By DENISE LEVINE
Do the loss of our civil liberties concern you?
Do you think of that loss as something "they" do to us? As the March election approaches, Napa County residents have a real chance to stand up for civil rights and the environment. But they will have to pay attention. Things are not always what they seem. This March you will vote on the civil rights of 9,000 families in Napa County.
This March you will vote on whether or not 9,000 county residents can have a garden larger than 250 square feet a year, regardless of whether they have a parcel that is one acre or 100.
This March you will decide whether 4-H families can raise a lamb or rabbits if they are lucky enough (make that "unlucky" enough) to live by a stream or a ditch that carries water during the rainy season. This March you will decide if 9,000 families who have a creek or seasonal runoff on their property can have a chicken, a goat to eat brush, a dog run or barn for a horse within 150 feet of water or the shadow thereof. Remember, 150 feet is often the width of two to three city lots!
This March you will decide if a property owner can replace a barn or outbuilding if it is destroyed. You will decide if someone who has paid for their property and pays taxes every year can put a well or driveway on it. You will decide. Not them. You will decide if a landowner can judge whether or not a fallen tree will provide shelter for the fish he encourages in his section of stream, or whether it will create problems on his or his neighbor's property. Most of us only cut up a fallen tree when we have to. It's extra work. Many of us need to clear brush and dead trees to protect our properties and homes from fire. Most of us are reasonable, practical people who do our best to care for our properties.
You will decide if 9,000 affected parcels will have a different set of rules than Mondavi Winery, Sutter Home and a handful of others who were also against this ordinance until they negotiated a backroom deal with Supervisor Bill Dodd. Existing 35-foot setbacks for vineyards and replants for the big guys, but new 150-foot setbacks from the top of the banks for my property and 8,999 of my neighbors, the little guys. Our supervisors at work for us, and liberty and justice for all...
Nine thousand families bought their properties with the expectation of the "right of quiet enjoyment." We thought we could plant a rose. Or have an animal for our children. Perhaps eventually be able to add on to our older homes. Many of us love our gardens, delight in planting to attract birds and butterflies, and want to continue to plant habitat gardens or gather our eggs in the morning. These are real civil liberties we are threatened with losing. Many of us are involved in gardening, conservation, education and stewardship of this beautiful county we live in.
We believe problems should be identified and solved, not dressed with over regulation for the many, and different rules for the powerful few.
Think about the sense of allowing tractors, sprays, and big agriculture within existing 35-foot setbacks of the river, while denying a home gardener the right to dig a new garden bed or plant new trees within new 150-foot setbacks from the top of the bank of his creek or winter ditch.
We all want to protect our rivers and streams. Although we continually hear from the proponents (who negotiated exemptions to rules they can't live with) that our river is impaired, do your own research. Happily you will discover our creeks and river are one of the richest and most diverse river and stream systems in the United States. Threats to fish aren't current setbacks already in place, but manmade dams and lack of water in the summer, neither problem addressed by the ordinance that will be before you.
Napa County is a success story of accomplished stewardship. Please visit several excellent web sites that list actual data instead of the political propaganda our supervisors and the backroom beneficiaries are feeding you. Channel 28 airs a very informative Q and A about Measure P on Sundays at 7 p.m. and Friday mornings at 11 a.m. all through February. Please watch it and tell your friends.
We aren't property rights activists. We just want to plant another rose, a deck to appreciate our gardens and creeks from, perhaps a few vines, and we just want our civil rights. In March, you will decide. Please be fair. Protect our civil liberties. Vote No on Measure P.
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