HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-02-2015 PH3 Vujovich-LaBarreLomeli, Monique
Subject: FW: Building Moratorium Plea
COUNCIL MEETING:
ITEM NO.:
From: Mila Vujovich- LaBarre [mailto:milavu(a)hotmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, June 02, 2015 4:44 PM
To: Mejia, Anthony; Marx, Jan; Carpenter, Dan; Christianson, Carlyn; Ashbaugh, John; Rivoire, Dan
Subject: Building Moratorium Plea
June 2, 2015 - ECE1 VE17 I
SUN 02 2015
Mayor Marx and Members of the San Luis Obispo City Council SLO CITY (7 .
990 Palm Street
San Luis Obispo, California 93405
Dear Mayor Marx and San Luis Obispo City Council Members,
The recent Community Water Forum on May 28, 2015 at the Ludwick Community
Center was a lovely event. I extend kudos to City staff that helped to facilitate the
evening.
My only frustration of the evening was that audience members at the Community
Water Forum were encouraged to submit cards with questions to be answered by
City staff.
My question was "Given the drought and our local declining water supply, at what
point in time is it consider responsible and appropriate to declare a building
moratorium ?"
Although my card was one of the first submitted, the question was not addressed.
So I would like to have that question answered.
Although I understand the need for "work force housing," it seems that all new
building should be put on hold until Mother Nature decides to end the drought.
I feel that you as City Council members have the responsibility to take care of the
needs of current residents, not have your head turned by development dollars.
Residents are being asked to conserve and may face mandatory rationing and fines.
Most residents are willing to do so but I feel that it is your responsibility now to halt
both residential and commercial construction given the depleted water supply.
Many scientific journals make a case for this drought being "the new normal" due
to global warning. That research fuels my desire for a building moratorium.
Although members of our Planning Department may present themselves as having
all of the answers to this current dilemma, I am not confident that they do. I said
months ago that there needed to be a "Plan B" in the Land Use Circulation Element
(LUCE) document in the event that this epic drought and the effects of "climate
change" continue.
To my knowledge that section in the LUCE document was never enhanced or
corrected.
The other point of concern was that when Derek Johnson of the Planning
Dennrtment cnnke he irnctified the need fnr rnntinned hrnilrlino, and workforce
housing so that people would not be driving so much from neighborhoods
throughout the County to work here in San Luis Obispo.
The scientific studies that I have read state that the emissions that have already
happened have contributed to global warming to such a degree that the elimination
of these few thousand car trips here in beautiful San Luis Obispo is not going to
affect global warming and the epic drought significantly.
Most of us are aware that this last year the Sierra snow pack all but vanished and
that climate change is playing an important role in the ongoing drought.
The Sierra snow pack is California's biggest reservoir and traditionally it has
carried the state through the summer dry season. Until that snow pack returns, I
sincerely believe that it is most responsible to have a building moratorium for
residential and commercial construction here in San Luis Obispo.
In the words of President Obama's Energy Advisor John Holdren:
Climate change "is happening faster than we thought, not more slowly" and "that
means that we have less time than we thought to respond to it."
2
It is my hope that everyone on the Council and in the ranks of City government is
able to work collaboratively with the public and each other to keep our current
residents with a healthy water supply for as long as possible.
While I have always thought of myself as a `smart growth" advocate, since it is
estimated that there is not enough water for our current residents beyond the year
2020 — "smart growth" is now "no growth" until this epic drought ends.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Mila Vujovich -La Barre
San Luis Obispo, California 93405
3