Following posting is from No More Gasoline group fighting the introduction of large, mega gas stations / chains / marts in rural Sonoma County.
I have lived all over the United States and I have seen the patterns of suburban sprawl. It starts with a single chain store or gas station and when they get established they multiply like rats. Then come the cookie cutter strip malls, mini marts CVS, Walgreens, Target, McDonalds, Taco Bell… Then Costco. You have to fight to keep them out. If you let your guard down, they get in and once you have an infestation, you can’t get rid of it.
Don’t let your guard down, protect and preserve what you have and what is good and unique and special about the place you live – rural Sonoma County – for your children and theirs. Don’t leave it to the boards and councils and Supervisors, that’s like letting the foxes run the hen house. Those forces are mostly corrupt and paid for by interests that don’t share your values – Editor
Please follow No More Gasoline them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NoMoreGasoline/
Below are some important dates in September to get on your calendar, a note on what we need at this time, and a few updates on where things are at with the proposal for a gas station, mini-mart, carwash, and RV storage yard at 5300 Sebastopol Road…
Here’s what we need…
Letters-to-the-Editor – Press Democrat
Send in a letter to the Press Democrat! Email: letters@pressdemocrat.com See attached “LTE Help” sheet for details. Let’s get a buzz going!
For your
email/letter, please customize and individualize it as much as possible.
Include only the talking points that resonate most for you, or better yet, come
up with your own points! But remember to keep it below 200 words!
Letters from organizations: We now have
over 10 letters in the case file from
Sonoma County-based organizations. If you are a member
of a Sonoma County-based organization, see if they can send a letter if they
haven’t already.
Letters/emails from individuals to the County
decision-makers. Keep them coming, they re being noticed! If you have not yet
written a personal letter, please do. Use the attached handout if you need a
few talking points. It also has the info on where to send your email/letter.
The main staff person is Daniel Hoffman dhoffman@migcom.com If you send to him, he is required to
include it in the file where it is seen by all the decision-makers.
Posting Fliers: We need people who would like
to have some fun going around town (Sebastopol? Santa Rosa? Somewhere in
between?) posting fliers at places where you can post fliers (community
centers, markets, cafés, etc.). The flier/flyer (whatever) is attached! Go for
it! ☺
Petitions: We currently have
about 400 petition
signatures. The more the better so if you can help gather signatures and
need blank petitions, a blank is attached to this message.
Facebook Page: Please “like” it, share it, add to it! https://www.facebook.com/NoMoreGasoline/
Calendar:
September 8, 1pm to 7pm, Sonoma Mountain Village- Daily Acts Climate Action Concert. We will be sharing an info table with the No Gas Here! folks from Petaluma. We will be gathering petition signatures. If you would like to help at the table, please let me know.
September 20, Noon to 2pm, Courthouse Square, Santa Rosa – Solidarity with the Youth Climate Strike. We will have an info/petition table. Let me know if you can help.
October 10, 6:30pm – This is a proposed date for a first meeting of our group. Any reason why this is not a good day?
As a reminder, the next step for the proposal is a decision by the County’s Board of Zoning Adjustments (BZA) to approve or deny a use permit. BZA meetings are generally on 2nd and 4th Thursdays at 1pm. However, the meeting will also include a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) hearing for which there is a 30 day public review process, and as we have not yet received the requisite 30 days’ notice, we’re assuming the meeting will not come up during September.
For more info see the Board of Zoning Adjustments website: https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/Board-of-Zoning-Adjustments/
OK, that is all for today! Chime in if you have any relevant news, updates, or ideas! Email: no-gas@googlegroups.com
Cheers,
-Woody (and Jenny)