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I couldn't help notice that proponents of a so-called "managed growth" initiative for Grass Valley were up at the BriarPatch this weekend trying to collect enough signatures to qualify their plan for the November ballot.
The BriarPatch is a great little grocery co-op that last year opened a beautiful new store up on Sierra College Blvd. If the "managed growth" initiative had been in effect at the time, the BriarPatch project probably would never have happened. Who in their right mind would invest hundreds of thousands of dollars on a parcel, spend thousands more trying to convince the city to amend its general plan (which was required of the BriarPatch, by the way) and then pray voters approve it in a special election that would have cost taxpayers as much as $30,000?
That's just one of the many potential "unintended consequences" of this ill-timed and ill-conceived "managed growth" initiative drafted by special interests who claim to be Grass Valley's "friends."
If they can convince an estimated 800 or so of Grass Valley's registered voters to sign their "managed growth" petition, the initiative will likely appear on the November ballot. If approved it would require any amendment to the general plan (such as the BriarPatch and an affordable co-housing project) to be approved by voters. It assumes voters will always make educated decisions.
Proponents of the initiative also assume Grass Valley voters will always agree with them. I'll bet the first time a "vote of the people" goes against them, the initiative advocates will simply sue. "The people didn't know what they were voting for!" they'll cry. What would happen, for example, if the proposed Idaho-Maryland Mine project was simply decided by a vote of Grass Valley voters? There are some 6,200 registered Grass Valley voters today and, assuming not all of them would bother to go to the polls, the mine would only need maybe 2,300 or so votes. One survey I saw indicated that most residents support the mine.
Then there are those behind the initiative. Who are these friends of Grass Valley? One is Nevada City resident and former Nevada City Planning Commissioner Laurie Oberholtzer. Anyone who has ever tried to build, or remodel, anything (even a storefront window) in Nevada City has probably crossed her path (they say it's an experience you never forget). If she didn't bless your project, it was in serious trouble. She has arguably been, for whatever reason, the single-most influential person in Nevada City.
Another initiative proponent is Sharon Boivin, whose name appeared on the petition filing. She is a former Nevada County planning director who was instrumental in what can aptly be described as the poorly planned Glenbrook Basin, which Grass Valley eventually inherited through annexation. Boivin was also the target of a 1975 grand jury report recommending she be fired for using her position for personal gain.
"We feel the Planning Director and her assistant have lost sight of the fact they are public servants," read the summary of that grand jury investigation, "with their dictatorial and adamant attitudes. It is apparent that Mrs. Boivin and her assistant are not competent either practically or personally to serve Nevada County in their present capacity." It also accused her of "imposing her own personal wishes on the public," while putting her own husband's auto body shop on a 13-day fast-track for approval, "in itself a malfeasance of office," according to the grand jury report.
If you look hard enough, you'll find that these issues are rarely about "the people." Almost everyone has a personal agenda, if you scratch the surface a bit.
What's mine? I believe the foundation of a quality community is a strong economic base. That's how the bills are paid. I believe this initiative would cripple the city's ability to provide that.
We are in the midst of a steep economic downturn. The unemployment rate in California is reaching 20-year highs and gasoline prices are already at record highs and climbing. Not a day goes by when one of hundreds of local nonprofits don't come through my door looking for money or goods. The pool of businesses able to support those nonprofits is shrinking rapidly. Check in on the businesses on Mill and Main streets. Ask how they're doing these days. We got more bad news Monday that Broad Street Furnishings in Nevada City will close soon.
Then there is the so-called need to better "manage" Grass Valley's growth. For starters, the city isn't growing as fast as the 1999 general plan assumed it would be by now. Last I checked, the growth rate was less than 1 percent. I'll guess that's why they refer to the city's document as a "general" and not "specific" plan. Planners make "general" assumptions that may, or may not, happen and then the plan needs to be amended. That's where the "vote of the people" comes in. The five people who sit on the Grass Valley City Council are elected to make decisions. If Grass Valley voters don't like the decisions they make, they can kick them out and elect new ones. It's a process that has worked well since Grass Valley's beginning. In fact, over the years several Grass Valley City Council members have been recalled for allegedly making bad decisions.
In the next several days, proponents of this poorly drafted initiative will try to convince Grass Valley's registered voters that they are simply looking out for their best interests. I'm simply asking that you think before you sign. Read the small print and then ask yourself three questions:
1) Will this initiative make Grass Valley better?
2) Who are these people who say they are my friends and what do they really want?
3) If the initiative is such a good idea, why are former council members such as Gerard Tassone and Steve Enos both against it? Those two couldn't be further apart on the political spectrum and neither one is a developer. (Proponents claim that only a developer could be opposed to this initiative, an obvious misstatement). At the very least you ought to contact Tassone and Enos and find out why they also believe this is proposal is nothing more than a bad idea at a bad time.
Jeff Ackerman is the publisher of The Union. His column appears on Tuesdays. Contact him at 477-4299, jeffa@theunion.com, or 464 Sutton Way, Grass Valley 95945.
The BriarPatch is a great little grocery co-op that last year opened a beautiful new store up on Sierra College Blvd. If the "managed growth" initiative had been in effect at the time, the BriarPatch project probably would never have happened. Who in their right mind would invest hundreds of thousands of dollars on a parcel, spend thousands more trying to convince the city to amend its general plan (which was required of the BriarPatch, by the way) and then pray voters approve it in a special election that would have cost taxpayers as much as $30,000?
That's just one of the many potential "unintended consequences" of this ill-timed and ill-conceived "managed growth" initiative drafted by special interests who claim to be Grass Valley's "friends."
If they can convince an estimated 800 or so of Grass Valley's registered voters to sign their "managed growth" petition, the initiative will likely appear on the November ballot. If approved it would require any amendment to the general plan (such as the BriarPatch and an affordable co-housing project) to be approved by voters. It assumes voters will always make educated decisions.
Proponents of the initiative also assume Grass Valley voters will always agree with them. I'll bet the first time a "vote of the people" goes against them, the initiative advocates will simply sue. "The people didn't know what they were voting for!" they'll cry. What would happen, for example, if the proposed Idaho-Maryland Mine project was simply decided by a vote of Grass Valley voters? There are some 6,200 registered Grass Valley voters today and, assuming not all of them would bother to go to the polls, the mine would only need maybe 2,300 or so votes. One survey I saw indicated that most residents support the mine.
Then there are those behind the initiative. Who are these friends of Grass Valley? One is Nevada City resident and former Nevada City Planning Commissioner Laurie Oberholtzer. Anyone who has ever tried to build, or remodel, anything (even a storefront window) in Nevada City has probably crossed her path (they say it's an experience you never forget). If she didn't bless your project, it was in serious trouble. She has arguably been, for whatever reason, the single-most influential person in Nevada City.
Another initiative proponent is Sharon Boivin, whose name appeared on the petition filing. She is a former Nevada County planning director who was instrumental in what can aptly be described as the poorly planned Glenbrook Basin, which Grass Valley eventually inherited through annexation. Boivin was also the target of a 1975 grand jury report recommending she be fired for using her position for personal gain.
"We feel the Planning Director and her assistant have lost sight of the fact they are public servants," read the summary of that grand jury investigation, "with their dictatorial and adamant attitudes. It is apparent that Mrs. Boivin and her assistant are not competent either practically or personally to serve Nevada County in their present capacity." It also accused her of "imposing her own personal wishes on the public," while putting her own husband's auto body shop on a 13-day fast-track for approval, "in itself a malfeasance of office," according to the grand jury report.
If you look hard enough, you'll find that these issues are rarely about "the people." Almost everyone has a personal agenda, if you scratch the surface a bit.
What's mine? I believe the foundation of a quality community is a strong economic base. That's how the bills are paid. I believe this initiative would cripple the city's ability to provide that.
We are in the midst of a steep economic downturn. The unemployment rate in California is reaching 20-year highs and gasoline prices are already at record highs and climbing. Not a day goes by when one of hundreds of local nonprofits don't come through my door looking for money or goods. The pool of businesses able to support those nonprofits is shrinking rapidly. Check in on the businesses on Mill and Main streets. Ask how they're doing these days. We got more bad news Monday that Broad Street Furnishings in Nevada City will close soon.
Then there is the so-called need to better "manage" Grass Valley's growth. For starters, the city isn't growing as fast as the 1999 general plan assumed it would be by now. Last I checked, the growth rate was less than 1 percent. I'll guess that's why they refer to the city's document as a "general" and not "specific" plan. Planners make "general" assumptions that may, or may not, happen and then the plan needs to be amended. That's where the "vote of the people" comes in. The five people who sit on the Grass Valley City Council are elected to make decisions. If Grass Valley voters don't like the decisions they make, they can kick them out and elect new ones. It's a process that has worked well since Grass Valley's beginning. In fact, over the years several Grass Valley City Council members have been recalled for allegedly making bad decisions.
In the next several days, proponents of this poorly drafted initiative will try to convince Grass Valley's registered voters that they are simply looking out for their best interests. I'm simply asking that you think before you sign. Read the small print and then ask yourself three questions:
1) Will this initiative make Grass Valley better?
2) Who are these people who say they are my friends and what do they really want?
3) If the initiative is such a good idea, why are former council members such as Gerard Tassone and Steve Enos both against it? Those two couldn't be further apart on the political spectrum and neither one is a developer. (Proponents claim that only a developer could be opposed to this initiative, an obvious misstatement). At the very least you ought to contact Tassone and Enos and find out why they also believe this is proposal is nothing more than a bad idea at a bad time.
Jeff Ackerman is the publisher of The Union. His column appears on Tuesdays. Contact him at 477-4299, jeffa@theunion.com, or 464 Sutton Way, Grass Valley 95945.
