County Board Direction

[ The following is Das' Letter to the Editor that was published in the June 2, 2006 edition. ]


Now that the county has prioritized a community plan process and shifted the rezoning to the north, some may think everything is fine. Wrong. There are two major flaws to this argument.

The first is that traffic congestion and air pollution caused by a sprawling North County will be detrimental to the quality of life for all Santa Barbara County residents. The second is that a Community plan only protects the unincorporated area if there is a Board of Supervisors that will honor it. Community plans can be changed on any given Tuesday by a majority vote. It is imperative that we have a supervisor who will fight to protect the integrity of the plan.

The recent move to split comprehensive planning away from Planning and Development means county residents have fewer protections from detrimental developments.

The mission of the department has changed from "protecting us from unplanned growth" to "where to build developments to generate more tax money."

That's what this pressure to grow is all about: money. Some wish to raise revenue at seemingly any cost, even by sacrificing the beauty of our community. Recent recommendations include new oil development, auto malls and "village centers" on our remaining open space.

The county is moving in the wrong direction on land-use issues. The board deserves thanks for prioritizing a community plan, but much has to change within the institution if we are to protect our community from harmful development. I will fight to protect our community's environment and quality of life.

Santa Barbara News-Press