State Index

New information added on November 13, 2007

“Local Historic District Abolished in Monterey, Virginia” - By Leo M. Schwartz (Virginia Land Rights Coalition, January 15, 2003) After a successful political battle led by property rights activists, the Monterey Town Council voted on December 19, 2002 to abolish the town’s historic district, one of 200 local districts in Virginia. The spokesman for the Virginia Department of Historic Resources in Richmond, commented, “Our department is not aware of any other local government in Virginia that has dissolved its historic district.” Additional Helpful Organizations Attention Virginia Residents—June 2001: The Virginia Land Rights Coalition has just published an attention-grabbing little booklet to help fight conservation easements. It is entitled “Return of the Dead Hand” and is available upon request. (A small donation to cover postage and handling is appreciated.) address Additional Resources “Biosphere Reserves in Action: Case Studies of the American Experience: Published by the United States Man and the Biosphere Program (U.S. MAB, June 1995.” Includes studies of 12 major UNESCO Biosphere Reserves in the U.S. The Biosphere Reserves in Virginia: 10. Southern Appalachian Biosphere Reserve map 12. Virginia Coast Biosphere Reserve map link to main page See our Biosphere Reserves Index Page for links to all 12 studies Websites The Virginia Land Rights Coalition “Working to Protect the Rights of Virginia’s Property Owners” www.vlrc.org Virginia State General Assembly link

State News “Testimony By Carol W. LaGrasse, President, Property Rights Foundation of America, Before the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands of the Natural Resources Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives Regarding H. R. 1286, Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail Designation Act, October 30, 2007” The proposed 600-mile Washington-Rochambeau Historic Trail through nine states from Rhode Island to Virginia poses a threat to private property rights because of the National Park Service’s pattern of secrecy, lack of true public participation, piecemeal development, use of municipalities and non-profit agencies as false fronts, and use of eminent domain (directly, indirectly through local municipalities, and later to widen trails). Amendments to H.R. 1286 are proposed to eliminate these deficiencies. More on this topic: Trails—National “New Wave of UNESCO World Heritage Sites Proposed” - By Carol W. LaGrasse (PRFA Position Brief, June 2007) This spring, the National Park Service announced that 36 locations in the United States have been proposed for UNESCO World Heritage Sites, adding to the twenty that already are designated in this country. Such international recognition potentially threatens private property rights because preservationists could exploit the designation to stop the use of land in the region just beyond a site’s borders. More on this topic: Biosphere Reserves & World Heritage Sites “Property Law Today—The New Feudalism” -By Peter Blackman, Author and Attorney, Louisa, Virginia, Speech to the Ninth Annual National Conference on Private Property Rights (PRFA, Albany, N.Y., October 22, 2005) Mr. Blackman discusses the disastrous ramifications of the disregard of property rights in American law today. He points out that we “have a burden of proof, but one that we can ably meet, to show that not only are property rights consistent with these other human rights, but that property rights are critical to them.” More on this topic: Historic Preservation—National “Hydroelectric Dams Subject to FERC Relicensing—1998-2010” - from Positions on Property, Vol. 4, No. 1 (PRFA, Nov. 1998) (Jump to Virginia information) More on this topic: Dam Relicensing under FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) “Existing and Tentative U.N. World Heritage Sites in the United States”-reprinted from Positions on Property, Vol. 4, No. 1 (Nov. 1998) (Jump to Virginia information) More on this topic: Biosphere Reserves & World Heritage Sites “State Legislation to Protect Private Property Owners” - By W. Christopher Doss, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, Reprinted from Proceedings of the First Annual Conference on Private Property Rights (PRFA, 1995) Large corporations and developers are delighted with regulation, because that helps cut down on competition. Chris Doss’s important ideas include the first mention of “informed consent for conservation easements” and “mandated review property taxes” after regulation decreases property value. More on this topic: Private Property Rights — National

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