The producers of food, clothing and shelter are gradually moving to other states and other nations where they are more welcome and less regulated and where the tax burden is less severe. This truly is a cause for alarm. As a nation, we have already witnessed the consequences of an energy policy that has caused rolling blackouts in California and allowed us to become dependent on the Middle East for our oil supply. Imagine how unwise it would be to follow a path that causes similar shortages in our food supply. But that is the specter raised by overly restrictive land use policies that are unfair to property owners.
Environmentalists are right.
Urban sprawl and traffic gridlock are serious problems. Uncontrolled growth can damage the beauty and the safety of our natural environment. And government does indeed have an obligation to address those issues in the public interest. At the same time, there is no right more precious in a free society than the right to own and protect private property. When you think about it, the right to own property was a key difference between the former Soviet Union and the United States.