Letters to the Editor, September 25th-29th

You’ll pay for Measure J

September 27th – Letters to the Editor – The Tribune 

Setting aside the issues of who, what, when or why regarding the Dalidio property, the voters should care about Measure J because owner-developer Ernie Dalidio lowballs the amount of money he shall contribute for road improvements.

The Measure J Dalidio project will not pay for the road improvements that will be needed. Monies not paid by the developer for necessary road improvements will be paid for by you and me. Yet again, we will all be subsidizing development.

I don’t want to pay for the ignored Los Osos sewer problems, and I don’t want to pay for underfunded road problems caused by the Dalidio project. Think about your wallet when you think about Measure J. Somebody will be laughing all the way to the bank.

Susan Harvey, Paso Robles
 

You Pay the Bill

September 27th – Letters to the Editor – The Tribune

Dave Cox is to be commended for his candor, “Dalidio road details unsettled,” Tribune, Sept. 25.

It isn’t every day you see a developer or public relations professional publicly admit that he has no idea how the necessary mitigations for the negative impacts of his project would be paid for, but he’s sure the money will come from somewhere — i.e. you and me, and not him.

Mr. Cox inquires: “Can you envision a scenario in which the voters would approve this project and the Board of Supervisors and City Council wouldn’t be able to get together and figure out a way to do it?”

No, we can’t. Avoiding this cart-before-the-horse scenario is one reason why we should all prefer that developers go through the planning process, not discard it and seek shortcuts like Measure J and its leap into the fiscal unknown.

If voters weren’t sure how to vote on Measure J before reading Mr. Cox’s admission, they surely must know now.

Andrew Christie, Chapter Director, Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club, San Luis Obispo

 

No’ on Measure J

September 28th – Letters to the Editor – The Tribune

It’s scary — but not a surprise — to see a large “Yes on Measure J” sign on the Canada Ranch property.

This is the 288-acre site just to the north of Nipomo along the freeway. It’s also the location of the proposed Crystal Oaks mega-development that initially calls for about 650 residences and 30 acres of commercial development.

If Measure J passes, it will set a dangerous precedent. Developers in Nipomo could use this same ballot initiative strategy with the Crystal Oaks mega-development. Allowing development by ballot decision bypasses the planning process. Many of our zoning laws are in place to prevent inappropriate development and harm to our environment.

If a Measure J type ballot initiative is used for the Canada Ranch, it will allow voters from out of the area to decide what’s best for Nipomo. Will voters in North County understand or care about how a mega-development like Crystal Oaks affects our rural lifestyle in Nipomo?

Vote “No” on J!

Learn more at the following Web sites: www.nomeasurej.org and www.keepnipomorural.com.

Ben Trogdon , Nipomo

 

This Paper is a Journalistic Disgrace

September 28th – Letters to the Editor – The New Times

New Times is unfit to be San Luis Obispo’s weekly newspaper. Your last issue, like most of late, was a journalistic disgrace.

One “story” after another belittling people in the community who are fighting uphill battles to try to make it better, or at least to keep it from self-destructing. Snide side comments throughout your “news.” Smart-assed bloviated hyperwriting like Patrick Klemz’s ever self-obsessed verbosity, in which he belittles citizens’ concerns about transport of toxic materials through their communities and sides with Chevron (”The path of least resistance,” Sept. 21). Karen Velie’s cover story on Measure J was one lie after another (”How does Measure J measure up?” Sept. 21), in which she passed off the most spurious propaganda of Dalidio’s public relations machine as fact while distorting, ignoring, concealing, or dismissing legitimate concerns of Measure J opponents. She even invented some new lies, like calling 60-plus acres of asphalt parking lot and roofs a “green” development, and characterizing the Texas developer, a Bush friend and fund-raiser, as an “environmentalist.” “Fair and balanced” news in New Times apparently finds no lie too ridiculous! This alleged journalist (Velie) was too lazy even to consult New Times files of past stories, which might have enlightened her about the sort of folks the developers really are. Or did she not need to be enlightened because all she wanted to do was abuse her public trust as a “news” reporter to transmit her own bias to the public as fact?

Traditionally, newspapers have not only had a higher regard for fact and truth than New Times, but have also “comforted the afflicted and afflicted the comfortable.” New Times’ motto: “Comfort the comfortable and afflict the afflicted.” You’re an irresponsible journalistic disgrace, and a blight on the community’s right to know what’s going on.

Geraldine Jones, San Luis Obispo 

 

Support impotence? Vote yes on J

September 28th – Letters to the Editor – The New Times 

The Dalidio Ranch: Wow, what a deal! Butterflies, native plants, hundreds of trees, open space, a nature trail, a bike path, walkways, family and children recreation areas, soccer fields, a skate park, fountains, gardens, an organic farm and farmers’ market, night-time darkness, solar panels, shopping, dining, lodging, workforce housing, and more.

Something for everybody a veritable Shangri-La. Why would anyone oppose Measure J, the November ballot initiative to OK Ernie Dalidio’s project?

Recall that old proverb, “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts”? Inside this very attractive Trojan horse lurk two threats to local control in every town in SLO County. If you value the ability to make informed decisions about developments in your neighborhood and the power of your voice in effecting them, it’s in your interest to look over this gift-horse before accepting it. Stowed within the initiative, these subversive twins pose serious and long-term dangers for your vision of, and autonomy over, your town’s future.

First, the decision-makers are deprived of information usually generated prior to voting on such a project. This is because the initiative explicitly exempts this project from state and local laws, which would normally require agency and public review and reporting regarding its effects before any decision is made (see official Ballot Summary and CEQA).

Second, the voices of the locals most familiar with the project and most likely to bear its burdens can be overridden by those less intimate with and affected by it. The influence of local councils, commissions, and committees could be negated or diminished by a county-wide vote of those with less knowledge and concern about the project.

Ask yourself: “What’s in it for me?” You’ll find there’s more than you bargained for. The subterfuge squirreled away in this initiative is a sneak attack on your self-determination.

If this tactic is used for future projects near your town, your local representatives will be rendered virtually blind due to the lack of information essential for intelligent decision-making, and your voice about the future of your neighborhood will be rendered practically mute by the whims of those who know and care less about your community than you do.

Mr. Dalidio repeatedly says he got a “raw deal” in the battles over his prior projects. Whether or not that’s true, that’s no excuse for foisting a raw deal on the entire county, as his initiative does. SLO City’s incontinent squabbling is now splattered across the county, forcing voters to choose.

If you’re for ignorance and impotence, vote for Measure J. If you’re for informed local control, vote against it.

David Broadwater, Atascadero

  

We Can Have Control 

September 28th – Letters to the Editor – The New Times  

Oh San Luis. I’ve been holding my tongue for a while now, but I must finally ask some questions. Maybe this is a topic that has been covered ad nauseam, but with the Dalidio Measure J afoot, I must speak. Do you know that countless cities across America are trying very hard to create a city like ours? “Urban renewal” is nothing more than a San Luisification of towns that previously gave into suburban sprawl decades ago. Do you know that other towns are done with the corporate chain thing and turning to resident shopkeepers and artisans begging them for that cherished moniker: local?

Though the butterfly sanctuary sounds very sensitive and green, why do we want a dressed-up strip mall of redundant stores with redundant add-ons like playing fields and a Farmers’ Market?

Think Dalidio should be able to do what he wants with his land? I can’t. I can’t have a storefront business on my downtown lot or cut down a tree without permission. Even if you are fond of the “big boxes,” the proposed businesses are largely superfluous because of other big boxes. Think competition is good for the market? It is. But big guys aren’t really competing locally, but nationally. As far as I understand it, Home Depot wouldn’t lower a price because Lowe’s came to our little town.

It seems we have very little control over what developers do, and that is frustrating. But here is an option. We can vote No on J.

Sally Kay, San Luis Obispo

  

 
Don’t be Fooled by Dalidio

September 28th – Letters to the Editor – The New Times  

The recent article concerning the Dalidio ranch project sought to give the developers and their project a human face (”How does Measure J measure up?” Sept. 21). However, for their part, this project has nothing to do with community or quality of life, but only money! Don’t be fooled into thinking that these folks are only trying to do the right thing.

This has nothing to do with a “partially retired farmer.” It has to do with greed, power, and spite.

Vic Montgomery attempts to blame the victims of the City Council’s approval of the Gearhart Automall. The 10-year credit, at taxpayers expense, for the poor auto dealer to pay their required fees must also be our fault. How about Vic’s Village at Maymont project being approved in less than three months on one of the most contaminated sites in the city? After 30 years of dealing with local governments, Vic knows it’s easier to sway a few politicians than to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars and hundreds of volunteers to fight them.

As long as the county taxpayers realize that if this project is approved, the cost for the next battle, to close off access to city roads to Dalidio traffic, may well come out of their pockets. Vote NO on Measure J to save San Luis Obispo!

Terry Mohan, San Luis Obispo