To : County Commissioners
        Hillsdale County
        Hillsdale Michigan, 49242
 

Dear Commissioners,
 

     On January 27, 2003 an amended ordinance known as Grading/Soil Erosion & Sedimentation Control became law in Hillsdale County.   One can only wonder how this happened since this ordinance clearly violates Article X sec. 2 and Article I sec. 17 of the Michigan Constitution and the 5th and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

  As you may recall, all states are bound by the supreme laws of the U.S. Constitution and likewise by their own state Constitutions.   All public servants who take an oath upon entering office swear to protect and uphold those supreme laws.  Government is instituted among men for the sole purpose of protecting his rights, one of which is, ownership of property.

  Property ownership carries with it the exclusive use to that property so long as it causes no harm to another or his property.  This has been the accepted understanding of property rights for many centuries.  Another definition for property then is, the right and interest which a man has in land and chattels to the exclusion of others.

   People should not be required to obtain a permit before they can use their property any more than people should  be required to obtain a permit before they can speak freely.

   The ordinance that you adopted requiring property owners to obtain permission first from the County in the form of a permit and fee or waiver prior to performing any so called earth changes on it, raises serious questions as to it’s legality.  No law can be passed that would diminish a Constitutionally protected right.  Listed below are a few legal opinions you may wish to consider.

   "The assertion of federal rights, when plainly and reasonably made, is not to be defeated under the name of local practice." Davis v. Wechsler, 263 US 22, at 24.

"Where rights secured by the Constitution are involved, there can be no rule making or legislation which would abrogate them." Miranda v. Arizona, 384 US 436, 491.

"The claim and exercise of a constitutional right cannot be converted into a crime." Miller v. US, 230 F 486, at 489.

"There can be no sanction or penalty imposed upon one because of this exercise of constitutional rights." Sherer v. Cullen, 481 F 946.

   Article VI of the US. Constitution sums up the entire question. "This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof;...shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding."

   It would seem then that the ordinance in question is in reality no law at all, but only color of law and should be stricken from the books.   A poll conducted on our web site shows this to be true. The overwhelming number of participants share the view that government has no authority to apply restrictions on a persons property, as do the thousands of citizens who have signed the petition for its repeal.

   As can be seen from the wording in the petition now being circulated, there are no provisions made for amending this ordinance.  The people have clearly called for and demand  its complete repeal.

   If this ordinance were truly for the purpose it claims to be and  not just another scheme to extract money from the citizens, why does it exempt the two largest contributors of soil erosion and sedimentation ?  Hillsdale County has approximately 600 miles of gravel roads and  234,784 acres of crop land which contribute sedimentation to a much greater degree than all other sites put together.  Yet, this ordinance targets those that are the least  offenders.   A permit to remove a bush ?  You have to be kidding.

   You have been elected to office to serve the people of Hillsdale County and  by accepting this responsibility you have also assumed the sacred trust the people have placed in you to defend their rights. That trust is now being put to test.

   It is our desire you review this ordinance, agree with your constituents as to its nature and act according to their wishes for repeal.

   Will you listen to those who have placed their trust in you ?  Will you vote to repeal  this ordinance ?  Or will you turn your back on them for some unknown reason and break your oath of office ?

   Many have given their all for the freedom we now have in this country and even today, as the struggle goes on, our young people are dying on foreign soils to protect those liberties.   We hope here at home, God will grant you the wisdom and the courage to choose correctly in helping to preserve those freedoms.