Police State
I’m not really sure what is happening in Santa Barbara County but
something certainly bizarre is occurring. Take, for example, the Storm Water
Discharge Ordinance being proposed by the County. This past Tuesday this ordinance was going to
be presented for its First Reading. Aside from the problem of how in the world
does a property owner control the rain that Mother Nature produces, there is
the natural flushing of the creeks that occurs at the same time which is not
accounted for in any part of the document. Is this perhaps because the persons
developing this program do not know or understand how Nature works? I don’t
believe that this explains the totality of the situation given the fact that
the State of California has delivered an edict that principally states the same
premise.
Would that mankind could have such an impact on Mother Nature but
that simply not the case. But, perhaps, that is the issue. Some people believe
that all things happen because of what mankind does and some do not believe
that. It makes a huge difference which camp you belong to. I have received more
comments from people on environmental issues than any other topics, many
arguing very different conclusions. What is sad to me is that I receive very
few comments on the agricultural issues which have an infinitely more radical
impact on the viewsheds the Valley provides which so many people value. I don’t
think it is an accident that most of the people who feel mankind is responsible
and therefore able to “control” all impacts are urban people. This is not
intended to diminish the importance of their position but to someone who is
clearly from rural origins, I would have to take exception to the assumptions.
It is very hard to describe the differences between urban and
rural people with regards to their views and observations and it could take a
very long time to do so but perhaps some exploration of the issue is needed to
clarify what I am talking about. In actual fact, we are very much alike in most
ways, we all put on our pants one leg at a time is a favorite expression I grew
up with to describe similarities between people. There are, however, some very
fundamental differences which color how we look at things. I have been both
rural and urban during my life and can see both directions. What I try to do is
to educate urban people to see the rural vision of life as well as their own.
It has long been a reality that the majority of the population
resides in cities or urban communities. Of that majority, those who teach in
the urban centers with higher education including colleges or universities are
often urban oriented naturally and removed from actual rural experience. One’s
food, clothing and medicine are something usually purchased from a store, not
from the backyard. There are some urban people who produce some small amount of
their food in either a vegetable garden or a few chickens or something of that
nature but, by far, most people get those items from a store nearby. Most
people are not aware of the distance between their food and their home until
there is a problem with it such as the recent incidences of Chinese products.
Even as a producer of a small amount of your own food or fiber does not give
you an understanding of the impact of regulations produced by urban trained and
educated people who simply don’t have the understanding about how Nature works
which is no fault of theirs. They were educated by people who do not know
either that there is a limit to what, in Nature, one can control. In Santa
Barbara County there has been an on-going dialogue to try to bridge the gap
between the agricultural community and the Planning and Development Department,
so far to no avail.
Aside from this chasm in understanding between the producers and
the consumers (which is really what the difference entails), there is the
introduction, in this ordinance, of a police power being given to non-law
enforcement personnel which, in my eyes, violates that most sacrosanct of
rights, namely the right to private property. In this ordinance, the Director
of Public Works or his/her designee may access private property upon suspicion
of “pollution” by a property owner. Current California law forbids anyone, with
the exception of law enforcement “in pursuit of a crime” only, from accessing private
property without the express permission of the owner. Under this new ordinance,
this County employee could demand access to private property and if not
granted, could go to court and force the owner to allow it.
This is the most outrageous violation of our rights that I have
seen in a long time and is something that certainly will end up in court even
before it is on the books as it opens the door to enormous possibilities of
abuse. Some owner that someone in the County doesn’t like would suddenly become
subject to harassment on a continual basis. Huge fines or even jail time could
be the result of an owner trying to protect their livelihood or even just their
privacy. After all, aren’t we paying those taxes on those parcels for the
privilege of the right to privacy and decision making abilities that private
property affords us? It would seem that the lawmakers are repeatedly taking
away those rights without having to pay for them. How is this possible?
Uniform Rules
Here is an agricultural program which benefits both urban and
rural residents which deserves your attention. On September 25, the County
Board of Supervisors (BOS) is supposed to certify this program to the disgust
of the agricultural community. Why disgust?
It seems that agriculture is considered by Planning and Development
(P&D) staff is considered a Class I environmental impact. Not only do these
P&D folks not understand the first thing about agriculture, such as how
some crops actually improve the ground by fixing nitrogen in the soil, but they
clearly don’t understand the fact that agriculture in Santa Barbara County
provides the revenue for a good part of their salaries.
For those of you who have not had the misfortune of dealing with
Class I environmental impacts, they are considered to be the most severe class,
having the greatest negative impact on the environment. How P&D staff could
come up with this is clearly through ignorance. At least that is what I thought
until, after a year of trying to explain how this designation was simply
inaccurate as well as an exaggeration, staff has still insisted that they are
correct. Now I no longer believe that they are ignorant but rather are
deliberately following an agenda to regulate agriculture to the point where it
as an industry fails and farmers and ranchers properties are totally controlled
by people who don’t own it. Sound like a familiar theme? It should.
Political Appointments
I heard the other day that District 3’s Planning Commissioner
David Smyser had resigned the position and that CJ Jackson was being appointed
by Supervisor Brooks Firestone. It is getting a little confusing with all these
rotating appointments. You don’t know this week who your representatives are or
if we even have any. I was disappointed to read an opinion in a local paper
regarding CJ with some outstanding misinformation regarding groups in the Santa
Ynez Valley who have formed over the last few years to combat certain issues.
POLO, POSY, Santa Ynez Concerned Citizens and No More Slots are most definitely
not the same groups and do not have the same people involved in them. Secondly,
it is a clear misrepresentation to say that any of these groups are anti-
anybody as their aim is to make sure that gambling does not destroy this
Valley. All of these groups have been very clear that their design has nothing
to do with any people or groups of people but rather is concerned with making
sure we have proper infrastructure to deal with the problems gambling brings
with it.
Then I heard and have seen the rather extensive letter from
Vincent Armenta detailing to the Board of Supervisors why CJ Jackson should not
be appointed to the Planning Commission or under which conditions it would be
appropriate citing various possible conflicts of interest, including the fact that
CJ’s father owns a lot of land in the Valley. I want to make it very clear that
I personally have no opinion as to whether CJ would make a good Planning
Commissioner but I am appalled that someone who claims sovereign nation status
would have the affront to make recommendations to our government officials
regarding our representation when he refuses to acknowledge any comments from
the community surrounding his property who is continually being negatively
impacted by his activities. It’s either a two-way street or no street and your
choice. We cannot continue as a community with this kind of arrogant behavior
in our midst and government officials who refuse to do their job and represent
those who elected them. No one else would dare to defy the rules of society and
then thumb their noses at the very people who have supported them when times
were not as good. I am ashamed to see that such behavior exists in our
community. And so what if CJ’s father owns land in the Valley? Does that make
him less familiar with the issues? Does that make him more familiar with the
issues? You tell me.
We’ve Moved
Yes, we have come to town, Santa Ynez, that is. We have emerged
out of the truly rural atmosphere of Cachuma Village with deer families around
every morning and evening and huge flocks of wild turkeys gobbling in the
background. The occasional sighting of bobcats, all manner of spiders and deer
flies came with the territory as well. One of the Journal staff, a person who
had not had much to do with nature, told me as we were leaving that she was
going to miss the deer and turkeys. I was touched because, having grown up with
them, and knowing how some urban people despise the outdoors, some one not
having been exposed to the wonderful wildlife had come to appreciate just how
special they are and how the agricultural lands are where they live and thrive.
It was really terrific to hear that appreciation and I felt I had done
something positive for those wild creatures we share our life with.
While
we may have brown paper over our windows at the moment until we have our blinds
installed, we are here and welcome you to our new office at 3558 Sagunto St,
next to the Roasted Bean. We’ll be having a Grand Opening soon and we hope that
you will come to help us launch our new location.