CANYON CITY Proponents of an initiative to curb land deals involving tax-exempt organizations are headed back to the drawing board, after a court challenge resulted in a rewrite of their ballot title.

Jim Sproul of Canyon City, a chief petitioner for the original measure, said the proponents dont want to go ahead with the revised language approved by the Circuit Court, but will redraft their ballot title in time for the November general election.

He said the group pushing the measure will revisit the issue at a later date and he expects they will return with a ballot title similar to the one they proposed in January, when Sproul was joined by ranchers Ken Holliday and Pete Hettinga as co-petitioners.

They proposed to ask voters to require public agencies and tax-exempt entities to structure any acquisitions of private land as exchanges, resulting in no net loss of tax revenue to the county and taxing districts, or the value of private land and private property rights.

The proposed ballot title drew a challenge from George Meredith, the owner of Grouse Mountain Ranch near Mt. Vernon. In an objection filed Jan. 29, he contended the ballot title was unfair, insufficient and misleading for voters.

At that time, Merediths ranch was still the focus of an acquisition proposal by Oregon State Parks and Recreation Department, which wanted to create a new state park there. The proposal sparked strong opposition from the ranching community and some county officials, and the state parks commission pulled the deal off the table Feb. 20, citing division in the community as a major reason.

In the meantime, on Feb. 4, Meredith won the ballot revision case.

Meredith challenged the original ballot title as insufficient and unfair, contending it focused solely no the tax-exempt purchaser while failing to acknowledge the impact on private property owners.

State law requires that a ballot title include a caption that is clear and impartial, and summarizes the major effects of the measure.

Meredith said the ballot title failed to note the restriction on private property owners because of the exchange requirement. He also argued the word exchange is too vague, and his petition posed scenarios where the seller would be affected. It contended the state couldnt acquire land for a road safety project without the complexity of an exchange, and a private owner couldnt give an easement to the Boy Scouts without coming up with an equivalent property to come up with the property taxes.

Circuit Judge William D. Cramer Jr., after reviewing the two ballot title proposals, notified County Clerk Brenda Percy and District Attorney Ryan Joslin that he was certifying the Meredith version with slight modifications.

The version certified by Cramer says No property owner who is subject to real property taxation will be permitted to transfer real property or any property right associated with real property to any tax-exempt organization, such as churches, non-profit corporations, or the State of Oregon, unless equivalent real property values are transferred from a tax-exempt organization to a person subject to real property taxation.

Like the original, the revised ballot title would not apply to cities, taxing districts and school districts.

Sproul said the proponents wont go with the revised language.

It was a reversal of the intent, he said. It was a 180-degree turn, to make it about the private property owner, limiting the individual, not the tax-exempt entities and government agencies.

Sproul said he believes people should have the right to sell their property, but if the deal involves public tax dollars, it should be structured as an exchange.

He said the group is trying to protect private property and the tax base in the county.

He said the proposed measure was not aimed at the Meredith property, although it emerged about the same time. He said the idea arose earlier amid concerns about other land acquisitions, including the checkerboard land deal involving Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the D.R. Johnson family, and the Forest Service.