Post by Admin on Mar 12, 2016 14:17:32 GMT -7
Original 1982 to 1997 Glastonbury Covenants
The birth of Glastonbury happened in 1982 when the original Covenants were filed with Park County. They contain many surprises and a close reading will help you to understand the current state of our community. In the beginning Church Universal and Triumphant owned all of the land. As they sold "undivided interests" and parcels from 1982 to 1997 the Church retained ABSOLUTE power over landowners. The Church could seize your property, they required bomb shelters capable of withstanding thermonuclear blasts and they demanded that you have at least a one year supply of food on hand in case of warfare. The community was designed to be a spiritual home for people who wished to follow the teachings of the ascended masters as interpreted by Elizabeth Clare Prophet. Some settlers still refer the 1980's as the good old days when wonderful things happened. Read the rules laid down by the Church in the Covenants that were in effect from 1982 to 1997 and draw your own conclusions.
Living in Glastonbury required landowners to forfeit Constitutional and God given rights
- 1st Amendment Violation - Landowners were not allowed to exercise their choice of religion; Church Universal and Triumphant was the "official" religion and if you were not a firm believer in the teachings and did not give 10% of your income to the Church you were not allowed to purchase land.
- 1st Amendment Violation - Free Speech and opinions dissenting from official Church doctrine were prohibited. If you disagreed the Church could repurchase your property and kick you out of Glastonbury.
- 1st Amendment Violation - Landowners were not allowed to petition government for a redress of their grievances. The Church was the sole entity of power and dispensed justice as it saw fit.
- 4th Amendment Violation - The Church had the right to seize or purchase your property for any reason and at any time.
- 5th Amendment Violation - By depriving you of the right to a non-Church religion of your choice, by denying you the right to believe and publish dissenting opinions and by having the power to seize your home and property the Church denied people their right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness as defined in Constitutional Amendment five and the Declaration of Independence. It is not surprising that the Church views the Declaration's author, Thomas Jefferson, as a fallen master.
- Glastonbury was a closed community and landowners forfeited their Constitutional rights to Church Universal and Triumphant. Homogeneity was enforced and eventually came to be described as the virtue "harmony". Dissenters were ostracized and any form of criticism was strictly condemned. County officials, elements of the press and in general anyone outside of Church control was labeled a "church hater" and treated like an enemy if they criticized Church actions and methods.
- The Teachings survived and quietly many believers integrated them into their lives while ignoring the authoritarian actions of the Church. Many people left the community to live their lives away from the Church. By 2016 it is estimated that only 40% of the landowners in Glastonbury are affiliated with Church Universal and Triumphant.
Notable Covenant Requirements
- Sections 3.15 and 5.06 - Only people approved by the Church could purchase land. They had to be Church Communicants; that is they had to tithe or donate 10% of their after tax yearly income to the Church in order to be considered for land ownership. Section 5.06 forbids landowners from selling, leasing or even renting their property to anyone who is not a member in good standing in the Church. Additionally only tithing Church members can be considered for rent, occupancy or for sale to. If your spouse or mate does not tithe or is not "in good standing" they are not welcome. In essence landowners were closer to lease holders because of the onerous restrictions placed upon their "ownership" of land.
- Section 5.08 G prohibits commercial activity that allows rock, blues, jazz, music, immorality, irreverence and lewdness. Section 5.08i further concludes that the Church can ban ANY commercial activity it does not like. Sub-section J states that the Church only needs to write the rules and file them with the Park County Clerk for them to be legal - no landowner input, vote or redress is even considered.
- Section 5.10 prohibits landowners from erecting any church or shrine that conflicts with Church Universal and Triumphant teachings. Our constitutionally protected Freedom of Religion goes out the window with this clause. Landowners cannot even practice another religion in the privacy of their own home according to the 1982 Covenants. There is no privacy for Glastonbury landowners. Their homes are not sacred, their private lives are public and dissenters can have their property seized by the Church.
- Section 6.06 requires the construction of fallout shelters that are "capable of withstanding the potential effects of modern conventional, thermonuclear, chemical and biological warfare". A one year supply of food was also required. Millions of dollars flowed into the numerous makeshift shelters that dot the Glastonbury landscape. The 350 unit shelter in front of SpecTec in High South Glastonbury cost over three and one half million dollars to build. It is still meticulously maintained in 2016.
- Section 7.01 gives the Church the right to "use, occupy, develop, improve, exploit in commerce, sell, grant easements upon or mortgage" all common use lands. Land that is supposed to be owned in common and all landowners have rights to, is actually owned by the Church which reserves all rights for it's own purposes.
- Section 9.02 prohibits landowners from sub-dividing their property without Church approval.
- Section 10.01 clearly states that the Church or Grantor is "the sole administrative authority in the community". A Community Association is mentioned as a possibility in section 10.05. However 10.04 makes it very clear that Royal Teton LTD, AKA the Church, holds all the power and their Board of Directors will ultimately make the decisions that effect all landowners in Glastonbury.
- Yearly assessments were set at $240.00 per parcel. Past due assessments were charged 18% interest compounded monthly. Road maintenance was set as the first priority for assessment funds. Even though landowner assessments improved roads and raised the value of Church property, the Church exempted itself from paying assessments on property it owned via section 11.07.
- Section 12.01 grants the Church an "option" to every property whereby they may repurchase it from the original owner by simply giving 90 days notice. In effect the Church never really allows landowners to fully own the property they paid for. The closing will occur 90 days or less after the Church informs the landowner that they are purchasing their property. Then you will have 60 days to vacate the property.
- Section 12.02 grants the Church the right of first refusal in case you wish to sell what you may have thought was your property. If the Church does not approve the sale then you have to find another buyer. Buyers must be Church members in good standing and donate 10% of their after tax income to the Church.
- Section 12.05 allows the Church to grant waivers and variances to anyone it pleases. Friends of the Church need not abide by the Covenants. This is exactly the same behavior displayed by the GLA Board when they gave away $42,000 of landowner's money.
- Section 12.06 gives the Church the right to create special improvement districts and specifically forbids any landowner from not supporting such a district. Another instance of the Church knowing what is best and silencing any landowner opposition or input.
- Section 12.08 grants the Church immunity for any actions it does or does not take. Landowners are considered "independent contractors". If an unsafe road causes you injury or death you have no recourse against those who are responsible for maintaining the road.
- Appendices - Careful readers will note that many, many parcels in both North and South Glastonbury were removed from the community by the Church. In North Glastonbury several large Church parcels have benefited from paved road frontage yet these parcels are not part of Glastonbury and do not pay assessments. In South Glastonbury many parcels were removed from the Covenants the night before the document was signed. Prime acreage south of Virgo and on the paved section of Dry Creek were quietly removed from Glastonbury and kept in Church possession. To this day those parcels do not pay assessments and they comprise some of the best real estate in Glastonbury.
- Exhibit A is all of the parcels that are legally inside of Glastonbury and thus are charged assessments. Exhibit B is all of the parcels that were quietly removed from Glastonbury, many of which remain in Church possession and do not pay assessments.
- Reading the original Glastonbury Covenants can be instructive to understanding the authoritarian and groupthink practices of the current GLA Board. Many 2016 Board members settled here when the 1982 Covenants were in effect. Thus they were Communicants or tithing members of the Church and they chose to support and fund the authoritarian and repressive Church. They willingly forfeited their Constitutional rights and God given rights as enumerated in the Declaration of Independence by purchasing land and agreeing to live under onerous rules. Their present behaviors are often in line with behaviors outlined in the 1982 Covenants. The original settlers agreed to be ruled by an oppressive regime and now that they have power, they have become the new oppressors. Once freedoms and rights are relinquished they are often difficult or impossible to regain.
- We hope you find the 1982 Covenants enlightening and we urge you to post your thoughts below.
- Download the 1982 Glastonbury Covenants here. Large PDF file, 37 pages.
