Action Alert December 5, 2008
Greetings SB CAN members and friends! Please take a few moments to review the upcoming events and news. Here they are in brief: Let's Go Green for the Holidays - Eco-friendly products at LetsGoGreen.biz Cars 4 Causes - Donate your old vehicle and help support sustainable communities Here's more detail: 1. SB CANNES Film Series, "Movies with a Message" WHAT: "MILK" Film Screening & Panel Discussion WHEN: Tuesday, December 9, 7:40-10:45 pm WHERE: MTC Fiesta Five Theater, 916 State Street, Santa Barbara Presented by SB CAN & SB CORE / Co-sponsored by The Fund for Santa Barbara Join us for a special screening of "Milk," the new critically acclaimed Gus Van Sant film starring Sean Penn. Panel Discussion follows screening: "When Law Becomes Discrimination," Moderated by Geoff Green, Executive Director of the Fund for Santa Barbara No reservations needed: First come, first served at regular MTC ticket prices for adults, seniors and children (MPAA Rating "R"). Additional $5 contribution at door to SB CAN will be appreciated. WHY: Harvey Milk was the first openly gay man in America to be voted into public office. This film traces his spectacular and tragic career, shedding light on the recent controversy over the passage of Proposition 8. When and how does discrimination become law? If Harvey Milk were alive today, would Proposition 8 ever have seen the light of day? Harvey Milk inspired hundreds of thousands of gay people in his lifetime and now in Gus Van Sant's new film he has the opportunity to reach millions more. In the film, Harvey Milk is battling against Proposition 6, which was aimed at discriminating against the hiring of gays and lesbians. " It played upon people's fears of having their children taught by gay people, and was backed by religious leaders including the very outspoken Anita Bryant. Sound familiar? Harvey was able to organize people and defeat it. If only we had him now." (Excerpts from review by Matt Budd, Huffington Post.Posted November 26, 2008.) Please join us to view this important film, and stay afterwards for a provocative discussion of the issues of social justice which it raises. For more information, contact Olivia Uribe, SB CAN Associate Director, Olivia@sbcan.org, w: 805.879.1768, c: 805.563.0463 2. General Plan Amendment proposal to open ag land to new development WHAT: Hunter/La Purisima Resort Lompoc, County Planning Commission WHERE: Betteravia Government Center, 511 East Lakeside Parkway, Santa Maria WHEN: Wednesday, December 10, 9 AM The County Planning Commission will hear a request for the initiation of a General Plan Amendment which would include a change in land use designation from Agriculture to Resort/Visitor Serving Commercial; and amendments to the text of the Land Use Element to allow development of the Hunter/La Purisima Resort in the rural area of the County. The requested Amendment proposes development of an 80 room hotel/resort with an approximately 4,400 square foot restaurant and a 3,240 square foot spa facility, and 85 clustered casitas (fractional or wholly owned residential units) that would be detached from the main resort. The project involves approximately 306.2 acres, located at 3455 East Highway 246. The site is located approximately one mile east of the intersection of Purisima Road and Highway 246 and approximately 3 miles east of the City of Lompoc, in the Cebada Canyon area, Fourth Supervisorial District. The project site includes an existing recreational facility known as La Purisima Golf Course and all three subject parcels are currently zoned 100-AG. (Continued from 11/12/08) (Estimated Time: 2 hours) COMMENT: The major problem with this proposed general plan amendment is that it would set a precedent for opening up agricultural land, including the Gaviota Coast, to new development. Because 90% of the privately owned land in Santa Barbara County has Agricultural zoning, this has huge implications for our County. During the past four years or more, there has been tremendous pressure to open agricultural lands to new development, which SB CAN and other environmental organizations have repeatedly opposed. This GPA would make our work to preserve agricultural lands, open space, and environmental resources all the more difficult. Please contact your county commissioners about your concerns. You can email your comments to: E-MAIL: jopland@co.santa-barbara.ca.us 3. Santa Maria Workshop on Unmet Transit Needs WHAT: Public Workshop on Unmet Transit Needs in city of Santa Maria WHERE: Shephard Hall, SM Public Library, 1st Floor WHEN: Wednesday, December 10, 6:30 - 8 PM Join SB CAN at this important workshop to share suggestions on expanding transit service in the Santa Maria-Orcutt areas. COMMENT; While the city of Santa Maria spent all of its TDA funds this year on building a new transit center, and promises to do so next year, we need to be sure that all future TDA funding will be spent on transit as required by law unless it can be claimed that there are no unmet transit needs. Misuse of TDA funds led to a lawsuit in 2006 which required the cities of Santa Maria, Lompoc and Santa Barbara County agreed to hold workshops in the Fall each year, to enhance public involvement in the transit planning process and increase the chance that transit expansion would be considered before each jurisdiction adopted their annual budget and TDA claims. This is our opportunity to show our support for creating a really efficient and convenient transit system in the Santa Maria valley. 4. Plan SB - General Plan Update Hearings WHAT: City of Santa Barbara PlanSB Recommended Policies for General Plan Update WHERE: Santa Barbara City Hall WHEN: Thursday, December 11, 2008, at 9:30 a.m. / Tuesday, December 16, 2008, at 6:00 p.m. Santa Barbara City staff (along with outside consultants) have released a revised version of "Draft Policy Preferences" for the General Plan Update process, known as "Plan Santa Barbara," currently underway. These Policies will come before the Planning Commission and City Council for approval this month. They will then be subject to an environmental review process, development of specific implementation policies and ordinances, and will form the basis for Santa Barbara's development for approximately the next 20 years. COMMENT: The entire process has been closely followed by SB CAN's HOT Committee. Members were present at the various workshops that staff and consultants held in the city, and SB CAN staff and HOT Committee members testified at many hearings along the way. There is a good deal of evidence that our HOT perspective on housing, open space, and transportation is reflected in the recommended policies (See SB CAN's HOT Principles, issued in 2006 at http://www.sbcan.org/hot- The City Council will consider the Draft Policy Preferences Report (Dec. 2008) to serve as the draft General Plan Framework and policy direction for updating the City's General Plan. Council action will initiate CEQA review of the document and the preparation of an updated Housing Element, Land Use Element, and Land Use Map. The first day of the hearing will include a presentation on the recommended policies, Council questions and comments, and public input. Public input on the recommended policies is encouraged on the first day to give the Council time to consider public input before giving direction on the policies. The second day will include discussion and deliberation by the Council on policies, environmental review and Phase III of the General Plan Update. The Draft Policy Preferences Report will be available on line at www.YouPlanSB.org, at 630 Garden Street, and the City Clerk's office, City Hall on December 4, 2008. For questions call John Ledbetter, Principal Planner at 564-5470. You are invited to attend this hearing and address your verbal comments to the City Council. Written comments are also welcome up to the time of the hearing, and should be addressed to the City Council via the City Clerk's Office,P.O. Box 1990, Santa Barbara, CA 93102‑1990. 5. How you can help support SB CAN & SB CORE, our education & research partner GO GREEEN FOR THE HOLIDAYS! So if you're going green anyway, think about ordering your products from LetsGoGreen.biz and choosing SBCAN/SBCORE as your beneficiary at checkout time!
Santa Barbara County Action Network
When SB CAN and SBCORE put on its Fall Harvest Picnic in October, we looked around for affordable, Earth-friendly alternatives to expensive rental and landfill-clogging disposable tableware, cleaning supplies, etc. We stumbled across a great little company in Georgia that sells all kinds of green products including compostable plates, utensils, even clear drinking glasses and other kinds of containers. The prices are good to begin with and, better yet, we were able to register SB CORE and SB CAN at the "LetsGoGreen.biz" web site and get a 25% rebate on all we spent there.
But wait, there's more! Anyone who orders green products from LetsGoGreen.biz can also select SB CORE/SBCAN from a pull-down menu at checkout time and the company will give 25% of your total to our organization. Truthfully, we looked around for a better deal on this kind of stuff and couldn't find one. And when I called the company to see how quickly they could deliver, the owner/founder himself answered the phone. They got our goodies to us in plenty of time, standard shipping, and it was all top-notch stuff. LetsGoGreen.biz has a great selection of eco-friendly products for every home, office, or business. From biodradable plates, cups, utensils, and food containers to recycled paper and plastic goods, they have everything to help green your holiday. The BPA-free water bottles and corn-based ink pens will make great stocking stuffers or office holiday gifts.
DONATE TO CARS 4 CAUSES!
Here's a great way to get rid of an old vehicle and support sustainable communities at the same time. Donate your vehicle to Cars4Causes, and when it sells, part of the proceeds will go to SB CORE (Santa Barbara Council on Research and Education), SB CAN's education & research partner.
To donate a vehicle, call 1-800-477-7617 and provide information on the vehicle and the organization you'd like part of the proceeds to go to. For more information please go to the website www.cars4causes.net
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL FROM SB CAN !
Date:
5 Dec 2008 - 6:59pm