Published articles which reflect a general philosophy

By Mark A. Zappa

On the issue Property rights

Mark Derry The Dispatch

Dear Editor,

After reading numerous letters on these pages from a number of no-growth, anti-business people, I felt compelled to voice a few thoughts from the other side. First and foremost, this issue reminds me of Sen. John McCain's crusade for campaign finance reform. As he painfully found out, most Americans could care less about it. In a question posed to random Gilroyan's in The Dispatch recently, folks were asked what was the most important issue in the upcoming City Council election. Not a single person said anything about the contentious 660 acres of private property to the east of the Outlets. I am not surprised at all by this. I believe it is only the radical fringe anti-growth people such as Guadalupe (Greenbelt Alliance) Arellano, Charles Morales Paul Correa, Carolyn Tognetti, Suellen Rowlison, and most recently, Denise Baer Apuzzo who oppose conversion of the 660 acres of private property. These are the very same people who opposed the property owners in the Hecker Pass corridor. Carolyn Tognetti, who owns a couple dozen acres in the 660, is the only no-growther that has a right to talk about the 660 from an ownership point of view. However, she should only speak for her 26 acres and not force her neighbors and their heirs, to remain farmers for eternity. If she wishes to preserve her family's property, she should deed it to Land Conservancy for use as permanent open space. During the Hecker Pass fiasco, I spoke before the City Council in support of the property owners. After I spoke, Ms. Tognetti introduced herself to me and tried to explain her point of view. To paraphrase, it was something like; us old timers know what's best for Gilroy, not the Johnny-come-latelies. In an article I had written previously, I had pointed out to Ms. Tognetti, that when she built her gargantuan Garlic World store along the east side of US 101, she had no reservations about ripping out pristine farmland and an ancient fruit stand for its construction and parking lot. Talk about an eyesore! Yet I support her right to do just that. Now that some her neighbors wish to reap the rewards of years of blood, sweat and tears, she feels compelled to deny them what is their right. It is easy for Lupe, Paul, Charlie, Carolyn, Suellen and all the usual suspects to continue to erode the property rights of others because it doesn't come out of their pocket. The common defect in all the letters against the inclusion of the 660 acres into the 20-year general plan is that it never mentions the people who own the land. You must give greater weight to the owners of the land than to those who only seek to preserve aesthetics and nostalgia at the expense of the private property owners. Those who aspire to hold public office need to respect the rights of private citizens who do not want be ruled by land grabbing social engineers. Perhaps a quick read of the United States Constitution is in order.

Mark A. Zappa Gilroy