If you needed any more evidence that your presence at public meetings makes a difference — we have learned that the Board of Supervisors has postponed their consideration of the Santa Barbara County/Chumash Camp 4 agreement. As public stated repeatedly at the previous meetings, the rush to move this agreement forward was coming at the expense of residents and taxpayers.
The rescheduled date is October 31. Please save that date and we will provide you with more details as to the location and time. Also, please forward this email to your friends.
In the meantime, we can put this time to good use by letting the County Supervisors know our views. Below are some of the major issues we see with the current draft of the agreement:
- Provides NO guarantees that Camp 4 open space and ag land will be conserved;
- Puts ALL county taxpayers on the hook to pay public safety and other costs to meet the needs of Chumash Camp 4 development;
- Contains no specific prohibition against tribal gaming on Camp 4; and
- Does not address the Tribe exporting of water from Camp 4.
In addressing these and other issues, the County says it is relying on the federal government’s Environmental Assessment (EA) that it previously went to court to challenge because it was so flawed. However, without these and other issues specifically included in the contractual agreement, residents have no assurances that their quality of life and pocketbooks will be protected.
We need to let our Supervisors know how we feel about this agreement. Obviously, it is important that we contact Supervisor Hartmann and her colleagues. Below is their contact information.
Supervisor Joan Hartmann
(805) 568-2192
jhartmann@countyofsb.org
Supervisor Das Williams
(805) 568-2186
dwilliams@countyofsb.org
Supervisor Janet Wolf
(805) 568-2191
jwolf@countyofsb.org
Supervisor Peter Adam
(805) 346-8407
peter.adam@countyofsb.org
Supervisor Steve Lavagnino
(805) 346-8400
steve.lavagnino@countyofsb.org
Will will keep you up-to-date on further developments.
As always, if you have any questions or need further information, please let send us a note.
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