Gem Community Comprehensive Plan - Private Property Rights

Gem Community Comprehensives Plan 

Chapter 1 – Private Property Rights

Chapter 1 – Private Property Rights 

Purpose: 

To ensure that Gem County & Emmett City officials recognize and uphold the private property rights of each individual in the county.

To ensure that ALL the acts of Gem County & Emmett City officials are done in an effort to uphold the rights of each individual in Gem County, including the right to own, control and benefit from private property.  

To ensure that All state, county, city and federal laws, codes, ordinances, regulations, and so on, in regards to private property, are used ONLY to uphold and protect the right of the private property owner in the control, use and benefit of his/her private property. 

Recognition of Private Property Rights: 

Gem County & Emmett City officials recognize that It is the right of each private property owner in Gem County to control, use and benefit from their private property without interference from county or city official, as long as the private property owner does not infringe upon the rights of another person.

Planning & Zoning 

A private property owner has a legal right to litigate against his neighbor if he/she feels that their property rights have been infringed upon. However, in an effort to minimize disputes between neighbors and to promote public tranquility & safety, planning & zoning laws are created. Gem County & Emmett City officials recognize that the purpose for planning & zoning laws are in place to protect the private property owners’ rights and to minimize litigation. Planning & zoning laws should be used to protect private property rights and never as a tool to infringe upon an individuals’ right to control, use or benefit from his/her private property. 

Easements & Right of Ways 

Private property owners have a right to access their private property. No individual, group or government official(s) has a right to keep the private property owner from having reasonable access to his/her private property. As an effort to uphold rights to access private property, easements have been and will continue to be established. These easements include private roads, county roads, highways, state roads, freeways, waterways, utility ways, and so on. Gem County & Emmett City officials recognize that easements and right of ways are established to uphold the right of the private property owner to control, use and benefit from his/her private property. Never should easements or easement laws be used in any way to infringe upon the right of a private property owner.

When new easements must be created or exiting easements widened to allow access to public or private property, after due process of law, just compensation to the private property owner must be given.  

Public Property

Gem County & Emmett City officials recognize that all “Gem County & Emmett City Property” is public property and is held and controlled by county & city officials for the benefited of the People residing within the jurisdiction. Never should Gem County or Emmett City officials use public property to compete with private property owners or infringe upon their rights.

Idaho Constitution

Gem County & Emmett City officials recognize that the Constitution for the State of Idaho, Article 1, Section 1, declares that, “All men are by nature free and equal, and have a certain inalienable rights, among which are to enjoying and defending life and liberty; acquiring, possessing and protecting property; pursuing happiness and securing safety.”, and that this Gem Community Comprehensive Plan is established to uphold these rights.

Objectives:

• ·      To ensure that the rights of each private property owner in Gem County are upheld by county & city officials when planning for official actions. 
• ·      To remind Gem County officials that public peace and tranquility cannot be maintained in any social compact when private property infringements are allowed or become legally enforced. 
• ·      To instill in the Gem Community planning processes that public benefit should never outweigh the right of the individual. When planning & zoning Gem County officials must consider the private property owners rights first and then the public benefit second. 
• ·      To set forth that the Gem County & the City of Emmett where established to protect the rights of the individual in the county and not to increase government control or to expand the public domain.
• ·      To acknowledge that reasonable access to private and public property is a right and planning must be integrally made due to the continual change in need as properties are divided and more people move into the area. 
• ·      To ensure that no private property is taken for the public domain without due process and just compensation as prescribed by Idaho State law. 
• ·      That any plans to take private property and add to the public domain is only done in consideration of protecting private property access rights or other rights of the People in the county. 
• ·       That all planning and zoning is done in an effort to protect private property rights and to insure public peace and tranquility.