It was Friday and Saturday, July 11 and 12. It was open to the
community.
It was planned, promoted with the hopes they would come. They
came.
It was Friday and Saturday, July 11 and 12. It was open to the community.
It was planned, promoted with the hopes they would come. They came.
Imagine what results you might expect assembling 61 people who share little in common and are already upset over actions of other members in the room. (The list of those who attended appeared in Monday’s Free Lance).
Ask the group to participate in a structured discussion of their differences while seated on metal folding chairs for 17 hours over two hot days in the middle of July in a hall without air conditioning? The results were a lot better than what you might expect.
The cautious group greeted each other over coffee and rolls. The hall was filled with a mix of men and women from college students to senior citizens; Caucasians, Hispanics and American Indian.
The unlikely congregation was divided between denim and boots and dress cotton and casual shoes.
The issues ran as deep as family roots and as far as family futures and land rights. Their concerns were wide-open spaces, development rights and environmental issues.
Could it happen? Could a consensus of anything be feathered out of this diverse and divisive group?
The group moderator, a soft-spoken gentleman named Jeff, was prepared and experienced. He formed the group into a circle and established the rule of successful communication. It was about listening. You cannot learn while you are speaking. We listened as he spoke.
“Resentment is like taking a poison pill and expecting the other person to die,” Jeff started out.
Now it was time for each person to speak and for the group to begin the listening and learning process.
Each person spoke respectfully about their differences.
Everyone listened respectfully to the opinions of others.
Some of what was heard:
– I believe it is almost as if God wanted this place left alone.
– Land-use planning does not occur at the ballot box.
– Planning by initiative makes me nervous.
– This initiative is a symptom of an unmet need
– I’ve seen the impact of the growth from the 1990s; I have a concern of what we will look like 20 to 50 years from now
– Water is the blood of the earth. Do we have enough?
– The paradigm is either mansions or crops.
– Employees need affordable housing; will we lose them to Los Banos?
– This is not just an ag problem, it is a societal problem.
– Transfer of Development Credits (TDC), I have a great concern about the effectiveness of that process.
– We must work together to develop a plan or one will be imposed on all of us.
– What about my Constitutional rights as a land owner?
– Why can’t we have 20 to 25 feet of green belt in front of each shopping center?
– This process is the beginning of getting the community together – rather than becoming divided.
– I am impressed how everyone here has listened with respect.
– If people will lead, their leaders will follow.
Such were the respected stated comments of members of a group that entered the warm hall for two days of listening to each other.
By days end of Day Two, the diverse and divided group had arrived at some key consensus.
Everyone respects one another.
All care deeply about the quality of life in our community.
No one wants urban sprawl.
There must be more input from all the diverse groups before crafting an initiative for the ballot.
That this group should continue this sort of communication forum and set dates.
Everyone wants open meetings to create a General Land Use Plan for the entire county that will sustain a quality of life with planned development.
I felt privileged to participate with this diverse group of dedicated and concerned citizenry.
The two days were about listening. It was about consensus building.
At the beginning the hall was hot and the subjects uncomfortable. At the end the results were refreshing and the consensus comfortable.
The catalyst behind organizing the San Benito Consensus Building two-day conference are Joe and Julie Morris of the T.O. Cattle Company, San Juan Bautista. Joe and Julie are well-spoken leaders whose sense of community is stated with pride on their business card, “A California family tradition for six generations.”
The conflict resolution specialist and moderator for two days was Jeff Gobel of Gobel & Associates. His mission is clearly stated on his Web site www.AboutListening.com. “To help people achieve their desired outcomes by successfully resolving conflict and fostering consensus.”
Of the many thoughtful statements made over the two days one point stood out as definitive of the entire present initiative issue.
“This initiative is a symptom of an unmet need.”
What the voters of San Benito County are screaming for more than ever is leadership.
People will act on beliefs created by past experiences.
Negative past experiences can create a fear of what may happen.
People have a need to be heard.
A great opportunity exists for the elected leadership of San Benito County to assume the much-needed role of conflict resolution and to end the present system of managing conflict through a ballot box initiative.
The present initiative has polarized the community creating anger and distrust between neighbors.
County Supervisor Pat Loe was present for both days of the workshop and should be commended for taking such an active role.
But it is time for the rest of the County Board of Supervisors to step up to the task of listening, learning and leading.
Let’s mend the community fences before there are wounds too deep to heal. Let’s begin the consensus building.
To contact the Board of Supervisors, see box at left.
We also invite your comments in the Free Lance.
Bill Barry is publisher of the Hollister Free Lance. He can be reached at 637-5566, ext. 342 or wm*****@ps***.com
