politicians. I wish there was another way to block that sort of thing that didn't require citizen initiative. But if it comes down to passing an initiative that requires populist approval to violate existing laws or shrugging and walking away because we can't vote the bastards out until after there's an arena on the waterfront...well, I'm glad we have initiatives for that. I don't generally like the outcome of direct democracy, but this is a case where the initiative process worked exactly the way it was supposed to.
- techsupporter 12y ago
  But if something violates the law isn't that why we have courts instead of passing something that will continue on for the next few decades?
  - timr 12y ago
    The law allows an (IIRC unelected) review board to grant zoning variances. What happened here was that the review board was rubber stamping the exception because powerful local politicians wanted it to happen, because...well, money talks. Essentially, the citizens passed an initiative that ensured that the existing zoning laws had some actual teeth, instead of just trusting politicians not to violate them with impunity.

timr 12y ago

Yeah, well...you're sort of grinding your axe on the wrong stone, here. This law wasn't passed because people believe "everything should be put to a vote" -- it was passed because a lot of people were (IMO rightfully) pissed that their elected representatives were essentially giving away public land to the wealthy. It's a story as old as politicians. I wish there was another way to block that sort of thing that didn't require citizen initiative. But if it comes down to passing an initiative that requires populist approval to violate existing laws or shrugging and walking away because we can't vote the bastards out until after there's an arena on the waterfront...well, I'm glad we have initiatives for that. I don't generally like the outcome of direct democracy, but this is a case where the initiative process worked exactly the way it was supposed to.

techsupporter 12y ago
But if something violates the law isn't that why we have courts instead of passing something that will continue on for the next few decades?
- timr 12y ago
  The law allows an (IIRC unelected) review board to grant zoning variances. What happened here was that the review board was rubber stamping the exception because powerful local politicians wanted it to happen, because...well, money talks. Essentially, the citizens passed an initiative that ensured that the existing zoning laws had some actual teeth, instead of just trusting politicians not to violate them with impunity.