Guest Comment: Private land rights in Santa Cruz County

This commentary responds to the Jan. 18 letter from Mr. Timothy Robertson, regarding the referendum on the Las Mesas and Sopori projects — how very sad. To depict the public process of government as a war is unfortunate. Rather like the “War on Terror” — it eliminates consideration of all other methods of resolving differences.

First of all, Mr. Robertson, it is unfortunate that you are troubled by someone calling this property “in Tubac.” Actually, it should be called “in Green Valley and Amado and Tubac and Nogales” because if you think for a nano-second that all these communities won’t be adversely affected by the impact of these two developments, I’m afraid you are missing something.

Try 6,000-10,000 more cars on Interstate 19 every day just for starters (I pulled those numbers out of thin air, by the way-so don’t challenge their accuracy based on the broad range of allowable homes and commercial development in these projects.)

Nogales may be the most affected —how about getting all our shopping needs met up here instead of going there? How about all the construction traffic for 10-20 years until these projects are completed?

The statistic you gave about private land ownership in Santa Cruz County differs from the number I was given by one of our Board of Supervisors. I was told that 38 percent of Santa Cruz County is privately owned — we are the second highest county in the state for private land ownership.

And I agree with you that investors and developers always have a Plan B. It’s one of the reasons it doesn’t have to be a major disaster if they get denied their initial plans. As a citizen activist I was told once, “We (those who favor most development anywhere) only have to go to one meeting. You have to go to all of them.”

If this developer doesn’t have a Plan B, there are plenty of others waiting in the wings to propose a way to be “present” in this land which is in such high demand.

By the way, the idea that high-density housing provides for the worker is fiction. Period.

The price the developer sets is only good for one sale. After that, the market takes over. Often (and I have experienced this personally in a resort town in Wyoming) unscrupulous Realtors buy up the lower-cost homes in high-density developments and then turn them for a profit. Gone, affordable housing.

The only way to have truly affordable housing in areas of high tourist value is to have lands deed restricted and price controlled (an idea which is very unappealing to some, but which works.)

It is also important to point out that landowners and their property rights are very strongly protected by the current process for the development of land. They and their representatives have many opportunities to meet with Planning Staff, Planning and Zoning Commissions and the Board of Supervisors—with Power Point presentations and hired experts. Citizen activists get 1-3 minutes at a public hearing plus mail and e-mail opportunities. And all we’re really trying to do is protect those same property owners’ rights for the future.

If all the density bonuses and development rights are passed out now, how will future property owners get treated fairly when the water and the natural assets are all spent and gone? How is this fair, Mr. Robertson?

I believe in personal freedom. But we all live in community, and our personal freedoms are lived out in that community with consideration for the effect of all our decisions on the larger world around us. When some people miss that point, “government” (that’s you and me) must come together and give voice to the values that they want to protect for the next generation. This is not about limiting freedom. This is about sharing freedom and doing the hard work of collaborating on a future that serves the human and natural world around us in the best way possible.

Your letter shows that you have chosen to be part of the process and I applaud you for it. Please let us not call this a war. Let us come together to solve the problems that face all of us in a way that does the best job of being fair to all (including those who have no voice —the wildlife, the scenic vistas, the flowing streams, the workers who cannot get to meetings, and those who have not yet been born.

Barbara Gray is a resident of Santa Cruz County and former member of the Planning Commission in Jackson Hole, Wyo., where rapid growth and natural resource protection have been on the drawing board for decades.