Dear Editor:

Like Jan VanDenBerg, I also got my hands on a copy of the “proposed subdivision regulations” (aka zoning) document that no one is supposed to be allowed to see.

It is readily apparent that these ridiculous and authoritarian new rules will directly and adversely affect Ms. VanDenBerg and others in her profession, as well as folks just trying to sell off a little of their farms to stay afloat. Which is unacceptable.

But I also discovered, hidden away (again) in there, things that will affect even more of us. Yes, friends and neighbors, the “home business regulations” are back again. Last time, they were hidden in the boondoggle gas well regulations proposal (which was stomped down by the courts, at great expense to taxpayers who didn’t approve in the first place). Hundreds of people showed up at the courthouse to voice their outrage at these “home business regulations,” and the commissioners SEEMED to have gotten the message at that time.

This time, they are hidden in (now get this) the definitions section. Of course, we have a new name now, too. Now it’s “cottage industry.”

Isn’t it strange how local, state, and federal government wants to strip every penny we make (for our own good, of course), yet at the very same time, they try to prevent us from making the money they think we owe them for their projects? (Nice new black marble on the courthouse! Aren’t we rarified now!)

I promise that the Libertarian Party of Delta County will again fight this outrageous power grab, and again we will help roust our Republican, Democrat, and Independent friends and neighbors in every way possible. I will make this secret authoritarian document available to anyone who wants to see it.

We all have the same rights. So no one should pretend all of this doesn’t pertain to or affect them. Why can’t We The People determine the growth and development of our property, instead of a handful of lame ducks and control freaks? What the heck happened to the “American Dream”? Are we REALLY “bad and wrong” for building homes and working, or are we being bamboozled and abused? Why should any of us have to pay for permission to build a home or to work, or to sell our land? And why do we have to keep fighting it over and over and over again? This is outrageous!

Debbie Schum
Cedaredge