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Hi Sandra --
Planning Commission: Deja vu happens Tuesday at the Planning Commission (PC), 6PM, Vintage Hall, when irate neighbors will have another go at the spec developers on Pine St. It seems the PC rejected the project, then the applicant filed suit based on lack of a quorum (Monnette phoned in but there were not enough PC bodies within the jurisdiction for a quorum), so the project is back. Tip: Bamboo Jungle, Cotati, you get 60' of a 20' tall green wall for $3,000, installed, ask for Andy.
General Plan: After my Public Forum request for an update, Mr. Carniglia, City planner, gave a lengthy review of the 10 years. He finished by telling the Council and Public that we now enter a new EIR stage, saying that $150,000 would be needed to fund a consultant. He advised that more public hearings would begin again in late summer (during vacations). Therefore the Public is still on it's own for most of this year also because even though the Final EIR on the General Plan is done, it was not 'certified' by the City Council. It's just amazing that with all the wiggle room the Council and its Counsel has been able to find since 2010 for not adopting a General Plan, it now cannot find any to move the process along. It's been a Ph.D. in Public Obstruction -- maybe time for three! Question: Is it time to take advantage of the new CA Initiative Law (Jan., 2015) in which we need only 25% of 350 signatures to force public hearings about a problem?
Davies: Those asking for a judge's ruling on the legality of the Council's decision to approve the Davies project submitted a Public Records Request to the City for the related emails, which are public records, between the applicant and the City for 2012, 2013 & 2014, legally due within 10 days. They received only 2014, months later. Sign Time for us all?
Social Gap: The Wine Symposium in Sac. last week stressed the emergence of two markets, high-end and low-end, with little in-between, termed an "imbalance". Strangely, it's not unlike the fashion industry, my home turf -- see comparison. It is not an industry specific gap; it's a social gap mirroring the income gap in US society and exemplified by our 'wealthy plan' for tourism. Maybe wine will be more successful at avoiding the 'tragedy of the commons' but maybe not.
Sandy
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