The long-awaited half-hour on-air debate between supporters of the Preserving Sonoma hotel limitation initiative and the Protect Sonoma group saying the current process in place is adequate, was a lively and at times testy exchange of ideas between two articulate defenders of their points of view.
Speaking for Preserving Sonoma, former councilman Larry Barnett defended the initiative that would prevent new hotels to 25 rooms or less, by saying it wasn't want the city inhabitants wanted - just as the 1999 Rosewood hotel was voted down in a similar initiative process.
Dana Adams, a broadcast professional aligned with the Protect Sonoma group set up to oppose the initiative, refuted the comparison with the Rosewood case, and said that her group were "caretakers of history."
She also clarified, "I am not here on behalf of Kenwood Investments – I want to see the city survive."
In her opening statement, Adams she wanted to keep Sonoma a destination that was accessible to visitors by increasing hotel capacity.
"Make no mistake," she said later, "This is a hotel ban, a business killer, a jobs killer and a community killer."
Barnett refuted the statement, and pointed out - again - that it is not a band but a limitation on hotel size in city limits. He pointed to the success of the Hotel le Mars in Healdsburg which has only a dozen rooms but has been extremely popular and lucrative for its owners.
Returning to her talking points, Adams said, "This hotel ban is overkill. It’s prosperity dynamite. It’s an effective ban on hotels."
Adams and Barnett both got into the financial side of hotels and their impact on the city budget, but their conversation was not entirely civil.
"As someone who’s spent their career in the bed and breakfast business," accused Adams, "I wonder if you have a bias in favor of small hotels.
Responded Barnett: "You’re right, I have a bias in favor of small business."
Following the half-hour back-and-forth, the engineers of "Mornings in Sonoma" broke to Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation."
What did you think? If you heard the debate on the air, on the internet or community TV, Patch would like to know your reaction to the points made. Please, if you did not hear the debate, we'd prefer that you save your comments for another opportunity.
