News Scrapbook 1986

Santa Barbara, CA (Santa Barbara Col Rea,ons (Cir. W 33,175) FEB 19B6

Surcharge OK'd crc;s for 1emergency freeway phones By Greg Krikorian, Staff Writer A $1-a-year surcharge on vehicle registration fees paid by county motorists was approved yesterday to finance construction of an emergency telephone system along local freeways. "The net result is that our freeways will be so much safer. We will only wonder why we didn't do this before," said Supervisor Paul Eckert, who spearheaded county government support of the proposal with Supervisor Leon Williams. The goal is to have emergency phones along 283 miles of_l?Cal highways that are linked to California Highway Patrol dispatchers. Offtc1als would hke

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Zoning Revolutionary

den t's Commission on Housing, chairing the committee on regulations. Many members of the commission, which issued its report in 1982, were of similar mind to iegan. It is, he observes, a refreshing change from 20 years earlier, when " I would speak to the Department of Housing and Urban Development or other agencies, and they were hostile to free ente rprise." iegan is now a member of the Presi- dent's Commiss ion on the Bicentennial of the Caostiwtion. It is an appropriate honor. His influent ial 1981 book, Eco- nomic Liberties and the Conslilulion, has helped to revive the ideas of economic rights and, in legal scholars' lingo, "substantive due process." From the late 1800s until 1936, ex- plains Siegan, the due process clauses of the 5th and 14th Amendments were taken to protect liberties not .speci fically mentioned in the Constitution. Since then, however, judges have abdicated their role in protecting citizens from the usurpations of legislators bent on regulating one economic activity after another. Siegan is currently fi nishing a book tentatively titled "The Supreme Court's Constitution ." "The Court ," he con- tends, "makes its decisions based on three things: the words of the Constitu- tion, the presumed intent of the framers, and whatever the court thinks is desirable. From the beginning, the Court has made the Consti tution out to be what it wanted it to be. Judges were as subjec- tive in 1800 as 1986. These are human beings making decisions about enor- mously important areas. Thei r attitudes are different now, but the subjectivity is still there." Although "one of the major objectives of the framers was protecting economic and property right ," he argues, "that in- tent is no longer being honored by the US Supreme Court.' ' If that changes-if the Emperor troubles himself with a fig leaf at least-it will be in no small part because Bernie iegan not only said the Emperor has no clothes but proved it.

' '/ 'v · b · n int r sled in the law from an early age," says B•rn ie iegan. Thouih he wa twic lcctcd to school office, th<>sc• early . uccesses did not distract him from a lega l ca reer devoted la rgely to undoini th · doi ngs of pol iti· ians. II • went to colleg on the G. J. Bill. "After I w:is in the army fo r three years during World War II ," he ·ay , " I don't conside r that a subsidy at all." Aft ·r graduating from th nivcrsity of Chicago Law School in 1949, Siegan went to work for a law fi rm. Three year la ter he formt·cl a partnershi p with a lassmat · from law sc hool. d aling large- ly with real state law and zoni ng. It was hands-on C,cperi •nee in an area he would lat r research and write about. By 1968, Siegan had become a r •search f ·llow m law and economic· at the Univ •rsity of Chicago Law hool. llis r s arch project: the ity of llou ton, unusua l among Ame rica's major cities in having no zoning laws. iegan found lit- tle of th d1sasl r theorized by zoning propon nts, su h as glue factori s s t- ling up hop next to houses. And the ex- planation wasn't difficult to omc by: s paration of incompatible uses of land wa th natural con quence of the economic, busine. s •s cou ld realize by lo ating along transporta tion arteries and near their suppliers and indu trial customers. to such market force , iegan f und in Houston the widespread us or private rcstrictiv covenants- agreeme nts among landowners, general- ly tailored to pa rticu lar neighborhoods, governing the uses to which their land may be put. Compar ·d with zoning, he not d in his tudy, these factors deter- min land us· in a m re civilized and effi- cient manner. Zoning con tributes to housing shortages and holds down com- mercia l developm nt; it adds paperwork and years and political shenanigans to land-use changes: and, om inously, it is used to e,cclude "undesi rables." iegan published the resulting study in 1970 in the j ournal of Law and Economics. which journal, iegan notes , "has had enormou influence in the academic world, which in turn has in- In addition

the first phones installed by April 1987 and the entire system operating by April 1988. "It is off and running," said Gran- ville Bowman, the county's director of public works and executive direc- tor of the new San Diego Service Authority for Freeway Emergen- cies. The seven-member SAFE board approved the $1 surcharge in its first meeting. The fee is expected to generate $1.5 million by mid-1987. The panel was established under 1985 state legislation, authored by Sen. William Craven, R-Oceanside, that allows counties to finance the construction and maintenance of call box systems with a surcharge of up to $1 on annual registration fees collected by the state Department of Motor Vehicles. Construction of a planned San Diego system, similar to one operat- rug for years in Los Angeles County, is expected to cost from $4.5 million to $7.5 million to install. The costs vary depending on the type of communications system cho- sen and are based on a study by the Orange County Transportation Com- mission of a emergency phone sys- tem with 1,000 call boxes. An estimated 930 call boxes would be needed in San Diego County if the SAFE panel decides that the two- way phones should be located ap- proximately every 1 ¼ miles, as sug- gested by the county public works department. The annual operating costs, based on the Orange County study, would be $450,000 to $871,000, depending on (Ji ).ee PHONES on j>age B-8

San Diego, CA (San Diego Co.) San Diego Union (Cir. 0. 217,089) (Cir. S. 341,840) d:.o 1

1986

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de regulation." Then in 1972 iegan put the word ou t further with his book Land Use Without Zoning. In 1971, iegan 's law partner moved to Cali[ornia "to get away from the cold weather." iegan held out fo r two more winters. then in 1973 moved to the Un iversiti< al.San Diego Law chool. " I had practic d law for 23 years," he ex- pla ins, "and I wanted to teach. " inte resting decade. Law professors, he ob erves, "are much more knowledgeable and con- cerned about economics than 10 years ago." In laws schools, "respect and ad- miration for government programs has lessened substantially." And that bodes well, he notes, fo r freedom, since most legislators begin as lawyers. For five years in the mid-1970s, Siegan wrote a weekly syndicated column for the Freedom newspape r chain. A collec- tion of these columns, la rded with addi- tional material on law and economic , [ormed the basis of his 1976 book, Other People :1 Property. iegan has clone more than just teach and write about the free market. Several communities hav~ invited him to speak when zoning changes have been con- sidered. In one case, he helped persuade legislators to allow the issue to be settled hy a referendum. Zoning more often than not lo es when put to a popular vote, notes • iegan. His studies indicate that more-affluent people tend to vote for zon- ing and poorer people against it. Recently, Siegan served on the Presi- His teaching spans an

Phones: Freeway system fees

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agreed to a $200,000 loan to allow SAFE to hire an outside consultant and begin other preliminary work on the freeway phone system. The SAFE board includes supervi- sors Eckert and Williams, San Diego Deputy Mayor Ed Struiksma, Coun- cilwoman Gloria McColl, Del Mar Councilwoman Ronnie Delaney, Coronado Mayor R.H. Dorman, and El Cajon Councilman Jack Hanson.

seek an outside consultant for assist- ance in designing the system as early as October. The one-year con- struction of the system, officials said, should begin by April 1987, when the number, location and type of call boxes have been decided by SAFE. The start-up costs for the work will come from the county. This past week, the Board of Supervisors

the technology chosen. Local efforts to build an emergen- cy phone system began in earnest a year ago after several motorists were attacked when their cars broke down along freeways. In November 1984, a 22-year-old Univers1ti of San~ego student was kidnappe ana 1tilled as she re- turned to her stalled car with a can Two months later, a 27-year-old woman wa~ raped at knifepoint when she took a ride from a passing motorist. The woman said she ac- cepted the ride in desperation after her car broke down along Interstate 5 and she waited for help from au- thorities for four hours. Under Senate Bill 1199, sponsored by the county and authored by Cra- ven, freeway call boxes can be built and maintained through the sur- charge. The fee can be used to finance the systems or phased-out as other funding proposals, such as is- suing revenue bonds, are enacted by local panels. Bowman said yesterday that San Diego County will be the first to take advantage of the new legisla- tion although other counties are ex- amining similar freeway phone sys- tems. Ventura County is under way with a pilot project, he said. Based on statistics in Los Angeles County, which has 3,600 call boxes located along its sprawling freeway system, officials expect the local system to be used by motorists 155,000 times a year. Yesterday, the panel agreed to of gasoline.

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san Diego, CA (San Diego Co.) Evening Tribune (Cir. D. 127,454)

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ConstitutfOn gets praise fri:t"bicentennial official

John [Jenlmger is a /rre-/ance writer and a col- umnist for /he LA Ua,ly News.

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said Siegan, a recognized authority on the Constitution. "The Constitution has told govern- ment we are a free people and that the government can go only so .f~r.in restricting our day-to-day acbv1bes of our lives." Commission members will have a closed meeting tomorrow, then co~- duct a hearing open to the public Monday in the Camino Theater. Among those who will testify are USD_ President Author Hughes and Joa~s leader of the San Diego County com~ission for the bicente~- nial. Actor Richard Dreyfuss also 1s expected to appear. _ . . "The purpose of the comm1ss1on 1s to encourage and advance the cele- bration by this nation ?f the 200t~ anniversary of the frammg and rati· fication of the Constitution," Siegan said. "The actual annivei:5ary will occur Sept. 7, 1987. It will be de- clared a national holiday by Con- gress. "The public hearings, such as the one in San Diego, are to encourage groups and individuals to help cele- brate the event. They will tell w.hat local celebrations are being planned." . _ Burger has described th~ com~_1s- sion's role as "creating a giant c1v1cs lesson for the people of the United States." In addition to Burger, other com- mission members expected to attend are sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.; Sen. Ted Fulton Stevens, R-Alaska; Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C.; former U.S. Attorney General Herbe_rt Brownell, commission vice chair- man; and Frederick Biebel, f_o~er chairman of the U.S. Constitution Commission. The hearing Monday is the ~ond such session open to the pubh~. T~e first occurred in Salt Lake City m August. Three closed meetings were conducted in Washington, D.C.

By Joseph Thesken Tribune Education Writer

This nation's Constitution has met the challenges of changing times a~d mores in the nearly 200 years of its existence, says a San Dieg~ membe_r of the Commission on the B1centenm- al of the U.S. Constitution. The member, Bernard Siegan, a Umversity of San Diego law profes- sor made the comment in advance of the commission's meetings tomor- row and Monday at USO. Chief_ Jus- tice Warren Burger and promment national lawmakers who are mem- bers of the commission will be pres- ent. ·t "The basic ideas in the Consb U· tion have worn very well consideri~g the changes that have occurred 1?, this country over the past 200 years,

San Diego, CA (San Diego Co.) San Diego Union (Cir. D. 217,089) (Cir. S. 341,840) EB 1

1986

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'Giganti~ civics lesson' piano d ~J,/:;,antlupe "J-' q (} on c~nstitu_tional law, s~ys the com- soon as we can and outline a list of Univ~rsity of San Diego law Pro- m1ss1on will hear testunony from objectives to foster and promote the fessor Bernard Siegan says he's gear- people who want_ to sponsor events to Constitution," said Siegan. ing up for a "gigantic civics lesson." ~onor the adopti~n of the_C~nstitu-· The commission intends to sponsor Siegan is a member of the federal tion. He mv1ted his comm1SS1on col- a variety of celebrations, but offi- Bicen ennial Commission on the U.S. leagues to conduct hear~gs at ~e cials concede that the splash proba- Constitution. l~w school as par t _of th e1r $l 2 IIll!- bly will not match that of 1976, when "As a society dedicated to the rule lion! yearlong pl~nmng effort. the nation celebrated the bicentenni-

San Diego, CA (San Diego Co.) San Diego Union (Cir. D. 217,089) (Cir. S. 341,840)

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al of the Declaration of lndepend-

Smee last sprmg, the commission has con.ducted five meetings, most of

of law," Siegan said, "it is most desir- able that the public knows more about and better under£tand the con- stitution, which is the most import- ant of all the nation's laws." The chief justice of the United States, Warren Burger, w1·11 pres1·de over the lesson. He heads a 23-mem- ber panel scheduled to arrive in San ~o:::f:~rate the adoption The Constitution was signed Sept. w~ fo~: t~: i=~~~fe~~ernment 1egan, a nationally known expert 17 1787 d h S . D' ~!~: iego th ' k

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For now, "we labor in obscurity," said one commission official who de- clined to be named. "But we don't The official said the commission call for a national cele- bration Sept. 17, 1987, to mark the 200th anniversary of the Consrt f The panel includes Sen Ed I u;~· Kennedy, D-Mass., Sen. Ted ;t~:ens. R-Alaska, Sen. Strom Thurmond R'. S.C., Rep. Lindy Boggs D-L R' Philip Crane R-Ill Phyllis ~hi and former 1 Attorn.'ey General Haery• bert Brownell, who is vice chain~; / ri. b bl pro a Y w1 ·11 · want to peak too soon."

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7.he $9 million 7;,~;;~are-foot University Cent~! at the Uni~ity of S11n- ego in Linda Vista is due for completion in Octo- ber, USO said. Trepte Construction Co. is the contractor and Mosher- Drew-Watson-Ferguson is the archi- tect. The building will include a lounge, student and faculty dining rooms, a grill, delicatessen, student affairs offices, game room, student union center, student publications of- fices and conference and meeting

meet here for a closed-door session tom~orrow afternoon, but a public slated Monday from 8:30 a.m..to 12:30 p.m at the law school's hearmg I · e comm1SSio~ 15 set to oversee social and educational (events) to ~ un~, spokesman for the law school. -Y~u II probably have a series of pol- itic1ans a~d possibly entertainment peop!e askmg the commission to take pa,rt, m th e celebration." Carruno Theatre. "Th . . .

IS wee end for hearings on mark the Constitution," said John

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