As I said in an earlier piece, they were one of the 2 private groups who successfully lobbied the Supreme Court in 2005 to allow Municipalities to use Eminent Domain to seize property from private landowners if it was related to a project which would benefit the whole community.There was quite an uproar at the time and 46 states, including MN, promised to not allow this in their state. It is now the Law of the Land though several states have apparently newer laws to stop it. In MN, the phony Republican Party has dropped the mere mention of it from their PARTY PLATFORMS and refuse to even discuss it in some circles.
Nationwide and here in MN, one of the main proponents of allowing Cities and Towns to take land and pay the landowner what they decide to, is the LEAGUE. The problem is that this group, along with the 2 other groups on this menu (Regional Planner and Sourcewell Service Coops) dominate your schools, Cities and Counties in MN and they are headed that way in much of the country.
They all follow the follow the SUSTAINABLE GOALS OF THE UNITED NATIONS WHICH CAN BE FOUND ON THEIR WEBSITES OR THOSE OF THEIR CLOSEST PARTNERS.
The difference between the LEAGUE and the other 2 groups is that they are mostly operating in your city. At least one of your City Council will be on the Leagues’ planning board. My first candidate for this is your unelected CITY ADMINISTRATOR. This office MAY have been hired off the Sourcewell Hiring List (FRONTLINE) but it is almost certain that he and the Mayor will be trained by Sourcewell or the SERVICE COOP in your area. Many times, your mayor will be on the LEAGUE board as well. WATCH FOR LANGUAGE IN YOUR PLANNING DOCUMENTS BEGINNING WITH ‘SMART’ Smart Growth, Smart Cities, Smart Communities, SUSTAINABLE, etc. etc.
IN MN, the major program brought to you by the LEAGUE is GREEN STEPS. In other states it may be GREEN TIER, GREEN CITIES etc. Google LIST OF MN GREEN STEP CITIES, or whatever it is in your state to see if your city participates and at which STEP they are. There are 29 BEST PRACTICES which you can read about, and your city goes thru a series of steps. The first few are pretty simple and may include something like equipping government buildings with LED lights. They have it all figured out for you how much you will save per year. And it really does help. In fact, there are other simple, useful tools they will offer. HOWEVER, they will tell you that all steps are VOLUNTARY. Notice the list I mentioned about BEST PRACTICES. You will notice that there are always a series of MANDATORY things you must do, and the early steps are simple.
Now they may have arranged the STEPS differently than I will describe here but the basic premise is the same. The original contract I saw, had 4 important things to watch for.
1) Plan is to follow the Kyoto Climate Accords which you may know as the GREEN NEW DEAL
2) By STEP 6, all future Ordinances will have to be based on the Principles of your Regional Planner and Service Coop (Sourcewell here) Yes, full on, 17 SUSTAINABLE GOALS OF THE UN.
3) GRANTS – As you progress up the STEPS, you get a cute little GRANT to go with it. Besides all the bad stuff I already told you about GRANTS. They may cost you a fortune down the road PLUS they are likely tied to some Federal or State Regulation which will have large consequences later on. The projects themselves will also likely be geared to fit into their MASTER PLAN by the UN.
4) After the initial notice in the paper about voting on whether to accept GREEN STEPS or not, the future climb through the STEPS (If accepted) will likely go unnoticed by the public till your City is in over its head.
CONCERNED YET??? Wait till they get to your TOWNSHIPS (MN) or RURAL COMMUNITY Government in some states. Most do not have a COMPREHENSIVE PLAN YET. This PLAN will be based on the 17Sustainable Goals of the UN.
(I have googled a few in other states, especially the South, which appear to have normal Plans) But check for wording like SUSTAINABLE, SMART OR EQUITABLE, TRAILS ETC.
CAUTION –ELECTED OFFICIALS, INCLUDING SO CALLED CONSERVATIVES, LOVE THESE GRANTS. UNLESS YOU MAKE A BIG DEAL OF IT AND EXPLAIN THE POTENTIAL PITFALLS, they will almost salivate at the prospect of great new projects and to out compete their neighboring communities.
THREE PIECES OF GOOD NEWS ON THIS.
1) Once existing, PLANS can be amended. If money has already been spent from a Grant, you may have to repay that.
2) Mayors and others may cancel all existing contracts with the Groups I named.
3) We have written a PROTECTIVE PLAN which we offer FREE plus a SURVEY to engage your community or Township to involve them. They are able to be edited so you can change them according to your needs. These will be made available soon on this website. In the meantime, you can write to we*********@pr********.com with questions or request for these PLANS.
WE WILL HAVE A SECTION IN THE MENU SOON ABOUT TOOLS TO FIGHT BACK IN YOUR LOCAL COMMUNITY. THIS WAR IS ACTUALLY VERY WINNABLE IF A SMALL GROUP OF ACTIVISTS ARE WILLING TO PUT IN THE TIME. MORE EXPLANATION LATER