In 2021, our residentially zoned neighborhood in Independence, Missouri, experienced a blatant disregard for our rights. Despite our valid and legal protest and a unanimous NO vote from the Planning Commission, the City Council denied us due process as required by law. They approved an action that directly affected us by hiding it under the Consent Agenda - a tool meant only for administrative/non-controversial items.

In addition to a business we legally protested being illegally approved and forced into our neighborhood, in 2023, an unelected 501(c)(3) proposed a mixed-use zoning overlay on over 4,000 homes with only 1% input from homeowners - merely 404 out of thousands. This is not democracy; this is autocracy.

We are now asking you to join us in demanding that elected officials of Independence and the City Management Staff sign the Resolution to Ensure The Citizens' Consent and Protect Personal Property Rights that We The People read into the public record on Wednesday, February 7, 2024 during citizen's requests at the Independence city council meeting.  We need your support to ensure that every citizen's voice matters in decisions affecting their properties.

This petition isn't just about one neighborhood or one city council decision; it's about upholding the Constitution and the Bill of Rights of these United States of America at all levels of government. It's about ensuring transparency, accountability, and respect for citizens' rights.

Stand with us today against autocracy. Sign this petition to compel our elected officials to uphold citizens' consent and protect personal property rights!

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Full Text of the Resolution to Ensure Citizens' Consent and Protect Personal Property Rights can be found below.

RESOLUTION TO ENSURE THE CITIZENS’ CONSENT AND PROTECT PERSONAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

The undersigned elected officials and/or community planners officially engaged to create planning programs for the City of Independence, Missouri, do hereby agree to the following:

-That planning involves and affects citizens’ consent and regulation of personal property rights.

-That individual property ownership is an inherent right which is  one of the foundations of individual liberty for American citizens and constitutes an asset of unique value, as well as 

-That the elected officials and/or community planners follow the due process of a public hearing and vote without the cover of a Consent Agenda and/or a Special Item.

Recognizing that value, we agree that all citizen’s consent and their personal property rights shall be placed in the highest priority of consideration during the planning and zoning process; and,

In the event that any part of the planning and zoning process or recommendations resulting from the process shall potentially negatively impact any property rights, property owners or the value of their private property, those affected property owners shall:

a) Be provided full, timely disclosure and transparency notifying the property owner or owners of the potential that their consent or property rights may in some way be infringed or the value of their private property may be thereby affected, and,

b) Be provided full disclosure outlining the rights to be infringed upon and,

c) Be provided an opportunity to opt-out of any rights’ infringing regulation or policy.

d) That a Single Family Residential zoning (R-6) means one family, not two.  Two Family Residential zoning (R-12) means a two-unit house or duplex, not two (2) separate units of housing or cluster pattern building, auxiliary dwelling units (ADU’s) and no Air B & B businesses will be approved against the valid and legal protests of affected homeowners.

e) Only the land owner can apply to rezone his own land.  The City or any other entity can only rezone it’s own property, not yours or your neighbors,

f) Only one lot can be rezoned at a time, allowing evidence of the impact of rezoning – what will be built, parking, utilities, noise, impact on overcrowding, classrooms, parks and roads, etc.

g) Each homeowner keeps the due process rights to notice, opportunity to be heard, the ability to protest any rezoning and the due process of the legal and public vote of the City Council.

h) Each affected owner will receive written notice of any proposed change to the zoning of their property 60 days in advance of the zoning board and City Council hearing discussing such changes.  Public notice of such proposed zoning changes will also be published in the newspaper of record 60 days in advance describing the properties being proposed for changes and the change being proposed.

i) No zoning decisions or directives will be issued by any entity or group outside of the elected officials of the City Council or any group appointed by and totally accountable to the City Council with final approval provided by the City Council. 

In the event of property loss or usage by the private landowner due to the planning restrictions or zoning changes, the affected private property owner shall be fully compensated in a monetary amount equal to the fractional fair market loss of the original value of his property as a result of such zoning or other related restrictions on the fair legal use of his property.

Further, affected property owners shall be notified of the potential impairment to their rights and their individual written approval required before engaging in any of the following:

a) Reconfiguration of zoning that intensifies or in any way adds restrictions to existing rights,

b) Implementation of conservations easements or Trading of Development Rights,

c) Acceptance of grant money by the above named government entity or their assigned planners, whether from non-profit organizations, governmental or private funding sources.

Finally, it is agreed that no government representatives or their assigned planning agents, will come on to private property for any planning purpose without the written consent of the owner.