League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Santa Barbara County, CA November 6, 2012 Election
	Measure G2012 Agricultural Land Protection Initiative City of Goleta General Plan Amendment - Majority Approval Required Pass: 8943 / 71.19% Yes votes ...... 3620 / 28.81% No votes See Also: Index of all Measures

Arguments For Measure G2012

Arguments Against Measure G2012

Please vote YES on MEASURE G2012 TO PROTECT GOLETA FARMLAND The Goleta Agricultural Land Protection Initiative gives Goleta voters the final say. Development threatens to overtake Goleta's agricultural heritage. Now is the time to give Goleta voters the final say on proposals to rezone our few remaining large agricultural parcels. MEASURE G2012 protects Goleta's agricultural land. Under Measure G2012, zoning changes to Goleta parcels currently designated for agriculture could occur only with voter approval, with limited exceptions, for the next twenty years. MEASURE G2012 upholds the Goleta General Plan. Goleta's General Plan balances protecting agriculture with residential and commercial development now and in the future. The voice of the entire community should be heard before upsetting this balance. MEASURE G2012 gives power to Goleta voters. Today, it takes the votes of only three City Council members to trade Goleta's agricultural future for Orange County-style development. G2012 would give the community the final review of council actions that rezone major agricultural lands. MEASURE G2012 promotes democracy and civic engagement. The public often gets too little notice of important items before a council vote. An election on a rezoning proposal would provide sufficient time to understand the full impacts of rezoning large agricultural parcels on Goleta's services and infrastructure, such as water, public safety, and roads. Please vote YES on MEASURE G2012 to give Goleta voters the final say. Goodland Coalition Committee for Measure G2012 5710 Hollister Avenue #234 Goleta, CA 93117 FPPC ID# 1345172 Rebuttal to Arguments For REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT FOR MEASURE G2012: GOLETA AGRICULTURAL LAND PROTECTION INITIATIVE Simply put, this measure is proposed by a special interest group that wants to control our City govemment. Now is the time to suppmi and protect our city's proven planning processes, not the self-serving Goodland Coalition's agenda. Measure G2012 does nothing to protect Goleta's agricultural land. Instead, it usurps our proven planning process and incentivizes developers to take their projects straight to the voters without environmental review and city govemment oversight. Measure G2012 undermines the Goleta General Plan. Goleta's General Plan, crafted after many years of community consultation and dialogue, fiercely protects agricultural lands. Bypassing it and allowing voters to "ballot box plan" fam1lands is divisive to Goletans. Measure G2012 takes power away from our elected officials. The responsible thing is to maintain our public process of decision-making through our City Council -those very people we have elected and have served us well over the past decade. Measure G2012 stifles democracy and civic engagement. The public often gets bamboozled by well-funded political campaigns promising one thing but in reality giving another. Developers AND special interest groups like the Goodland Coalition constantly use their deep pockets to attempt to persuade us to do something that is not in our community's best interest. While this initiative will not protect farms, it will limit parks and recreational opportunities and hinder Goleta's thoughtful and effective planning process. Our community deserves better than to support a special interest group's plan. Vote NO on MEASURE G2012. The undersigned authors of the rebuttal to argument for Ballot Measure G2012 for the General Election, City of Goleta to be held on November 6, 2012, hereby state that such argument is true and conect to the best of their knowledge and belief. Eric Onnen, Former Goleta Mayor and Business Owner Hallie Avoho, Goleta Parent and Volunteer Lisa Daniels, Goleta Parent and Volunteer

ARGUMENT AGAINST MEASURE G2012: GOLETA AGRICULTURAL LAND PROTECTION INITIATIVE Ten years ago Goleta became a city. One ofthe motivating factors was to achieve self govemance and enhance Goleta's unique conmmnity character. Since cityhood, we have been able to create a city that we can be proud of. Our elected officials and staff have represented us well. Now, the good governance that has benefited each and every Goleta resident is threatened by Measure G2012. According to the City's own impmiial analysis: Measure G2012 complicates our City Council's authority to make complex decisions that benefit us all; Measure G2012 may eliminate open space and recreation opportunities; Measure G2012 limits the City's ability to seek new funding for roads, parks, libraries and public safety; Measure G2012 will cost the City of Goleta millions of dollars in lost revenues; Measure G2012 incentivizes developers to circumvent our City's planning process and obtain approval for their projects without oversight or environmental review; Measure G2012 will potentially cost the City and taxpayers millions in litigation; Measure G2012 actually does nothing to help farmers or protect agricultural operations. This initiative is nothing more than a special interest power grab by a few who seek to undermine the authority we the people have vested in our City Leaders. They want to hijack the city's proven process and take power away fi*om YOUR City Council ... all for their single-minded agenda. As concemed citizens of Goleta, we believe Measure G2012 is bad govemment and has too many unintended consequences. We believe voting for Measure G2012 will cost our City millions of dollars, threaten future parks and recreation oppmiunities, and negatively impact the way in which the city is able to govem. The costs are too great, the risks are very real. Please join us in voting No on Measure G2012. Rebuttal to Arguments Against Rebuttal to the Argument against Measure G2012 The claims contained in the argument against Measure G2012 are too exaggerated and misleading to be taken seriously. The integrity and intelligence of G2012's earliest endorsers is sufficient proof that G2012 is right for Goleta. The majority of current Goleta council members have endorsed G2012, including Margaret Connell, Ed Easton and Paula Perotte. Similarly, the majority of Goleta planning commissioners have endorsed G2012, including Bill Shelor, Julie Solomon, Jonny Wallis and Meg West. And over 2,100 Goleta voters signed petitions to successfully place Goleta agriculture protection on this ballot. It's simple: G2012 gives Goleta voters the final say on rezoning changes for Goleta's major agricultural parcels. The fact that the argument against G2012 was signed by the Goleta Chamber of Commerce is revealing. The Goleta Chamber was virtually the only supporter for rezoning Bishop Ranch for development, unanimously rejected by the City Council in September 2011. G2012 remains necessary because rezoning agriculture requires only 3 votes at any council meeting. Our current council has protected agriculture, but who knows how the majority will change in the 10 elections over the next 20 years? The sole interest of G2012 proponents and community supporters is to give Goleta voters the power necessary to ensure that Goleta's agricultural protections are not easily eroded. More details about G2012 can be found at http://www.goletaheritagefarmland.org. The impacts of rezoning agriculture currently protected in our General Plan are potentially so great, Goleta voters must have the fmal say. Please vote YES on G2012. The undersigned authors of the rebuttal to the argument against Ballot Measure G2012 at the general election for the City of Goleta on November 6, 2012, hereby state that such rebuttal is true and correct to the best of their knowledge and belief. Goodland Coalition Committee for Measure G2012 Robert Wignot Arliene Shelor Gary Vandeman Barbara Massey Cynthia Brock