Candidate for
Member, City Council; City of Rolling Hills Estates

CLARK'S VISION FOR ROLLING HILLS ESTATES

First and foremost in my opinion, the City needs to be more open to the public.

COMMUNICATION Video-taping all committee and commission meetings should be done by the city. In lieu of just reading minutes developed by Staff which only reflects their point of view

The current City website could easily store videos of all meetings, including Council meetings for residents to access as their time permits. Then the public could watch "On Demand" videos of anything of interest to them.

Currently, people primarily access information by reading minutes of meetings that are written by staff members. The information can very easily be misconstrued to residents, or even City Council members, if the staff person writing the minutes misinterprets the information. Or, if that staff person has been influenced by their Bias for or against an item. Conscious or subconscious Bias, or incorrect recollection of the words spoken in these meetings will never be as accurate as a video.

An example: I spoke to Council recently on a variety of topics for 10-15 minutes. In the Staff minutes of that meeting, there is one paragraph of my comments. Obviously, it is impossible to explain the essence of opinions presented in such a short paragraph.

The lack of clear communication of meetings has been a contention of mine for some time. If there is a video library in place, it would eliminate any miscommunications by staff. Any game playing or manipulation of pertinent information would be eliminated altogether. In an age of technology, when we can easily and without excessive cost, develop a Video Library, this needs to be done. If we can store information on our cell phones, plus photos, texts etc, a library of this nature should be a very easy to create. The City must enter the new age of communications and have all meetings stored for a minimum of 4 years, then a copy stored for lasting records. This information could also be used in court, if required, to prove or disprove legal disputes.

Today, if someone is lucky enough to view a televised City council meeting , or one of the Cox Cable replays before they are deleted, the information is very clear. After Deletion, all information falls into the memory category.

TERM LIMITS In an age when many government entities have term limits, Rolling Hills Estates has none. Basically, this almost guarantees that the City is run by a very small number of people. If you are not a sitting Council member, or someone selected to run by Council members, no one else has any likelihood of breaking into this "Closed Society of RHE insiders": This is proven by merely studying the facts. Only one Council member has been elected in a regular election the past 20 years, who was not already affiliated with the established powers inside RHE City Hall. The record, on a percentage basis, is worse than Congress, where members act as though they are elected for life.

PRESERVING THE RURAL ATMOSPHERE OF RHE The most important issue of all is my concern of over development in Rolling Hills Estates. I have addressed the Housing Element on several occasions with the current City Council, and Planning Commission. It baffles me why our current Council has accepted and approved higher units per acre than the State has mandated for our city, to build Senior Housing, and Transitional housing. Similar cities have had their numbers reduced and accepted by the State due to their higher land values. The RHE City Council has increased our numbers. Instead of preserving and protecting our Rural atmosphere, it is clear the council supports developments and developers. If I am elected I would work to revise the Housing Element submittal before the State Certifies the increased number. Once it is certified the City MUST adhere to that law for period of eight years. If a project deems worthy the Council can increase the numbers anytime they want, however, if the housing Element is certified by the State, no matter how inappropriate a project may be for the City, no Council member can refuse to approve a development that adheres to the State Housing Compliance Laws. Why lock ourselves into a higher number when it is unnecessary, and promotes over development of RHE?

Thank you Clark S. Davis http://www.clarkdavis4RHEcitycouncil.com