Falmouth Citizen

Sen. George Allen (R-VA) responded to criticism by property rights advocates of his “Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Act of 2006,” through his spokesperson, John Reid. “I don’t think [the National Center for Public Policy Research has] read the legislation…this bill is directly consistent with the principle of protecting personal, private property rights,” Reid told the Richmond Times Dispatch. Peyton Knight, Director of Environmental and Regulatory Affairs for the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), said Reid is probably referring to Sec. 10 of S. 2645, “Nothing in this Act shall be construed to modify the authority of Federal, State, or Local governments to regulate land use,”(a boilerplate disclaimer regularly inserted in legislation). “Sec. 10′s ‘property rights protections’ do not extend to land use restrictions and property acquisition performed by local officials at the behest of the new ‘management entity’ the bill creates,” says Knight. “The bill subcontracts the dirty work to the federally-funded ‘management entity’.” Most troubling, according to Knight, is “the management entity for the Heritage Area shall be The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership, a Virginia corporation, the Board of Directors of which shall include representatives from a broad cross-section of the individuals, agencies, organizations, States, and governments that were involved in the planning and development of the Heritage Area before the date of enactment of this Act.” It excludes affected property owners from having a place at the decision table. That alone should be cause for alarm.

Allen Fights Criticism of Preservation Bill
Response to Sen. Allen: NCPPR