HomeMy WebLinkAbout4/18/2017 Item 1, Lopes
Gardner, Erica
From: James Lopes \[ ]
Sent: Monday, April 17, 2017 10:56 PM
To: E-mail Council Website <emailcouncil@slocity.org>; Pease, Andy <apease@slocity.org>; Gomez, Aaron
<agomez@slocity.org>; Harmon, Heidi <hharmon@slocity.org>; Rivoire, Dan <DRivoire@slocity.org>; Johnson, Derek
<djohnson@slocity.org>
Subject: City Council hearing on Appeal Fees - April 18, 4 pm
Dear Mayor Harmon and Council Members:
I support keeping the appeal fees as currently approved, so that City government can continue to
provide progressive, middle-of-the-road service for residents.
I agree with others that appeals are a basic American right, which must be carefully
maintained. Your duty is to uphold the laws of the nation and the state. Information has been
provided, for instance, that a city as insanely rich as Palo Alto charges residents just over $100 for
an appeal. The understanding is that the City provides a service to enable residents to file a petition
for relief from a previous decision. This information shows that the prevailing practice is to guard
the public's right to petition through an appeal.
Your consultant and staff have a different approach, to "charge what the traffic will bear," and
weigh on the public's wallets to keep the City solvent. I think that a corporate or "business-state"
kind of government is not desirable here. A city which has good engineers and number -crunchers
is fine, but to make City finances reach down to the level of aggrieved residents to gain some
dollars is not desirable. Please continue the already excessive fees, or lower them, rather than raise
them.
Sincerely,
James Lopes
--
James Lopes
San Luis Obispo, CA
1