Restoring the Economy

By Wendy A. Roberts

I've heard repeatedly of the need to streamline existing permit processes to support new and expanding small businesses. We must not continue to hold proposed development and jobs hostage to outdated county planning documents. Completing long-overdue updates will ensure that appropriate development can proceed through public channels without undue delays. Outdated plans and implementation codes include the Ukiah Valley Area Plan, Local Coastal Plan, Mendocino Town Plan and Gualala Town Plan. Implementation codes remain incomplete for the updated County General Plan. This situation must be corrected to create a positive environment for job growth as the state's economy recovers.

Among the lessons learned from Measure A is that voters want sound information about the social and economic, as well as environmental impacts of proposed large scale retail development. As supervisor, I will encourage adoption of a policy calling for a full Fiscal and Community Impact Study of any such project to clearly document the number and quality of jobs it will provide, salary and benefit levels, and the impact on nearby schools, parks, housing and medical services. I will also work for development of a tax sharing agreement between the County and the City of Ukiah to ensure that any tax benefits from future development are shared among all those affected. A tax sharing agreement is also needed to prevent developers from using potential revenue as a bargaining chip when pursuing projects with either the Mendocino County or the City of Ukiah.

As economic recovery takes hold, most job growth will come from expansion of small to mid-sized businesses that already exist in our rural communities. Promising sectors include: development of alternative energy resources and retrofitting of existing buildings to meet high standards of energy and water conservation; forest restoration activities and sustainable production of forest products; localized food production, including organically raised and locally processed crops, fish, meat and dairy products; an increasingly environmentally-sensitive wine industry; enhancement of tourism to include more activities focused on the arts, personal health, restoration science and technology and eco-tourism.