Figuring out how to vote
General Plan forum: 'I don't think the facts are being presented fairly by either side'

Monterey County Herald
Posted on May 15, 2007

By JIM JOHNSON
Herald Salinas Bureau

Dave Korpi drove from Salinas to Monterey on Monday for a forum on the county general plan, hoping to get as much information about the competing measures on the June 5 ballot as he could before casting his vote. But even after listening to panelists from the League of Women Voters and the County Planning Department describe the citizen-written general plan initiative and the supervisor-approved general plan update, and a smattering of questions from some of the approximately 70 people in the audience at City Hall, Korpi was still a little confused.

He said he just wanted to hear a little honesty from both sides on the issue after wading through the barrage of information from ballot arguments and impartial analysis to the competing campaigns.

"I'd have a lot more respect for both sides," Korpi said. "I don't think the facts are being presented fairly by either side."

Korpi, who said he's undecided which way he'll vote but is leaning toward going with "what the supervisors decided," is likely not alone in his sentiments, especially among the several dozen who showed up to listen to Monday's forum.

The panelists began the forum by discussing how the update, known as GPU4, and the initiative, known as GPI, address the basic issues of how the county will develop over the next quarter century. They covered everything from where and how growth would occur, how much housing would be allowed and how much traffic could result, to the impact on the area's water supply, environmental resources, and its agricultural industry.
During the initial question-and-answer period, the audience was given the chance to query the panelists on a variety of questions about both plans. Most seemed designed to make a point for or against the competing plans.

Asked how GPU4 would prevent sprawl, which GPI backers said the update would actually create, county planner Alana Knaster said the supervisor-backed plan would restrict growth to several community areas and rural centers, and would require mitigation for development outside those areas.

Asked if updating the county's Housing Element every five years would require a countywide vote, which GPU4 supporters insist would occur, League of Women Voters representative Mary Ellen Dick said a vote would not likely be needed unless the state-assigned housing requirements for the county were to take a significant leap above current projections.

Other questions included whether it was harder for the county to provide emergency services, such as police and ambulance, under GPU4 than under GPI because of the additional growth areas; and, whether the California Environmental Quality Act is adequate to ensure responsible development.

Pacific Grove's Patty Doran said she found most of the questions convoluted and many of the answers too esoteric to be of much use. She said that although she already has her "mind fairly made up," she called the forum "informative."

"I realize you have to have growth," Doran said. "But I hate to see all this building everywhere. Water's my main concern."

Another Salinas resident, Tom Tessier, also drove over for the forum. He said he believes the election is really about "the property rights people trying to dominate."

"I believe in one man, one vote," he said. "I realize that's inconvenient for some people but that's what I believe in."


Jim Johnson can be reached at 753-6753 or jjohnson@montereyherald.com.

If you go:
·What: Measure A public forum
·When: 7 p.m. Thursday
·Where: Salinas Community Center
·Sponsored by: Association of Environmental Professionals