SOAR'S INITIATIVES SPELL TYRANNY; PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS TRAMPLED BY OPEN-SPACE EFFORTS.

Byline: James Bemis Commentary

In the coming century, Ventura County's most contentious issue is likely to be balancing the demand for development against open space and parklands preservation. We've just been presented a model of the best way to achieve the delicate equilibrium.

The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy recently announced the acquisition of nearly 10,000 acres to fill in a 40-mile corridor of parkland from Simi Valley to the ocean - the largest acquisition in the agency's history. Protected areas include portions of Rocky Peak Park, Las Virgenes Canyon, Jordan Ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains, Liberty Canyon in the Agoura hills and parts of the Malibu coast.

The trade-off is opening a large area of open space between Los Angeles and Ventura counties for the massive Ahmanson Ranch, a development consisting of hotels, golf courses and more than 3,000 homes. The deal was the brainchild of Simi Valley City Manager Mike Sedell, former Ventura County Supervisor Maria VanderKolk and Joe Edmiston, executive director of the conservancy.

In contrast with the numerous SOAR initiatives, which subordinate private-property rights to the tyranny of the majority, this parklands acquisition resulted from compromise and consideration for the claims of all affected parties - the public, the property owners and relevant state and local agencies.

Here, then, are two competing models for protecting our precious open space.

Parklands acquisition balances private-property rights with collective interest in preserving this area's natural beauty. Public land acquisition rightfully requires the beneficiary - the taxpayer or developer, in this case - to bear the cost of obtaining that which enriches them. By using a targeted, prioritized strategy of creating buffers around areas zoned for development, conservationists can shelter natural beauty without smothering natural rights.

SOAR's democratic approach, on the other hand, unjustly forces one class of taxpayers - namely farmers - to bear the entire cost of open-land preservation, something that benefits us all. Thus, by taking land-use decisions out of our elected officials' hands and placing them with the voters, SOAR promotes neither freedom nor fairness. Not allowing someone to seek the highest and best use for their property is a subtle form of confiscation - depressing the property values, in essence, to provide for someone else's benefit.

The whole idea of natural rights, including the right to own and exercise dominion over property, is that they can't be taken or voted away. I doubt many SOAR backers would endorse submitting one group's right of, say, free speech or religion to a majority vote. Yet they're willing to support subjecting the private property rights of local farmers - a right in some ways more important than any other - to the dictates of 51 percent of voters.

SOAR's attempt to preserve the county's open space is laudable and worthy of support. Nothing contributes more to our area's character and high quality of living than its farming roots and rural past. The need to experience the majesty and beauty of nature, of fresh air and open skies, of green fields and rocky hills transcends all differences among us.

However, one can agree with SOAR's aims but differ with its methods. Public land acquisition a la the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy may have its drawbacks, but at least its process is fair and just. While sometimes painstaking - this conservancy acquisition took 10 years to consummate - the recent deal proves that the proper balance between public interest and private rights can be struck.

No matter how lofty one's goal may be, the natural rights of the individuals must be respected. Thus, while SOAR's advantages are many, its deficiency is fatal. For whenever our God-given rights can be taken away at someone else's whim - whether that whim be of one man or of many, whether the cause be admirable or unjust - it's all called by the same name: tyranny.