Police Union

[ SBN-P, 3/29/2005 ]:

Fight over financial future

3/29/05
By JOSHUA MOLINA
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER


Santa Barbara mayor takes on colleagues, police union


In a dynamic political battle over money, power and leadership, the mayor of Santa Barbara is colliding with her colleagues and the police union over the city's financial future.

Fearing layoffs, slashed services and higher fees, Mayor Marty Blum said some City Council members are putting the city's budget at risk because of their desire for union endorsements in an election year.

A financial forecast shows that City Council members will need to cut services, raise fees or take other actions to balance a budget deficit in each of the next four years. The city has a projected $3.6 million budget deficit for next year, according to its finance department.

The city has about $25 million in extra money set aside for disasters and budget uncertainties. To help pay for raises for its seven union groups and other costs, the city is on track to dip into those budget reserves and bring them down to $9 million by 2009.

"It makes me sick," said Mayor Blum, who is seeking re-election. "There's fiscal irresponsibility going on here. I see the people who are running for office very worried about getting the police endorsement. Frankly, I think this job of being on the council has a broader perspective than just one (bargaining) unit."

Some council members and union leaders say the budget projections are an extreme "worst-case-scenario," and that the city has plenty of money for the raises. They also believe that the economy is going to get better, bring streams of sales and hotel bed tax into the city, softening the need to make drastic budget cuts.

City Administrator Jim Armstrong said he is in the process of finalizing a budget for the next two years. Changes will need to be made because of the raises, he said.

"That's our best estimate at this time of what our impact will be," Mr. Armstrong said. "We are going to have to adjust service levels so we can live within our means."

As a practical matter, the city is going to have to make up that money somehow. The city has an $87 million general fund, which pays for parks, recreation programs and employee salaries.

The mayor says the outlook is grim.

The City Council has already approved a 5 percent increase for firefighters in each of the next three years. Mayor Blum supported that increase. The city's Service Employees International Union is on track to get a 4 percent raise in each of the next four years and that matter must still go before the full council.

Today, the City Council is set to formally approve the police contract, which calls for a 5 percent raise in each of the next two years. Mayor Blum said she may vote against the contract.

She said she received information late Monday that police officers were trying to organize people to pack City Hall.

"We're going to have to cut back on the number of employees and services," she said. "We won't be able to fix the potholes. That's what makes me sick about the whole thing."

Fueling the fire is the political intrigue surrounding the council.

Mayor Blum believes that her vote in closed session to oppose the police union's 5 percent raises was leaked to the union, in an attempt to hurt her politically. Other council members interviewed confirmed that they believe there is a leak on the council.

Councilwoman Iya Falcone said council members shouldn't say anything in private closed session that they can't back up in public.

"This is a small town and it doesn't take a long time for things to get out," said Ms. Falcone. "I operate from the position that everything gets out."

Ms. Falcone said she doesn't know who the leak is.

"I don't need to hide behind closed session," she said. "I would be just as happy saying in public what I said in closed session."

Councilwoman Helene Schneider said there is "probably some" leaking going on.

"It's impossible to say who," Ms. Schneider said. "It's unfortunate."

City Councilman Roger Horton, who is running for re-election, said the leak issue has come up before.

"Marty has made points at the meetings that this material needs to stay where it is," he said.

The mayor said that whoever leaked the information back to the police was trying to trap her. It makes it difficult for her to vote for the contract in public, because union officials already knew she opposed it in private.

Sgt. Mike McGrew, police union president, said information about individual council members isn't being leaked to him. But he has a good idea of where people stand.

"Roger and Iya are very solid people," Sgt. McGrew said. "When you talk to them they will listen to you. We can gauge the position of the person we are talking to when we speak to them. "If you end up talking to seven different people you are going to end up getting a feel of who's with you and who isn't."

In the world of Santa Barbara politics, Mayor Blum is considered a lock for re-election. She's a Democrat in a liberal city with a wide voter base. She won the hearts of residents and of casual observers and those who don't care about city government when she battled back from a double mastectomy and returned to City Hall a week later.

Outspoken, she has criticized the war on Iraq and President Bush's policies. Foes aren't willing to challenge her because they can't beat her, political insiders believe.

That could change. Sgt. McGrew said the police union may look for someone else or not endorse anyone in the mayor's race.

"This election is hers to lose," said Sgt. McGrew. "But if she keeps doing what she is doing, she is going to end up causing someone who is qualified to step up and take her on."

The rift between the police union and Mrs. Blum has been building for the last few months. Sgt. McGrew was hurt by comments the mayor made in a newspaper article. Mrs. Blum complained about the $200 a ticket cost to attend a political roast to benefit the children of police and firefighters. She did not attend because she was out of town.

She ended up being the focus of several jokes at the roast. But the mayor said the sole issue for her is the city budget.

But on this issue, the mayor could find herself alone.

Other members of the council and union groups have a vastly different opinion about the budget.

They say that the financial forecast is a worst-case scenario.

"Generally, I think that the assumptions used in the projections are very conservative as they relate to city revenue growth," Ms. Falcone said. "Those assumptions historically do not mirror the reality of growth experienced by the city on a regular basis. In addition, we continue to make the city organization more efficient in its operations."

Councilman Roger Horton said the financial forecast is merely a spreadsheet and those numbers can be easily changed.

"I don't think this is the only road map to 2009," Mr. Horton said. "Am I willing to get deep into these reserves by 2009? No."

He suggested that the city keep doing what it has been doing -- freezing positions, stopping major purchases and delaying work.

Police officers and firefighters should be a priority, he said.

"I am supportive of what's been done for public safety," Mr. Horton said. "People want top-notch public safety. That's the most important thing a city can do."

Mayor Blum believes other members of the council may be pandering to the unions during an election year.

Ms. Falcone and Mr. Horton are both seeking re-election. Councilman Dan Secord, who is in his final term, did not return repeated phone calls seeking comment for this story.

The endorsements of the public safety unions are sought after because the police officers and firefighters often walk precincts, distribute literature and call voters to get their candidates elected.

City fire Capt. Pat McElroy said every time the city enters negotiations it's always a worst-case scenario.

"We have heard the Ôsky is falling' scenario before," Capt. McElroy said. "They say everything is going to hell in a handbasket. We say that no it isn't."

Of the seven members of the council, only Das Williams wasn't endorsed by the union groups.

"There are four people running for office," said Councilman Brian Barnwell. "They are all keenly aware of the importance of those union endorsements."

Mr. Barnwell supported the raises, but said that he's at his limit.

"We spend more money than we make," Mr. Barnwell said. "That's not good. As far as I am concerned we have gone as far as we can with salaries. In my view, we don't give more salary increases."

The councilman said he is grateful that previous councils saved money for the current council.

"Thank God when we were flush, we set the money aside," he said.

Councilwoman Schneider said she is willing to spend reserves because it's necessary to recruit and retain employees.

"I would rather spend money on paying for a fair and equitable wage than spending money on the impacts of low morale, high turnover and low productivity," said Ms. Schneider, a former human resources manager.

Mr. Williams said his support of the union groups should come as no surprise to anyone -- he's always been pro-labor. He separates himself from those who are running for re-election.

"Because I didn't get the police and fire endorsements, I didn't owe anybody anything," he said. "So in that sense I had the freedom to do what I thought was right."

Mrs. Blum thinks she is doing the right thing, too. She said she is willing to stand by her actions, even if they hurt her politically.

"If I don't get re-elected because I believe we shouldn't be spending our reserves, I am going to have to do something else than be mayor," she said. "I don't want to be on a council with no reserves. I am happy to be fiscally responsible and if people don't like that, there's an easy way they can get rid of me."

[ SBN-P online edition:
Fight over financial future ]

Solar Energy 2

[ SBN-P Editorial, 3/28/2005 ]:

A brighter future for solar?

3/28/05

OUR OPINION


Solar energy and green building vs. aesthetics and Santa Barbara-style. We've argued over the last years that it doesn't need to be one or the other.

Instead of the either/or mentality that can dominate construction discussion, designers, builders and government officials can get creative to accommodate all these principles.

Part of the problem in the city of Santa Barbara is that citizens advisory panels, from the planning commission to the Architectural Board of Review, don't really have green mandates.

Consider the Granada Garage now under construction. It will stand as a monument to a wasted opportunity. City officials and advisory boards focused on appearance, rather than incorporating discussion about building a more environmentally friendly structure that still would meet Santa Barbara's architectural requirements.

Because green structures have long-term financial savings, in energy and other costs, government buildings are perfect candidates. Governments own their buildings for decades and taxpayers benefit from these savings for years to come.

This is in contrast to some private developers who quickly sell their properties after they complete construction and, thus, ignore building green.

Perhaps the mind set at Santa Barbara City Hall is changing. Council members Iya Falcone, Helene Schneider and Das Williams, on several different occasions, have talked up green building. Ms. Schneider, for example, brought up the matter while the council was discussing a call for proposals for city-owned land near the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport.

The Santa Barbara Contractors Association is beginning a "Built Green" program.

Solar power also is getting new attention in part thanks to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's "million solar roofs" campaign. Proposed legislation in Sacramento would provide rebates for homeowners and businesses installing solar panels.

The Community Environmental Council also is trying to take a lead with its "fossil-free by '33" effort. Showing progress, the City Council recently has been receptive to the group's goals.

Don't forget that in November 2003, CEC felt the need to write to Mayor Marty Blum about one project then before the city. The letter noted that "denial of photovoltaic systems based on aesthetic issues alone seems counterproductive to the need to develop alternative sources of energy in our community."

To the city's credit, though, Santa Barbara has seen 136 projects approved since 1998. Beyond notable projects in the the city such as Marborg Industries, Campanelli Construction and the Santa Barbara County Federal Credit Union, others in the rest of the county have included Great White Dental in Santa Maria, Midland School in the Santa Ynez Valley and Harley-Davidson in Carpinteria.

Next up, in April, the Santa Barbara City Council will discuss installing panels on the downtown library's roof. We wonder why they aren't already there.


[ SBN-P online edition:
A brighter future for solar? ]

Solar Energy 1

[ SBN-P, 3/21/2005 ]:

Sun the new energy star

Solar power gains momentum in county, thanks to rebates and rising oil prices

3/21/05
By MELINDA BURNS

Solar power gains momentum in county, thanks to rebates and rising oil prices

NEWS-PRESS SENIOR WRITER


"Make hay while the sun shines," the saying goes, so Norman Teixeira, a large Santa Barbara County landowner, is harnessing the sun to water his crops.

Mr. Teixeira is installing solar panels to run three wells on 300 acres -- of vegetables, not hay -- northwest of Guadalupe. When the project is finished in June, it will be one of the largest solar-powered agricultural pumping systems in the United States.

Mr. Teixeira paid $900,000 for the system, which includes 750 panels. He got back $450,000 in state rebates and hopes the whole thing will pay for itself in three or four years. As for utility bills, he said, there won't be any.

When the fog creeps in, as it does on most mornings, Mr. Teixeira will be using Pacific Gas & Electric power. But when the sun is shining and the pumps are idle, as they are during picking times or between plantings, Mr. Teixeira's solar "factory" will feed power back to PG&E, making the meter run backward.

"I'm a farmer by trade," Mr. Teixeira said. "I've always believed in green power. Our energy bills just keep going up all the time, and this helps us stay alive longer. We're looking to stay in business as long as possible and take care of our people."

After a slow start in the late 1990s, solar power is gaining momentum here, helped by state rebates and the rising price of oil and natural gas. The City of Santa Barbara now leads the tricounties in residential solar projects, with 136 approved since 1998, when state rebates for solar power went into effect. In second place is Ojai, with 93 approvals.

"It's catching on as a nice thing to have for your home," said Tam Hunt, energy program director for the Community Environmental Council, a local nonprofit group. Mr. Hunt is directing the council's campaign to help make the South Coast "fossil-free by '33."

"Solar is becoming more and more economically feasible," Mr. Hunt said. "It's becoming a nonpartisan, sensible thing to do."

New solar projects in the county include Great White Dental in Santa Maria; Midland School in the Santa Ynez Valley; Harley-Davidson in Carpinteria; and Marborg Industries, Campanelli Construction and the Santa Barbara County Federal Credit Union in Santa Barbara.

Early next month, the Santa Barbara City Council will consider the pros and cons of installing hundreds of solar panels on the roof of the Central Library. Councilman Das Williams says it could be just the beginning.

"We should put solar panels on every single one of our parking garages in the next couple of years," he said.

California has been called the "Saudi Arabia of sunlight."

The state is the third largest consumer of solar equipment in the world, behind Germany and Japan. Yet California gets 40 percent more sunlight than Germany and 20 percent more than Japan.

To help create a U.S. boom in solar power, the federal government and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger have launched campaigns for a "million solar roofs."

Two bills in the state Legislature would provide hundreds of millions of dollars in solar rebates for homeowners and businesses during the next 10 years. The program would be funded by a surcharge on consumers' utility bills.

This year's rebate program for large solar and wind projects has already run out of money, leaving more than 100 projects on the waiting list.

Even with subsidies, though, solar power is not cheap: It can take years for a system to pay for itself. The panels require a lot of space and they look industrial -- a stumbling block in places like Santa Barbara, where red-tiled roofs are part of the scenery. Getting a solar permit may take months and cost hundreds of dollars in fees.

"Solar power has reached a turning point," said John Perlin, a Santa Barbaran who wrote the book, "From Space to Earth: The Story of Solar Electricity."

"People are going to have to learn more about what's good, what's bad, what's the right way to do things, and what solar can do. It's not like finding a nugget of gold."

In Santa Maria, Great White Dental, a laboratory that makes dental appliances, hired Solar Power Systems to install more than 730 solar panels last year. Solar Power Systems was founded by Mr. Teixeira and his friend Daniel Ringstmeyer, a civil engineer. The panels provide 100 percent of the lab's electricity needs. Mounted on columns in the parking lot, they also shade the employees' cars.

On the South Coast, Joe Campanelli, a Santa Barbara contractor, recently laid solar panels on a rooftop trellis at his "green" office building off Milpas Street. He placed more panels on top of a rental unit next door and hooked them up to his building.

"I'm willing to pioneer this and see if it works," Mr. Campanelli said. "I'm pretty utility-free here now. We feed energy back to Edison. We act like a little power plant for them."

The Harley-Davidson motorcycle dealership on Via Real in Carpinteria installed solar panels last year. Marborg Industries recently placed 400 panels on its offices and shop on Yanonali Street in Santa Barbara. The Marborg recycling plant, now under construction on Quarantina Street, will run largely on solar power.

In February, the Santa Barbara County Federal Credit Union on De la Vina Street became the first credit union in California to install a solar system. The credit union board was disappointed in the low interest rates on certificates of deposit (CDs) and decided to put some funds into solar panels instead, said Pat McPherson, a board member. Over time, he said, the system will likely offer a 7 percent return, based on the money it will save.

"We said, 'My goodness, this is a smart investment,'Ê" Mr. McPherson said.

The credit union also is offering a fast-track loan program for homeowner solar systems. No appraisals are necessary, and a loan can be approved in a week.

At the Midland School on Figueroa Mountain Road, the sophomore class recently helped wire a small solar system that is mounted on the ground. It will supply 15 percent of the electricity for the school kitchen. The $16,000 cost was paid for with state rebates and a grant from British Petroleum.

California presently gets only 0.3 percent of its electricity from the sun. Gov. Schwarzenegger's goal is to boost solar power by 2018 to at least 5 percent -- about as much electricity as 40 natural gas plants could supply.

If the legislation is approved this summer, California would begin offering rebates of up to 40 percent or $5,000 to homeowners and business owners who install solar systems. Presently, the rebates cover about 30 percent of the total cost. A 7.5 percent tax credit also would be available for every dollar spent on a solar system.

Still, it typically takes eight to 12 years to break even on a residential solar system. The payback time for a commercial system is between five and nine years.

Mike Grimes, Santa Barbara public works manager, estimates that it would take 20 years to break even on a solar project on the library roof. The panels would supply only 20 or 30 percent of the library's electricity, he said, adding that final estimates will be made public next month.

"It's expensive," Mr. Grimes said. "You'd need acres of panels to run the entire library. Doing a significant solar panel system could not be justified on economic grounds alone."

Advocates of solar power like Michael Lind, a consultant for Renewable Energy Concepts in Ojai, don't like to talk about "payback" times. What else pays for itself, they ask? Natural gas? No. Oil? Certainly not. Mr. Lind notes that with solar power, the costs are frozen over time and not subject to rate increases. Once the panels are paid off, the cost goes to zero, and the system runs for another three decades.

"It's a hedge against future energy costs," Mr. Lind said. "More people are becoming aware that we may be having some energy problems in the near future. Drilling and burning isn't going to work forever. There's plenty of sunshine."

In addition to the cost of a solar power installation, the bureaucratic hurdles can be frustrating. It took five months, one appearance before San Luis Obispo County planners and $3,500 in fees for Mr. Teixeira to get a permit for his project. Mr. Campanelli spent four months, made two appearances before the Santa Barbara Architectural Board of Review and paid more than $800 in fees to get his solar permits.

In the City of Goleta, Michael Ableman, the founder of Fairview Gardens Farms, said he lost his state solar power rebate in 2003 because he could not get a permit in time. The city was requiring him first to update his entire conditional use permit for the farm, a long process, Mr. Ableman said. Like Mr. Teixeira and Great White Dental, he was proposing to mount the solar panels on columns and use the system as a carport.

"It wouldn't have been visible to anyone," Mr. Ableman said. "It would have been a huge benefit. It's a point of great frustration."

The Community Environmental Council recently won a $50,000 federal grant to help educate the public about solar power, remove the barriers to solar projects and provide low- and no-interest loans. A new state law prohibits cities and counties from imposing unreasonable restrictions on solar installations.

"It's sometimes been hard to get projects through the planning process," Mr. Hunt said.

"It's important to respect a community's values, but I don't think that solar panels on large flat roofs throughout the county would ruin the views."

At sunset on a recent weekday off Oso Flaco Lake Road, near Guadalupe, Mr. Teixeira walked among the rows of columns that will hold up hundreds of solar panels for his irrigation pumps. He said he expects gas prices to rise to $5 per gallon in a few years, driven up by increasing demand from China and India.

Mr. Teixeira said that he and his four brothers sell a lot of vegetables to Japan, a country so particular about food that Japanese inspectors come over to choose the specific fields of broccoli they want to import. They will snap photos of broccoli, too, to make sure they get what they paid for. Teixeira Farms grows good vegetables, Mr. Teixeira said, but in recent years, the company has lost a third of its market share in Japan to China, where labor costs are much lower.

The competition is one reason why Mr. Teixeira plans to replicate his first solar project on all of his family's farms in the Santa Maria Valley. Teixeira Farms presently pays up to $100,000 per month in electricity bills, a cost that Mr. Teixeira hopes to erase with solar power.

"When other farmers see what we're doing, they won't be as skeptical," he said.

"We'll show the agricultural community in the state that it is possible."


[ SBN-P online edition ]:
Sun the new energy star

City's Creeks

[ SBN-P Editorial by Travis Armstrong, 3/20/2005 ]:

A bottom line on city's creek dollars

3/20/05

Also, county goes against steelhead

-------------------------------------------

Santa Barbarans went to the ballot box in November 2000 to tack on a couple of percentage points to the city's hotel taxes to pay for improving our creeks and beach water.

Measure B's $2 million a year in tax revenue is meant to be extra money, not a piggy bank to raid to fund whatever the city already was doing or may be required to do by federal or state law in the future.

How much would the city be spending today on water-quality programs if Measure B never passed? How much did the city spend before Measure B's passage, and was that money redirected in later annual budgets to programs not involving water quality?

To no avail, I've spent several years trying to figure out answers to these questions.

They again are on my mind because of a 17-page letter recently sent to the city by the state regional water-quality regulators. It outlines numerous steps the city must take to adhere to the federal Clean Water Act.

To comply with the law, the city in 2003 submitted to regulators a draft of a document known as a storm water management plan. Now the regulators have answered back with the letter.

Among their many concerns: The city must come up with a series of "measurable goals" to reduce pollution rather than the generalities seen in the draft. For example, on educating the residents the city needs to get specific on the "certain percentage of the target group that would receive brochures/posters, or attend training on a yearly basis."

And just citing the existence of an ordinance on illegal discharges isn't good enough. The letter notes: "The act of adopting an ordinance does not necessarily protect water quality, the act of enforcing an ordinance does."

Watchdogs point out that the city's enforcement program lacks teeth.

Here's the bottom line: Hotel-tax dollars shouldn't pay for any steps the regional regulators say the city must take to meet the law. Measure B is to go above and beyond these bare minimums, or voters should just repeal the tax.

The City Council also ought to consider reimbursing the Measure B fund for start-up costs if any programs being paid for today by these taxes -- such as public outreach -- become mandated by the regulators under the clean-water law. Hotel owners and voters should demand it.

STEELHEAD: As the Santa Barbara City Council made headlines by voting to send a letter to help the steelhead spawn in the Santa Ynez River, the county government took a different stand outside the public spotlight.

Thanks to the work of environmental advocates and City Council members Das Williams and Helene Schneider, the council signed off on the designation of federal critical habitat for the "silvery warriors" in the upper Santa Ynez River.

The original letter proposed by city staffers recommended against the designation because of overblown concerns that it could impact water supplies.

At the county, though, residents never had the opportunity to go to the Board of Supervisors to make the case for the steelhead. The county staff, in a letter signed by Public Works Director Phillip Demery and Parks Director Terri Maus-Nisich, wrongly made the call without public input.


Travis Armstrong is the editorial page editor of the News-Press.

[ SBN-P online edition ]:
A bottom line on city's creek dollars

Living Wage 2

[ SBN-P, 3/18/2005 ]:

Living wage proposal hits nonprofit roadblock at City Hall

3/18/05
By JOSHUA MOLINA
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER


Just days after a flashy rally on the steps of City Hall, the well-orchestrated movement for a $13.40-an-hour "living wage" is fighting an unexpected battle.

The Santa Barbara City Council is squeamish about putting the living wage idea on an agenda unless nonprofit organizations are removed from the proposal that would require businesses contracting with the city to pay their workers double the state's minimum wage.

But the coalition behind the living wage, led by two members of PUEBLO, won't budge -- a move that may hurt the activist group's cause.

"We're starting to get people from the small-business community and the nonprofits saying, 'I don't know if we can live with this,' " said Mayor Marty Blum. "I just want to make sure that other council members want to do it. I will give myself until Friday."

The political drama behind the scenes began to unfold more than a month ago.

A group calling itself Santa Barbara for a Living Wage sent a letter requesting that the city put the matter on an agenda on Feb. 9.

The request sat on the mayor's desk.

She scribbled some notes on the letter: "Helene? Das?"

But council members Helene Schneider and Das Williams were unwilling to back the request.

Mr. Williams, who crafted a reputation for being a living wage activist three years ago when a different proposal went before the council, seemed the most likely to back the idea.

After all, he was a co-founder of PUEBLO, under a different name several years ago. As a consultant and before he was elected to the Santa Barbara City Council, he worked to create successful living wage ordinances in Oxnard, Port Hueneme and Ventura County.

But Mr. Williams has a problem with the current ordinance.

As drafted, companies that have contracts of $10,000 or more with the city would have to pay their employees at least $13.40 an hour or $15.40 an hour without health benefits.

Nonprofits would be exempt the first three years, and after that could ask for a hardship waiver. Organizations where the executive director earns four times the lowest-paid employee would have to comply.

Mr. Williams supports the concept of a living wage but wants the nonprofits removed from the ordinance. Politically, he doesn't think it will fly. The ordinance, he said, needs more work.

PUEBLO, however, doesn't want to remove the nonprofits until the matter is aired in a public meeting.

"It is important for council members to know that PUEBLO will negotiate with them," Mr. Williams said. "It is important for PUEBLO to know that council members will negotiate with them. Neither one trusts that the other one is truly going to negotiate in good faith with the other, and that is really the big hurdle."

The councilman said Thursday that because he believes in the concept of a living wage, he would move to place the matter on a council agenda.

Some supporters are upset that the council won't automatically listen to their requests.

"By playing the rules, we expect to be heard," said Daraka Larimore-Hall, a member of PUEBLO. "If we are not, then there is going to be trouble. We're watching very carefully, and we expect that very soon they will take action."

David Fortson, executive director of the Santa Barbara County Action Network, is bothered by the way the matter has played out.

"Fundamentally, something's not right about the way this process has taken place," Mr. Fortson said. "There should be a very vibrant debate about the pros and cons of this issue; instead we're talking about whether to put it on an agenda. It makes public policy-making in the city look like farm ball instead of professional-league."

Ms. Schneider said there's no way she's going to do anything to harm the nonprofit organizations.

"I don't want to put nonprofits in jeopardy just by virtue of putting a request forward," she said. "I have always said that nonprofits should be exempted."

The nonprofit community is trying to make sense of the proposal. Santa Barbara county has about 900 nonprofit organizations.

"One of the things with nonprofits is that people do their work with passion," said Carol Nickell, executive director of the Nonprofit Support Center of Santa Barbara County.

"Because they are passionate about something doesn't mean they should pay less. But we can only pay what the sector bears."


e-mail: jmolina@newspress.com

[ SBN-P online edition ]:
Living wage proposal hits nonprofit roadblock at City Hall

Angry Poodle Bites Steelhead

[ Excerpted from Nick Welsh's Angry Poodle column in the SB INDEPENDENT, 3/17/2005 ]:

... Times have gotten sufficiently grim that all but the bravest of us seek solace in nostalgia for things we never knew. The good news is that such escapism need not be futile; it can actually be productive. In this regard, two of my pet projects are coming to a boil simultaneously. The first involves recent efforts to bring baseball back to downtown S.B. and convert Pershing Park into a ballpark fit for the Santa Barbara Foresters, our habitually successful pseudo-minor league team. The second involves efforts to remove the steelhead trout from its precarious perch on the brink of extinction and restore this amazing fish to its rightful place up and down the Santa Ynez River. At first blush, these two seem unrelated. But both call to mind a time of less frenzied lifestyles, when people could actually breathe rather than gasp. They also suggest a moment when Santa Barbara was still a real functioning community, back before a coterie of bored billionaires began pricing all the millionaires out of town.

Admittedly, I was not here in the Good-Ole Daze when Santa Barbara’s Laguna Ball Park — located at Ortega and Laguna streets — hosted minor league teams affiliated with the Dodgers and the Mets. But in a previous incarnation, I lived in a city that had a minor league team, and saw firsthand how the ballpark served as a big outdoor living room for the whole town to get together and visit. I also wasn’t here when the steelhead trout so choked the Santa Ynez River that Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers could tap dance from bank to bank on their glistening backs without so much as splashing their shoes. All that ended about 50 years ago, when former News-Press owner, publisher, and all-around political boss T.M. Storke — displaying both political muscle and finesse — persuaded Congress to fund construction of the Bradbury Dam, a k a Lake Cachuma. (At the time, the feds had a strict policy against bankrolling new municipal water supplies, but somehow Storke managed to sidestep that.) The fact is, without the water provided by Lake Cachuma, 90 percent of us could not live here today. But also thanks to Lake Cachuma, more than 90 percent of the steelhead that once called the Santa Ynez home have been effectively wiped out. That’s because the dam blocks the fish from swimming to their traditional spawning grounds many miles upstream. Likewise, the dam stops the trout from making their essential journey out into the ocean and back again. Simple justice dictates we save the fish. They were here first. Beyond that, you can’t help but be in awe of any creature that’s managed to survive the South Coast’s lethal rhythm of fiery droughts and flash floods for the past umpteen million years. To eradicate such a being just for the pleasure of washing our cars and watering plants never intended for the Southern California landscape strikes me as criminally crass.

With that in mind, I was heartened by the striking victory the steelhead won in the halls of the Santa Barbara City Council last Tuesday. The issue was a sleeper. The council was being asked by its water-supply planners to sign a letter to the feds opposing any efforts, real or imagined, to declare any portion of the Santa Ynez watershed above Lake Cachuma as “critical habitat” necessary for the recovery of the steelhead. The feds are involved because the steelhead has been officially declared an endangered species. The water planners were understandably nervous. Such a designation could cost them water, money, or both. In years past, the council would have rubberstamped a letter like this in a heartbeat. But not now. A gaggle of ticked-off fish-huggers showed up to voice their displeasure. Access to the upstream habitat is essential to the steelhead recovery, they argued. These are the sort of people who bandy about words like “heterozygosity” and “haplotype” when they get mad, so they need to be taken seriously. Leading the charge on their behalf were City Council members Das Williams and Helene Schneider. Williams turned the tide when he produced what appeared to be a smoking gun. He all but accused the water planners of intentional deception for failing to include in their report — which cost City Hall $12,000 by the way — a brand-new study showing that the steelhead upstream from Cachuma were genetically wild and pure. That’s significant because the water planners had been arguing that the upstream fish were a mushy mix of domesticated stock fish and predators not worthy of any protection or consideration. Williams’ revelation caught the water planners totally flat-footed, and the rout was on. The planners protested that this new study had just been released and could not have been included in their report. They have a point, but the fish-huggers insist the new info merely confirms data that’s been out for years and that water providers need to abandon their argument that upstream fish are not genetically fit for protection once and for all. At the end of the day, the council wound up doing exactly the opposite of what their water planners had requested. They mailed out a letter saying they supported the designation of critical habitat if that’s what it took to bring the steelhead back. Ultimately, this was but a tiny victory for the steelhead. In the long run, any effort to save them will be snared in litigation with a half-life exceeding that of plutonium. By then, we’ll all be dead.

In the meantime, my plan for the fish — and for baseball — is as simple as it is brilliant. First, build the new ballpark and bring the Foresters downtown. Then, change their name to the Steelheads. It’s macho, it’s cool, and you can actually shout it. No offense folks, but as a name, “Foresters” just doesn’t cut it. Because the team is so good — it’s gotten to the playoffs 11 years in a row — people will actually show up at their games and cheer them on. And by extension — however anthropocentrically incorrect — people will learn to care about the endangered steelhead. Maybe that way, they won’t squawk about paying a little extra — or using a little less — to give this amazing fish a hand. Like I said, I’m a genius. So in the meantime, don’t bug me. I’ve got other fish to fry.

— Nick Welsh

[ SB Independent online edition:
angry poodle ]

Living Wage 1

[SBN-P, 3/16/2005]:

Activists rally for 'living wage' in Santa Barbara

3/16/05
By JOSHUA MOLINA
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER


Nearly 100 people gathered on the steps of City Hall on Tuesday to launch their plan for a citywide "living wage" ordinance that would pay some 500 to 1,000 workers more money.

"It makes sense," Daraka Larimore-Hall, 29, said to the crowd. "It's fair. It's time to pay a living wage."

The proposal calls for companies that have contracts with the city for more than $10,000 to pay their employees $13.40 an hour and $15.40 without health insurance.

Nonprofit organizations would be exempt the first three years, though those where the executive director earns four times the amount of the lowest-paid employee would have to comply.

The issue incites passionate arguments on all sides. Activists have banded together to pressure the City Council to adopt the ordinance. Many of them backed and campaigned for the successful tripling of salaries for council members last year. For now, most of the council members are trying to distance themselves from the debate. They did not respond publicly to the request to put the issue on the agenda.

"In principle, I support a living wage, but the devil is so in the details, and I look forward to having the conversation," Councilwoman Iya Falcone said.

When Councilman Dan Secord saw the group of living wage advocates on the steps of City Hall on Tuesday, he turned around and went the other direction.

Santa Barbara Mayor Marty Blum is hinting that she is more comfortable letting voters decide.

"I think it is going to need to go to voters, frankly," the mayor said. "I think the decision should be pending voter approval. This is a big issue."

Councilman Brian Barnwell cast his eyes downward and appeared to wrestle with the issue.

"It's really a pay raise," Mr. Barnwell said. "Let's not call it a living wage. Heck, in Santa Barbara, you can't live on $30 an hour, much less $15 an hour."

All of the council members immediately expressed concerns about how such an ordinance would affect nonprofit organizations.

"It's hard for these organizations to raise money," Councilman Roger Horton said. "It's not a simple topic. I just don't think a one-size-fits-all thing will work very well here; that is why I am cautious about it. The other thing I am concerned about is small business."

Only Councilman Das Williams attended the rally, saying he wanted the group to know it had some support at City Hall.

Businesses and the Chamber of Commerce have said that making them pay employees $13.40 an hour will just force them to increase the amount of their contracts with the city. Or in a worst-case scenario, they would have to lay off workers.

More than 10 organized groups are backing the living wage ordinance, including PUEBLO, the Santa Barbara County Action Network and the Democratic Central Committee. The group includes activists from the environmental, Latino, housing and faith-based groups who say low wages have a ripple effect.

"Many of our workers are forced to live outside the area and commute into the city, which causes air pollution and traffic congestion," said Pat Sandall, a board member for the local Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice.

Based on Tuesday's turnout, Mr. Larimore-Hall said he expects the council to adopt the ordinance.

"I can't see how they can say no to us," said Mr. Larimore-Hall, a member of PUEBLO and the Democratic Central Committee. "I can't see how they can turn us away now."


[ SBN-P Online Edition:
Activists rally for 'living wage' in Santa Barbara ]

A Living Wage

[SBN-P, 3/15/2005]:

'Living wage' a hot election year topic

3/15/05
By JOSHUA MOLINA
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Activists' plan will put pressure on Santa Barbara council members


In what is likely to become a volatile issue during a City Council election year, activists are poised to propose a "living wage" plan that would require some businesses with city contracts to pay their workers more money.

An effort to put overt political pressure on council members, the proposal is intended to force the council to take action in an election year, just months after they council unapologetically supported the tripling of their own salaries.

"With this council, the timing is good," said Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Steve Cushman, letting out a big sigh. "It's an election year. The council is getting paid now. It's going to be hard for them to argue."

Some of Santa Barbara's leading liberal groups are thrusting the living wage ordinance into the public spotlight, hoping Santa Barbara follows the lead of Ventura County, as well as the cities of Oxnard and Port Hueneme. They are expected to announce the plan today on the steps of City Hall.

The ordinance calls for companies that have a minimum $10,000 contract with the city to pay their employees at least $13.40 an hour, or $15.40 if the employers do not provide health insurance. The minimum wage now holds at $6.75 an hour.

The living wage issue ignites passion on both sides.

Supporters believe that city government and employers should pay low-wage earners well beyond the minimum wage because Santa Barbara is an expensive community and one that depends on retail and service workers.

Opponents are equally emotional. They suggest that the city shouldn't meddle with the salaries of private businesses and should let the free market determine wages.

Forcing private business to pay higher salaries will force companies to lay off workers or charge the city more, opponents believe.

It's an issue that fires up the business community, low wage earners and activists. More than 150 people packed City Hall at several meetings for a less ambitious living wage proposal three years ago.

The proposal would affect many people in Santa Barbara who now pull double-duty, working two jobs to stay afloat financially.

For example, Richard Aquino says he begins his day at 5 a.m., steam-cleaning the red bricks downtown. By noon the hot weather turned his cheeks red and sweat collected on his forehead. Around 1:30 p.m., he collects his tools, three bags of trash, and walks to his other full-time job, as a dishwasher at the Hotel Andaluc’a.

"My job is to clean up State Street," he said.

For his eight hours downtown, Mr. Aquino earned $9.75 an hour.

Santa Barbara City Councilman Das Williams argues a living wage would help people survive in Santa Barbara.

"Santa Barbara needs a living wage," he said. "I think it is the right time. What we just need to work out is what is appropriate for the city and that means the entirety of the city and the greater good."

At least 10 groups, including PUEBLO, the Santa Barbara County Action Network and the Democratic Central Committee have endorsed a living wage proposal. The coalition of groups is calling itself Santa Barbara for a Living Wage.

The ordinance would only affect between 500 and 1,000 workers employed by contractors. The ordinance would also apply to about 300 part-time workers.

It would also apply to nonprofit organizations whose executive director makes at least four times the lowest paid employee in the organization.

Mr. Cushman doesn't like the proposal. It almost pains him to talk about it.

"It is such a difficult thing," he said. "Very few business people that I talk to want to deny a human being a wage they can live on. So it always seems really callous to deny someone."

He fears big problems if the ordinance passes.

"The truth is, if this were to pass I think you would have two things happen," he said. "The contractor would simply raise the price to the city or will reduce the service."

Mr. Aquino is one of about 10 maintenance workers employed by the Downtown Organization, which contracts with the city to keep State Street burnished. His friend Francisco Castillo already makes $15 an hour. But he has worked for the Downtown Organization for 25 years. He likes the idea too.

"Every year expenses go up," Mr. Castillo said. "Salaries should go up too."

George Thurlow, president of the Downtown Organization, said he is waiting to examine the details of the proposal once it becomes formal.

"$13.40 sounds high," he said. "If there is an ordinance, I would assume that we either cut services or pass the cost back to the city. Personally I think the living wage in principle is something that should be debated and discussed in our community."

One of the biggest companies that would feel the crunch is Service Master of Santa Barbara. The company contracts with the city for janitorial service at city buildings.

The group's president, Allen Williams, is skeptical about the proposal. His workers earn between $6.75 and $12 an hour.

"I would like to be able to pay them more, but this is what the market will bear," Mr. Williams said.

He said if the company has to pay more, that means that money is going to have to come out of the city's pocket through a larger contract.

Daraka Larimore-Hall is a member of the group pushing the proposal. He believes in it. He doesn't buy the free-market argument.

"Poverty wages hurt people," said Mr. Larimore-Hall, also a member of the Democratic Central Committee and PUEBLO. "If market forces dictate poverty wages then something needs to be done to intervene in the market. Market forces can do a lot of good things in a society but market forces don't care about the environment, people rights or a sustainable community."

Santa Barbara Mayor Marty Blum has a lot of questions about the amount of the living wage.

"I think when people work they ought to get a a living wage," she said. "It is an important issue for us to have out in the open."


[ SBN-P Online Edition:
'Living wage' a hot election year topic ]

Solar Energy

Recently, I received this message from a good friend:

Hi Malcolm,

This is fun to read .. I was wondering if Das has any opinions/ideas or
interest about solar energy here on the south coast? I am starting to do
interviews with people in town regarding solar energy. I would like to be
able to cover a cross section of people from educators to general
contractors to home owners to policy makers. I am curious to learn what the
city of SB is considering regarding solar. Let me know if you think Das
would be a good person from the council for me to talk with.

My goal is to produce at 30 minute show about solar energy that will air on
public access tv, channel 17.

thanks, Rad

-------------------------------------

I replied:

Hey, RAd!

Good to hear from you.

Das is definitely progressive and alternative energy oriented. One of his
first political acts was riding in an Ojai July 4th parade as a member of
S.U.N. -- Stop Uranium Now -- at age 5. We advocated the development of
energy alternatives instead of building nuclear power plants like the one
that is the blight upon Diablo Canyon. He, of course, has continued to go
further on these subjects.

I've copied him on this message so you can get in contact with him directly.

Hope it's not too long before our waves meet.

Aloha,

OOP

----------------------------------------

... and Das replied:

RAd,

First the window-dressing: we will or have signed onto the gov's Million
Solar Roofs and CEC's fossil free initiatives, but making goals are easy,
it's changing our habits that isn't. First, city government should lead the
way. That's why I have pushed an initiative to have solar on our library &
parking garages' roofs. Second, the city needs to encourage Green Building
LEED certification of new and revamped buildings, both by giving those
projects a break and, in some cases, requiring it. Third, we need to change
the culture of our design review boards so that they understand the policy
need and expand their aesthetic taste to include solar.

Hope that answered your questions. You can use any and all of that in your
show. Write me anytime and if you want me to appear on the show, call
564-5318 and have one of the women answerers put it on my schedule.

-Das

Steelhead Trout

[SB INDEPENDANT, 3/10/2005]:

CITY SUPPORTS FISH: After a lengthy discussion about the Santa Ynez River as a vital drinking water supply and important habitat for the endangered steelhead trout, the Santa Barbara City Council on Tuesday voted to write a letter to federal fish authorities saying the city supports restoration of the trout in the river. City staff had recommended the letter oppose the river being designated as “critical habitat,” a status that offers protection from activities harmful to rare species. Councilmember Dan Secord agreed with staff that the designation may limit the city’s ability to divert water out of the river and voted against his colleagues Marty Blum, Das Williams, and Helene Schneider. Councilmember Brian Barnwell abstained, saying he didn’t know enough about the complicated issue. The other two members of the council were absent.

----------------------------------------------------

[SBN-P, 3/9/2005, written by Melinda Burns]:

Council to send letter supporting steelhead habitat

3/9/05


The Santa Barbara City Council on Tuesday tentatively endorsed federal measures that could bring steelhead back to spawn in the Santa Ynez River.

Council members Das Williams, Helene Schneider and Mayor Marty Blum voted to send a letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service supporting a designation of critical habitat for the endangered trout. The service is proposing to get involved in the steelhead restoration efforts on the river below the Bradbury Dam at Lake Cachuma. Nothing is planned yet above the dam.

On Tuesday, the council majority -- two members were absent -- expressed support for a critical habitat designation covering the entire river, provided that it would speed steelhead recovery.

"It might seem like a miracle to see those steelhead make it way up into the mountains, but I believe it could happen again," Mr. Williams said.

Much of Tuesday's discussion centered on the question of whether there were actually any steelhead left in the river above the Bradbury, Gibraltar and Juncal dams. It has been more than 50 years since Bradbury Dam, the largest of the three, was built, cutting off 150 miles of steelhead spawning habitat. A new U.S. Fish and Wildlife study shows that the rainbow trout above Bradbury are genetically linked to the steelhead below the dam. But the Cachuma Conservation Release Board, of which Santa Barbara is a member, says more studies are needed to prove that the fish above the dam are not just hatchery trout.


[SBN-P Online edition: Council to send letter supporting steelhead habitat ]

Public Safety Unions Support

[Excerpted from SBN-P, 3/7/2005]:

... Mrs. Blum is confident going into the election. She said she believes the police will endorse her again, even if they are a little peeved right now.

The police and fire unions' endorsements are significant because the two groups spend money to campaign for their candidates. The people who win spots on the council are typically endorsed by public safety unions, although Das Williams broke the mold two years when he snagged second place in the council race without their endorsements.

"If the police decide to put a candidate against me, I don't see that as a big threat," Mrs. Blum said.

"I'd be surprised if they tried to put up a candidate against me. I have worked hard and I think I've done a good job."


Mrs. Blum hopes to smooth everything over. She is already seeking endorsements from various community groups.

"I am very excited," she said. "I love the job."


[ SBN-P Online Edition, full article: This mayor ready to take on all challengers ]

Veronica Meadows Bridge 2

[SBN-P 2/17/2005]:

Developer wants plan, bridge or no

2/17/05
By JOSHUA MOLINA
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Developers behind a plan to build 24 two-story homes in the Las Positas valley are committed to their project even though a city review panel voted against allowing them to build a bridge over Arroyo Burro Creek.

The bridge is central to developer Mark Lee's project because it is the main reason nearby residents are supporting his proposal. The bridge is key for the residents because it would provide the primary access from Las Positas Road to the new homes.

Without the bridge, motorists would enter the Veronica Meadows project through Alan Road, a quiet residential street on the other side of the project.

Environmental reports, however, determined that a bridge would harm the creek.

Mr. Lee said he plans to address the environmental issues at Wednesday's Park and Recreation Commission meeting. "We are doing something very unique," Mr. Lee said in a prepared statement. "With our proposal, the needs of our neighbors, the environment, future residents and the city all coincide.

"By providing new homes accessed by a replacement bridge on an existing easement, we can restore the creek along our property and free city funds for needed restoration elsewhere on the creek."

The city's creeks advisory committee took several votes regarding the project at a meeting on Feb. 9. A majority of the board members voted to eliminate the bridge and also requested a 100-foot setback between the homes and the creek.

Mr. Lee wants to build 24 homes on a hidden chunk of land off Las Positas Road. The undeveloped area is dominated by oak and eucalyptus trees, vegetation and a pedestrian path. The market-rate homes would stand two stories tall and range in size from 1,800 to 4,500 square feet.

Mr. Lee wants to build a pedestrian path and restore native habitat along both banks of the creek. The houses back up to a hillside, but the developer plans to stabilize the hill to avoid landslides.

Santa Barbara City Councilman Das Williams, who attended the meeting, said he was thrilled with the committee vote.

"It is really the creeks committee making a courageous stand on what they think the effects of the development will be on the creek corridor," Mr. Williams said. "The creeks committee did what they were charged to do by the voters -- stick up for the health of the creek."

David Pritchett, a member of the creeks advisory committee, said the proposed bridge clashes with the city's efforts to restore the creek.

"The city should be the lead on any restoration projects along Arroyo Burro and separate itself from Mark Lee," Mr. Pritchett said. "The city, I would argue, does not need the help of this mitigation project."

Steve Forsell, the committee's chairman, said his major interests center on the 100-foot setback, the type of vegetation along the creek, pedestrian pathways and the potential removal of some trees.

He said he is ambivalent about the bridge. "I have some concerns about it. There appears to be some valid arguments in favor of it and some questions about the real need for the bridge."


[ SBN-P Online edition:
Developer wants plan, bridge or no ]

No Las Positas Area Study

[SBN-P, 3/2/2005]:

S.B. rebuffs calls for Las Positas-area study

3/2/05
By JOSHUA MOLINA
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER


Veronica Meadows proposal includes bridge over Arroyo Burro Creek


Residents of the rural Las Positas valley went home dejected on Tuesday night after the City Council rebuffed calls for a comprehensive study of their neighborhoods.

A stream of development proposals that area residents say could wreck their quality of life have made the Las Positas valley a battleground over housing, traffic and the environment.

"I urge you to protect our special community," said James Kahan, president of the Allied Neighborhood Association, an umbrella group of Santa Barbara residents. "Protect our neighborhoods. They are important to us."

Potential housing projects in the Las Positas valley have mobilized the city's neighborhood groups, whose members believe that Santa Barbara's small-town character and charm are being eroded by the city government's tolerance and even embrace of housing that trumps traffic, environment and quality-of-life concerns.

Critics cite two projects: a Hillside House proposal of up to 127 units and the nearby Veronica Meadows project, which calls for 24 two-story homes off Las Positas Road. The Veronica Meadows developer wants to build a bridge over Arroyo Burro Creek from Las Positas Road so future residents can drive to their homes.

Rather than the city approving each project piecemeal, critics want a study of the cumulative effects of the current and potential projects before approving anything else.

Others contend that Santa Barbara already has a thorough planning process and that staff members are capable of approving projects one at a time. In short, they say, there's no need to undergo a comprehensive study of the Las Positas valley.

"We are very comfortable with the city's current planning process," said Pam Flynt, executive director of the residential care facility Hillside House. "We have had a home for persons with development disabilities in the Las Positas valley since 1955 and have always felt that the city has had a good planning process."

About 75 people packed the City Council chambers for the special night meeting.

Last week, during a charged Park and Recreation Commission hearing, speaker Sharyn Main was booed by the audience for criticizing the environmental effect of the Veronica Meadows bridge.

"I have not been real pleased with the amount of animosity," Mayor Marty Blum told the attendees. She set the tone for Tuesday's meeting immediately, warning the crowd to avoid booing or hissing.

Veronica Meadows developer Mark Lee was not present at the meeting, nor were most of his project's supporters, who back the plan only if the bridge is allowed because it would then take away traffic from other residential streets.

Some council members said the issues raised by the valley residents are good ones but that they would be better addressed as part of a general plan update, rather than focusing just on the valley.

Speaking sternly to the residents, Councilman Brian Barnwell accused some of being intellectually dishonest because of their use of the word "pristine" to describe the rural area. He said he looked up pristine in the dictionary and it meant "uncorrupted by civilization."

"It is not pristine," Mr. Barnwell said, suggesting that Arroyo Burro Creek is already the draining spot for much of the runoff in the city. A "small bridge," he said, is not the "be all, end all" for development in the area.

Councilman Das Williams countered by saying the Las Positas valley was "the last frontier of open space" in the city and that the development projects should be held to the highest environmental standards. He said that though there were not enough votes on the council to call for a comprehensive plan in the area, each project will still go before the council for approval eventually.

Focusing on the Veronica Meadows project throughout the meeting, Mr. Williams said Santa Barbara should respect open space and water-quality issues.

"Saving Santa Barbara by developing open space is like trying to save a village by destroying it," Mr. Williams said.

Councilman Dan Secord disagreed.

"I think we've got enough planning," Dr. Secord said. "I don't think we need any more."


[SBN-P Online edition: S.B. rebuffs calls for Las Positas-area study]

LP Valley Development Summary

[SB INDEPENDENT, 2/24/2005]:

"VERONICA MEADOWS MOVES: Despite a spate of negative reviews by city planners and harsh criticism from some members of the creeks and parks commissions, developer Mark Lee said he had no intention of retreating from plans to build 24 luxury housing units along Las Positas Road opposite Arroyo Burro Creek. Lee also said he is not backing off his plan to build a bridge spanning the creek across from the entrance to Elings Park. Lee pledged to use revenues generated by the sale of the homes to restore 1,200 feet of the creek, and insists the new bridge, which has aroused the wrath of creek activists, is merely a replacement of one that used to be there. Lee�s is but the first of several larger developments slated for the Las Positas area and has been encountering serious resistance in recent months."

[SB INDEPENDENT Online: news shorts: Veronica Meadows Moves]

LP Valley Development Impacts

[Commentary by Paul Relis, SBN-P, 3/1/2005]:

Las Positas Valley and impacts of growth

COMMENTARY: Paul Relis

3/1/05


In 1974 the Santa Barbara City Council commissioned a study to help Santa Barbarans wrestle with the question of how big Santa Barbara should be. The study was called "Santa Barbara: The Impacts of Growth."

I was one of its co-authors.

"The Impacts of Growth" began with an observation about Santa Barbara's place in California and American urban history:

"There is an increasing appreciation among urban Americans of the fact that, however warranted it might be on some grounds, continuous metropolitan growth carries with it certain obvious costs to the quality of life. In no American city is this appreciation more strongly present than in Santa Barbara. This city is in the process of asserting its traditional role as a community which attempts to take control of its own destiny."

The exhaustive, nearly 1,000-page study provided much of the analysis the council and the community used to reject what appeared to be an inexorable growth machine that was marching up the coast of California. With popular, though by no means unanimous, support, the City Council courageously proceeded to down zone the residential density of the community by nearly half to allow for a build-out population of about 85,000 people. That decision was a monumental one for the community and has guided the city's land use ever since.

Now, 30 years later, a proposal is coming before the City Council that is shockingly out of step with the view that Santa Barbara should try to live within its resources and retain its quality of life.

The proposal I'm referring to is the Veronica Meadows Project. The proposed project is targeted for the relatively unspoiled riparian zone of the Las Positas corridor. To be realized, the project requires the rezoning of three parcels that then would be annexed to the city, not to mention the grading of steep slopes. With the rezoning and annexation, the developer could build 24 single-family homes. Access to the development would require an easement over city land and a bridge over Arroyo Burro Creek.

According to the city's environmental analysis, the project will cause unavoidable impacts to the riparian zone and exacerbate gridlock traffic conditions that cannot be mitigated.

There are, under very special circumstances, reasons for approving projects that increase the density of land in Santa Barbara to meet critical needs in our community such as health care, affordable housing, education or public safety. Twenty-four market rate housing units on pristine land not zoned for this purpose located next to a creek in need of protection is clearly not such a special circumstance.

-- Paul Relis lives in Santa Barbara.

[SBN-P Online Edition: Las Positas Valley and impacts of growth]

Veronica Meadows Bridge 1

[A Letter to the Editor, SBN-P, 2/26/2005]:

TITLE: Suddenly city takes interest in bridge

The recent article about the new homes proposed off Las Positas Road was very puzzling. Here we have an existing neighborhood that actually supports a new development, something very rare in Santa Barbara. This is because the builder, Mark Lee, is bending over backwards to respect our needs.

To keep new noise and traffic out of our neighborhood, he is proposing to replace a bridge that was in place for generations on an existing easement. Councilman Das Williams is living in a fantasy world if he thinks that replacing this bridge will hurt the environment. There are many other bridges along Arroyo Burro Creek, and this will be the most environmentally friendly bridge of them all.

Worse is the suggestion from a member of the Creeks Committee that "the city does not need the help of this mitigation project."

Does money grow on trees? There are dozens and dozens of miles of creeks in this city that need attention. If Mr. Lee is willing to restore a suggestion at his own expense, taxpayer money will be available to use elsewhere.

Right on Alan Road, backyards are falling into the creek, and the city hasn't lifted a finger. But when someone wants to spend their own money to fix a problem, suddenly the city takes an interest? Something does not add up.

Elaine Bowie, Santa Barbara