This special election will determine how Sonoma evolves over the next decade or two. In this article you will find simple and short explanations of why there is the need to limit big hotel development in Sonoma and why this election campaign looks the way it does.
Find out what's happening in Sonoma Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Historic Preservation
The Plaza is an Historical Landmark in a city of history. We have an obligation to the future to preserve the irreplaceable, both the built structures and traditions. As local architect Ned Forrest has observed, "You can't buy a sense of place off the shelf."
Find out what's happening in Sonoma Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Scale and Size
What is the nature of "big"? We can argue about the specifics, but we all know how it feels. It sends its own non-verbal message about values and priorities to residents and visitors alike. The external landscape determines the internal landscape of how we feel and think about Sonoma. Our sense of place is "small" and we want to see that continue for both residents and visitors.
Development Pressure
Development pressure is like air pressure - you don't always feel it but it's always there, ready to rush into the gaps and opportunities. The Hotel Limitation Measure is about anticipating development, not simply reacting to it after it happens. We call it planning. We think it is what government should be doing, but when it doesn't it's up to the citizens to do it.
The General Plan
The General Plan is already seven years old. Can you remember what the world was like seven years ago? We live in speedy times. Things change, and so must General Plans and development codes. And to remain relevant, it should change again. We can't afford to pretend that the world is standing still and that our General Plan is cast in stone. It's not stone, it's clay and it can be reshaped to anticipate and meet new challenges.
Love of Sonoma and Difference of Opinion
Nobody has a lock on what it means to love Sonoma. There are many ways to love it and many ways to express it. Difference of opinion is healthy. Being able to use the democratic process in a special election to resolve differences is the strength of America, not a weakness. Consider the alternative. Labeling citizens "good" or "bad" and name-calling is divisive and breeds anger and resentment. Difference of opinion is not inherently divisive; diversity is healthy.
Money
For our opponents, this election is all about money - profits, TOT for the city, sales taxes, and so forth - but some things are more important than money. Some things are priceless. A slower pace, peace and quiet, neighborliness, clean air, less traffic; you can't put a price on any of these, and like historic structures, once lost they are lost forever. Sonoma has a history of valuing its community character over money. It's part of what makes us so special, and we might say, even famous. Times are changing. Most towns only know how to say "more" but the economy of "more" is reaching its end. We like being part a town that knows how to work with the economy of "enough."
Traffic
From what our opponents say, traffic is not caused by big hotels. Traffic does not come out of the blue, however; traffic is cumulative, and every project, hotel, housing development, retail center and place of employment creates traffic. To say hotels don't contribute to traffic is to simply shift the blame to someone else. The truth is everything contributes to traffic and it all adds up. Our roads and infrastructure are very limited and at times even reaching their effective maximum, especially around the Plaza. At certain times of day it appears the primary population of Sonoma is the automobile.
Noise
Providing live entertainment in town has become all the rage, and amplified music is proliferating. And more than 50% of the businesses on the Plaza serve alcohol, and we all know alcohol makes people noisy. The noise is spreading wider, invading neighborhoods and getting louder, and big hotels with bars open late and live amplified music won't make Sonoma more peaceful. How much is enough? It's another example where current planning and vision is inadequate.
City Budget and Public Safety
Our opposition has resorted to scaring the public with claims that public safety is threatened by Measure B; this is untrue and dishonest. It's a symptom of a campaign with nothing positive to say. There is no fiscal emergency. TOT (the tax charged to hotel guests) will continue to increase. A TOT percentage increase from 10% to 14% can put $1 million in the general fund quickly. Mini-bars, spa treatments, movie rentals; none of these charges get taxed as TOT. Recalculate what is subject to TOT and it could add another million. When it comes to the city budget, we need to be creative. Yard signs that imply Measure B will cause higher taxes for residents or financial threats to public safety are campaign baloney.
Sales Tax
We don't know exactly who pays how much sales tax in the City of Sonoma. Visitors, residents of the valley, local residents...there is no way to know precisely who contributes what portion and claims otherwise by the opposition are just wild guesses and speculation. If it turns out we need to extend the special half-percent sales tax beyond 2017 it can be put on the ballot and if a good case can be made, the citizens will approve it.
TID (Tourism Improvement District) Money
The TID approved by the City Council in 2012 adds 2% to all hotel bills and the $450,000 it generates yearly goes into a dedicated promotional fund completely controlled by the big hotels. We still can't figure out why Marriott, owner of the Renaissance Lodge with a market capitalization of $2.9 billion needs access to $450,000 in financial help for promotion. It looks like corporate welfare, and doesn't make any sense at all. And neither does adding new large hotels when the existing hotels complain that their occupancy is too low and formed the TID to solve that very problem. And the $218,000 in redevelopment funds that were going to be stopped? Turns out they will continue until 2015. At minimum the TID money should have been contingent on the actual loss of that funding. Funding the Visitors Bureau is proper. Overfunding promotion, however, is not.
Small Hotels
The scale and size of small hotels fit our town. Big hotels have conference centers, meeting facilities, wedding venues, health clubs and spas and multiple restaurants; all these additional uses add impacts to neighborhoods and streets. Small hotels might have a restaurant, but little else. They're charming and intimate. The City Council just issued a proclamation extolling the six-room Ledson Hotel for its charm and special contribution to the Plaza. This is the same City Council opposing our effort to encourage small hotels. How ironic is that?
Fairness and arbitrary limits
Our opponents say limiting new hotels to 25 rooms is arbitrary, but the City sets arbitrary limits on development all the time: height of buildings, number of rooms in a B&B, fixed floor area ratios and lot coverage limitations, the definition of large housing development as 15 units, etc. The issue is not about fairness to one property owner, it's about how the community sets its common standards. It's a matter of "the good of the many outweighing the good of the few" not simply a matter of fairness.
Decisions by "small groups"
Our critics call us a "vocal minority" and a "small group" but all our city planning decisions are made by small groups - a City Council majority of three, a Planning Commission majority of four. These too are small groups of ordinary citizens, most with no particular specialized training, interest or background in planning. This election shows the power of an idea. Though the idea for a Hotel Limitation Measure began with a small group, 1,300 voters signed our petition and interestingly, this vote will be decided by a much bigger group of ordinary citizens and we think that's just fine. We trust the people of Sonoma.
Public participation
Our opponents claim the passage of Measure B means the public will be denied an opportunity to participate in development decisions. This is not true; 25-room hotels will be subject to exactly the same process in place today. The public will continue to be able to participate. That said, keep in mind that the public can't participate on applications that do not meet code requirements right now. A five-story commercial building on the Plaza gets no public participation because no such application is accepted by the City. This is nothing new. The city does not accept applications for all sorts of things. Claims that the public voice cannot be heard is much ado about nothing.
Growth in general
The Hotel Limitation Measure is not just a measure, but a movement. It's well past time that Sonoma, Sonoma Valley and Sonoma County take a good hard look at growth and its effects overall. And that this starts in the rebellious City of Sonoma is historically fitting. ABAG (Association of Bay Area Governments) took a fresh look at growth and created an entirely new framework for regional growth in the Bay Area, based on difference, infrastructure, transportation, jobs, and community character. ABAG's Plan Bay Area designates Sonoma for its lowest level of growth, specifically to preserve its small town character. This is also why SCCA (Sonoma County Conservation Action), the county's largest environmental organization, endorses our hotel limitation measure. Healdsburg is watching and so is the rest of Sonoma County. This is how movements begin.
Effect on the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB)
Measure B has no legal effect on the UGB, though Sonoma's UGB expires in 2020 and without passage of the Hotel Limitation Measure large parcels of land might be incorporated into the city's sphere of influence, annexed and attract large hotel development. The County of Sonoma has committed itself to respecting the meaning and spirit of the UGB and not approving large projects just outside of the UGB.
The difference between Preserving Sonoma and Protect Sonoma
It's all in the name; the legal name of our opponent is Protect Sonoma, Sponsored by Chateau Hotel Sonoma Group, LLC., which means the sponsor legally must cover 80% of all spending. Protect Sonoma's campaign is run by out-of-town consultants; we've planned and run our own campaign. Our group is a true grassroots group entirely supported by community contributions and loans from our committee members. We have no permanent paid staff, we're seriously underfunded, don't own a newspaper, and rely on our volunteers. In this sense, we're underdogs. And, oh yes, we are proud of running an honest campaign that shows trust in Sonoma's voters.
On the current campaign
Our opponents have an impossible job: make the case that aside from money, big hotels make good sense for Sonoma and that small hotels do not. Good luck with that. Their current literature never even mentions the phrase "Hotel Limitation Measure," because mentioning it sends undecided people our way; most citizens want to limit hotels in Sonoma, and by the way, so do the tourists. The opposition is left with using polls to find out what citizens fear most, which is why their recent printed material repeatedly mentions strip malls, chain stores and funding for police, in other words, crime. This is how a cynical campaign run by out-of-town political consultants looks.
Disrupting the status quo
The status quo, "the system in place", works great for those who know how to work it. Developers with enough money can assemble a whole army of professionals - lawyers, architects, planners, consultants, and so on - just to get projects approved and jump through all the hoops in the system. Limited to three minute comments and sending letters, the ordinary citizen can barely get a word in edgewise. The system in place needs a major overhaul. Measure B disrupts the status quo, which is one reason some people are so upset about it. All of a sudden Sonoma's voters have regained their voice and a place in planning for our future. This is what citizens are supposed to do: make a course correction when government drifts in the wrong direction.
Vote YES on B on November 19th
This is a special election on an unusual date. If you vote absentee, send in your ballot right away or it may get buried or lost. If you like to vote at the polls, please remember to vote. If you need a ride to the polling place, let us know and we'll get you a ride. The destiny of Sonoma is in your hands; please don't let this pivotal moment fall through the cracks.
Preserving Sonoma Committee
Learn more at www.preservingsonoma.com
