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Health & Fitness

Lies, distortions, and plain old bull….

What is the No on Measure B campaign all about? In a word … money. It’s all about money. Pure and simple. Hotel developers will tell you it’s about money for the City, i.e., tax revenue. But that’s not why they’re in the game. They’re in the game to make money, and lots of it, because that’s what they do. That’s their raison d’etre. Period. They’re not out to do any favors for the City. The City has something they want – the okay to build – and they’ll say anything and promise anything to get what they want. Deep down everyone knows this, but developers, actually they should be called business opportunists, because that’s what they are, will never say, “We want to build this nifty luxury hotel in your town because we want to make a shipload of money.” It would be refreshing and honest to hear that, just once, but you never will. 

Why have the current hotel/motel owners come out against Measure B? You guessed it. Money. They simply don’t want any regulations on the books that will interfere with their (as they see it) right to expand their hotels whenever they want. All the other palaver about hotels being built outside city limits, or threats of strip malls and chain stores is just so much smoke. Sonoma has no control and never did as to what is built outside the urban growth boundary. How many hotels and strip malls have you seen there since the UGB was established in 2000? 

The same with the Chamber of Commerce. They want businesses to have no regulations, no limitations and god-forbid a real living wage. That is what the Chamber is and what it does. It exists for the sole purpose of promoting and supporting commercial development: nationally, locally and for all I know, globally. The Chamber of Commerce exists because it gets dues – money – from businesses. It  lobbies for business interests. That’s its sole function. 

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The same reason – money – applies to those businesses that have come out in opposition to Measure B, in particular the real estate and the wine businesses. They want more customers. More customers, more tourists = more money. 

Ain’t rocket science, folks, it’s Economics 101. Like the organ grinder says, “It’s money that makes the monkey dance.” And it’s usually those with the most money calls the tune. 

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I know I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. It’s just that we need a little reminding from time to time, especially when we’re awash in a sea of bull…t. 

Which brings me to the aptly colored brown “No on B” signs redolent with the distinct aroma of bull fertilizer. Here are some examples of claims made on these signs: If you don’t vote against Measure B your taxes will increase, the Plaza won’t be “saved,” and the people will lose their voice. I guess they haven’t gotten around to warning that if you vote for Measure B your hair will fall out, your teeth will decay, and your kids won’t call you any more. But then it’s early in the sign game. 

Everyone must know by now, but just as a reminder, Measure B limits hotels to 25 rooms or less until and if hotels reach 80% yearly occupancy. That’s it! It’s just an attempt to slow unneeded growth and build in scale with a historically small-town design. Nothing more. A City Council majority of three, and business interests don’t like it, because they want to call all the shots. 

The truly bizarro thing about the “No on B” advertising campaign is that if passed Measure B will do none of the things warned against, and in some cases the exact opposite is true. To wit: Big hotels will increase traffic. More guests, more people using their event and convention centers, more people using their spa and retail facilities, and more truck deliveries day and night. Downtown Sonoma will become one big traffic jam, the air from exhausts will get worse, auto and truck noise will increase, and then people will wonder, “Whatever happened to our little town?” 

“No on B” says big hotels will “protect your neighborhood” and “protect you voice.” There must be some plausible rationale for this claim, but it escapes me. And for that matter it’s the “Yes on B” campaign that has brought the issue to a vote of the people on November 19. The people of Sonoma get to voice what kind of development they want in their town. That important decision wasn’t left to three Councilmembers who vigorously opposed the initiative process and blatantly support no regulations as to the size and number of hotels. 

There are times and issues important enough for the people to decide. This is one of those times and issues.

 

 

 

 

 

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