Group Had Chance to Speak
Editor,
With respect to Anthony Ha’s “Growth Changes Take Flak” article, the Concerned Citizens of San Benito County who “are appalled by this assault on the ability of voters to participate in the land-use process” missed the boat.
As a former county planning commissioner, I can tell you that the Planned Residential Growth Initiative (PRGI) was openly discussed at past Planning Commission meetings and studied by a subcommittee. This transparent process was, and still is, open to the public. Had these same concerned citizens bothered to attend these free meetings, their input would have been considered. They just didn’t show up.
Instead, the group hired Carmel Valley attorney Alexander Henson to come to San Benito County to educate the Board of Supervisors. We haven’t seen Mr. Henson in town since he represented a similar group in 2003. That group came to be proponents of Measure G, the failed land control initiative that was voted down by a nearly 70 percent margin.
It’s too bad that the group now has to resort to hyperbole and threats of litigation or referendum. The responsible course of action would have been to participate in the democratic process and voice a collective concern during past Planning Commission meetings rather than pay an out-of-town environmentalist attorney to make disingenuous accusations about “back-room deals.”
The Planning Commission subcommittee worked hard to craft a functional document that was botched by a previous administration. The concerned citizens know that the status quo version of PRGI is flawed and ambiguous. Its intent was to legally discourage developments of 100 or more units in San Benito County without affording potential developers the right of due process.
The proposed version of PRGI is intended for future projects to be reviewed by staff, the planning commission and the board of supervisors who are elected to represent the voters and form an expert opinion on the matter as the proposal develops. In the end, the voters will decide.
It’s important to remember that “concerned citizens” will always have a voice in the democratic process at free public meetings. All they have to do is show up and be heard. Representative government is alive and well in San Benito County.
Mike Smith, Hollister
