Saint Helena Residents For Responsible Growth Newsletter

Shur Frog Mission:

1. Help educate residents on issues relating to our towns growth management

2. Increase civic involvement in our community politics and planning

3. Provide a vehicle for residents to provide input to our city leaders on planning and growth issues

Upcoming Events

1. City Council Town Hall meeting - Sunday 4/1/12 from 5-7pm at the Carnegie Bldg. at Oak and Adams. This will be a casual opportunity to discuss topics with our City Council in a fun (wine and cheese) interactive format. No standing at the witness box with a 3 minute buzzer, this will be a true "family room chat" environment. If few people attend, it will likely not continue. The more Shur Frogs that can attend the greater input we will have, and the better chance at continuing this unique opportunity to voice our concerns. I will be there.

2. Next Shur Frog meeting - Monday April 23rd at the home of Tim Nieman, 1390 Grove Court, off Hunt. Social from 5pm to 5:30, meeting until 7pm. Please come and share your thoughts. If you would like to volunteer to host a group meeting, please let me know. They are generally held on the third Monday of every month.

3. Next City Council meeting - Tuesday 4/3 at Vintage Hall, next to the High School. We need Shur Frog attendance at every meeting. Check the City web page for agenda.

Hot Topics

Hunter development (87 homes on the open space behind Hunt with views of Mt. Saint Helena) - Many people use this beautiful open space to walk and enjoy the expansive views. Turning this property into a sprawling suburb is wrong for more reasons that space allows. This development will involve new road extensions through neighborhoods, paving over open space and will likely doom the city owned Adams property to a similar fate. There will also be a direct liability for every property owner for damage to these proposed homes due to inevitable levee failure and flooding. We have been fighting this threat on numerous fronts, and we are down to our final line of defense, contesting and influencing the Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Two recent developments were thwarted (Angwin, Spring Mountain) because concerned residents engaged experienced, environmentally concerned legal counsel to contest the EIR.

Our group is hoping to engage the attorney that successfully defeated one of the aforementioned projects. This will cost money. Failure to stop this development will cost many people money in the terms of lower property values. It will cost our entire community the liability of flood damage to homes within the levee surrounding this development (you and I are liable, not the State or federal government.) It will cost us our most precious resource, open space and view sheds. Many of you have told me that you appreciate what our group has accomplished and would like to support our cause. This is by far the most important way you can do that and protect your investment in this community. Even the best intended attorneys are not cheap. We have negotiated a 50% reduction in legal hourly rates due to the environmentally sensitive nature of this threat. If you can help see the section below "fund raising " for more information.

2012 Elections - This November we will be electing a new Mayor and two new council members. This will be a key event that will shape the policies for the next two years. Our group is actively strategizing on how to promote like-minded citizens to represent our City. Please show up at our meetings to learn more and provide input. We plan to actively promote "Responsible Growth " candidates. That also will require funds for signs, flyers, etc. (see fund raising). This newsletter will provide more details.

Membership - We need to increase our membership and readership. Please forward this to friends and neighbors and send me the e-mail addresses of folks who want to receive this newsletter. Our group had a major influence in the last election and city policy. Strength in numbers is our best weapon against irresponsible growth. Please help grow our readership and reach.

Fundraising - We have established a bank account for "Saint Helena Residents for Responsible Growth". We are accepting donations. Check can be mailed to 451 Pope Street St. Helena, CA 94574. We will commit to keeping track on exactly who contributes what, and what moneys are spent. We will provide updates at our monthly group meetings. Please help out. The more of that contribute, the less the burden that falls on some of us. Anyone that contributes can have a say in how our money is spent. There will be full accountability. Donations are not tax deductible.

Volunteers - We are in need of residents to help with canvassing, collateral (flyers, ads, etc. ) design, meeting hosting and more. Again the more of us that pitch in, the more the load is shared.

Contact us - Feel free to contact me directly at chuck@com-strat.com, or via our web site at www.shrfrg.com That site will direct you to our Facebook page.

 

MAIL-IN SURVEY TO GATHER PUBLIC INPUT FOR THE ST HELENA GENERAL PLAN

 

General Background:

The St Helena General Plan Draft (GP) is in the midst of public review.  Residents who attended GP meetings for the past 8 months were alarmed, and voiced concern over the aggressive growth tone of the newly proposed GP, resulting in 2 Town Hall meetings and a Public Survey. 

 

Mail-in Survey:

The Public Survey will be sent next week and will allow only one week turn-around time.  If you are concerned about St Helena’s future, please fill it out and return it in time.  Shur Frogs have worked diligently reading the General Plan draft and researching background data, and have proposed many suggestions which have largely been un-used in any way.  So, we encourage you to read this information below and consider the responses we are endorsing for this survey – we are concerned that the survey questions are confusing, and seem skewed.  Examples:

• Question #17 uses the phrase “could help relieve congestion on hwy 29”, but other road extensions rated higher by the traffic experts do not include that phrase.
• Question #12 doesn’t mention traffic will be diverted from Hwy 29 through quiet neighborhood streets
• Questions #15 & #16 confuses the 3 simple choices: Do you want a connection from Mitchell to Grayson for:  a) pedestrians & bikes only  b) autos, pedestrians & bikes c) no new connection.  This auto extension would connect the all the schools and churches keeping those cars off Hwy 29 or from cutting through residential streets

 

Town Hall Meetings:

During the April Town Hall on Circulation, residents were presented info and discussed the new road proposals, voting NO on every single one, except the Oak extension that keeps school traffic off Hwy 29.  Residents showed they know road extensions mean more development, and more tourist cut-through traffic through neighborhood streets.

 

Then, in the May Town Hall, the info presented appeared skewed with less time allowed for discussion.  For example, the audience was asked to guess the percentage of city water used by wineries - the answer was wineries use only 14%.  However, that does not include any water drawn from winery wells using our mutual groundwater for irrigation and industrial uses.  Even more disappointing, clarification was requested, but no response was given by the Public Works Director, 2 Council Members and 2 Planning Commissioners who could have provided it.  Residents deserve real data to determine if risking wine industry and existing residential needs by adding a large number of water users to an already strained supply is right for St Helena. 

 

Every question on development and growth was focused only on affordable housing, and not on housing in general.  The focus should be on the impact of any new housing on water, sewer and classroom capacity, increased traffic and demand on services, etc. which occurs whether it’s a new market-rate, affordable or subsidized unit.  Planning must be based on data. Then, once we understand the physical impact, we can, and should, discuss housing types and kind of growth. 

 

Comments were made about the large number of non-residents who to drive to work in St Helena each day and therefore must need housing – but no mention was made of the also significant number of St Helena residents who already live here and choose to work out of town.  People often choose to live in cities other than where they work, yet this GP proposes housing sites for thousands of additional non-residents, assuming they want and need to move to St Helena.

 

The audience was asked if the Adams St open space is a good place for housing, but made no mention that Adams St would have to be extended – even though the Adams extension was strongly voted down in the April Town Hall.  The absence of very pertinent information can be misleading.

 

Bottom line: this GP will change the way St Helena grows by encouraging and rewarding higher density growth, more roads through neighborhoods and vineyards, smaller setbacks, more water restrictions and less parks and open space.  Our GP should protect St Helena from over-development, not become a workbook for how developers can rapidly build it out in a style that does not fit our rural, charming town.

 

Please consider reviewing our endorsed positions on the Survey questions below before completing your survey. 

You can also visit our website  www.Shrfrg.com , email us at  info@shrfrg.com , or share your opinion on the Shur Frog Face Book page. 

 

Thank you from your community members, neighbors and friends-

SHuR FRoGs (St Helena Residents For Responsible Growth)

Endorsed answers to specific Survey Questions of concern:

 

#12 – NO

#13 – NO

#14 – NO new roadway extension is needed

#15 – NO

#16 – YES, FOR BICYLE, PEDESTRIAN and AUTO USE

#17 – NO new roadway extension is needed

#18 – Significant (Watering of landscapes and food gardens 3 days per week only on certain days, no car washing, sprinklers for kids, etc. – these may change and become more restrictive)

#19 – Significant (Why it is not explained what Phase III restrictions will be?)

 

#22 – YES, WITH QUALIFICATIONS

            QUALIFICATIONS – Protect and respect setbacks, views, privacy and infringement on neighbors

 

#23 - YES

 

#24 – YES, WITH QUALIFICATIONS

            QUALIFICATIONS – Protect and respect setbacks, views, privacy and infringement on neighbors

 

#25 – Allow housing to be mixed with commercial uses at vacant or underutilized locations downtown

                

#26 – Agriculture

          Perhaps SOME community facilities (such as Library, Community Ctr, History Ctr)

 

 

Thank you for considering the endorsed responses – we feel these questions warrant the most attention due to the significant impact they will have on our City’s future.

 

We also encourage you to write in at the bottom – let your City government know how you feel.  It’s your community and future lifestyle being decided - your opinion matters!

 

Who We Are and What We Care About

SHUR FROG is a group of St Helena residents that are dedicated to protecting the unique small town character, breathtaking open spaces and rural nature of our little City.  We believe in limited-impact development that does not strain our already deficient water and waste capacity, add congestion and traffic, turn quiet country streets into over-crowded parking areas for 2 and 3 story 100 unit housing complexes, and encourage the large-scale shopping areas that always follow rapid residential growth. SHUR FROG’s position is that once it is paved over, it is lost forever – it can never be “un-built” and restored to its original beauty.

 

 

 

SHUR FROG’s major concerns with the new proposed General Plan:

 

1 – There is too much aggressive language and incentives promoting high density development in the new General Plan.  None of this language is necessary to meet any of the State requirements.  The State requires St Helena to identify 55 additional sites for housing opportunities by 2014, and our new General Plan identifies almost 1000 – why is the GP so focused on high density and rapid development when the Bay Area Housing Group (ABAG) has projected St Helena to grow by only 100 people in 20 years?

 

2 – There are unnecessary road extensions in the General Plan designed to promote development and assist developers to build out St Helena under the guise of “traffic reduction”.  While most residents would like to see less traffic in St Helena, most would not like to see their neighborhoods become racetracks for cars skirting around Highway 29 congestion. Tourists in a hurry, wine tasters and locals cutting through quiet neighborhood streets to save a few minutes is neither safe nor appropriate – this is a slow-paced town, and while we would all like to save 3 or 4 minutes, SHUR FROG is not willing to sacrifice the safety and peace of our neighborhoods, residents and children.  Roads should not be in the General Plan until the need arises and they can be reviewed at that time.  The focus should be on walking, biking and public commuting options.

 

3 – The General Plan does not allow for sufficient parkland for St Helena.  The National Parks and Recreation Association sets a standard of 6 - 10 acres of parkland needed per 1000 residents, but says 10 acres is the best.  St Helena presently has 3-4 acres, and has set a goal for 6 acres.  Napa set 12 acres and Calistoga set 14 acres per 1000 residents.  Why is St Helena so deficient in parkland and why isn’t the goal 10 acres as recommended?  SHUR FROG doesn’t understand why more high density housing and minimal parkland is a good 20 year Plan for our residents?

 

4 – The Community Design of St Helena should remain quaint, rural and small town.  There is too much focus in the new General Plan for the Community Design becoming compact with smaller setbacks, higher building, fewer yards and tiny lot sizes.  St Helena is not American Canyon, Sunnyvale, Concord, Santa Rosa or Emeryville.  We have no access to train stations, shopping facilities and amenities such as malls, movie theatres, bowling alleys, etc. that support the large-scale, residential growth patterns seen in many of the larger cities in California.  We have a volunteer fire department, a tiny police force and limited schools.  The reason St Helena is so uniquely safe, charming and friendly is because it IS so small – SHUR FROG asks what adding hundreds of people, high density rentals and hundreds of cars will do to the safety, quiet and natural beauty of this tiny City.  This isn’t about any hidden political or philosophical positioning – it’s purely about keeping one of the last special towns in Northern California special – we love St Helena because of what it is, and we are proud to try to protect it for future generations – it’s that simple.

                                                                                                              

 

 

What YOU can do to help:  If you share our concerns about the direction of the proposed new St Helena General Plan, PLEASE get involved in some way now before it’s too late.  Every single person’s efforts matter.  Here’s a few things you can choose to do:

 

• Send your opinions to the City!  Simply go to http://www.sthelena2030.com/docManager/1000000234/preliminary_draft_comment_card.pdf  and fill out the Comment Card provided to make sure the City Staff and Consultants know what St Helena residents want in our General Plan
• Attend the upcoming Town Hall meetings on April 10 and May 8 and show your support for your vision of St Helena’s future
• Talk to your friends and neighbors – many people aren’t aware of what is going on – spread the word in conversations around town and help build the effort to protect St Helena from over-development
• Make a donation – SHUR FROG is placing ads in the Star to educate folks, conducting meetings to open up discussion about the General Plan, providing buttons to show support, etc.  Every dollar matters – no donation is too small to help keep up awareness.
• Register to vote – and make sure your neighbors and friends who have second homes here know the issues and consider registering to vote in St Helena if they want to have a say – anyone who owns a home here can legally and easily register for November, then can choose to change their registration back after the November election.  It’s a small town, and a small number of ballots – unlike most voting situations, every vote really counts!  St Helena elections are won and lost by 3 or 4 votes!
• Wear a SHUR FROG button – if you want to protect our unique, tiny St Helena, show it’s a community-wide group effort!

 

 

Greetings everyone,  I will provide an update on several topics:

 

1.       Town Hall Meeting – Saturday, April 10^th, at 9:30am, at the Elementary School on Adams. This will be an interactive session regarding the crucial circulation element on the general plan. This is the most important meeting in our groups short history. Please try to attend and bring as many friends and neighbors as you can. No matter what you believe in, your voice should be heard. The current plan calls for a confidential public voting “stick”, to allow residents to share their feeling and to see what the city as a group wants. Evidently, several council members are trying to de-rail the voting in spite if this item being approved at an earlier meeting. Eric Sklar and Bonnie Schoch are believed behind this change in plans. More on this later.

 

2.       Group Meeting – We are planning our monthly group meeting next Thursday, April 8^th,  at 5:30pm at the Methodist Church on Adams. We will be reviewing critical elements of the GP and formulating our general positions and recommendations.

 

3.       Logo – A few weeks ago, Jessie Duarte of the Star, asked me if we were calling ourselves Shur Frog, extrapolated from our web address SHRFRG.  My answer was, “we are now”. 

4.       Town Hall Voting- As mentioned previously, there is a concern that Eric and Bonnie are moving to eliminating public voting from the Town Hall meeting. They have called a special Council meeting for Wednesday, 3/31/10 at noon at City Hall. This meeting was called on very short notice. We believe the meeting would not be called if Eric and Bonnie did not feel they have a third vote.  Many of us cannot change our schedules and commitments to attend the public meeting, which was perhaps part of the scheduling strategy. We have commitments from 4 or so from our steering committee, but we welcome as many of you as can attend. What are they afraid of? This is exactly the reason our group formed in the first place, a lack of trust that the city wants to listen to its residents. It is as though certain individuals feel that the voices of the residents will conflict with their agenda. We need to speak up against this effort to silence us. Either way, we will have an impact on 4/10 and 5/13. We will vote with our voices and our applause.

 

5.       Group funds – Thanks to more generous donations, we have around $2,000 in the bank even after the Star ad, cards, buttons, etc. There has been good feedback on the color half page ad in the Star a few weeks ago, many donors are requesting more ads. We have agreed to run to more the Thursday before the two Town Hall meetings. The cost for each ad is $888. The first ad generated a 20% spike in web hits the week following, as well as an increased presence in the community. Even a small contribution from each of us helps us increase the power of our message. Checks can be sent to George David at 451 Pope Street, Saint Helena, CA 94574. Money will only be spent according to the wishes of the group. We review spending options at our group as well as Steering committee meetings. Bank statements will be posted on our web site www.shrfrg.com

 

 

 

6.       Additional group updates will be covered at the group meeting 4/8.

 

After reviewing the General Plan Update Circulation Element section pertaining to street extensions my first question is, why? I was at the public meeting where the consultant tried to tell us that a grid system was better than cul de sacs and dead end streets. The public input was soundly against this idea. What problem are we trying to solve? Most residents know how to navigate around town. Do we really want to funnel traffic through our residential streets where children bike and play to save someone 2 minutes on their drive through town? Do we want to bulldoze the house in the way of the proposed Allison extension? Most every vision statement I read talks about reducing automobile traffic and encouraging walking and biking. Street extensions are counter-intuitive to this. Street extensions also invite high impact development. There should be no street extension in the plan that are not tied to a specific need or project. If a future extension is truly needed it can be addressed on a case by case basis.

Here are some important dates for our group:

 

3/11 – Thursday Residents for Responsible Growth Group Meeting at the Methodist Church at Adams/Oak  5:30 to 7pm

 

3/13 – Saturday 9:30am to 11am – Open House sponsored by the City to review the General Plan and provide feedback- St Helena Primary School, 1701 Grayson Ave.

 

4/10 – Saturday time/venue TBD – Town Hall meeting to review the Circulation Element of the GP, citizens will have the opportunity to vote their positions

 

5/8 - Saturday time/venue TBD – Town Hall meeting to review the Housing Element of the GP, citizens will have the opportunity to vote their positions

 

 

It is critical that we have a large group turnout for these meetings. If you have the opportunity to review the circulation and housing elements you will be better prepared to voice your thoughts and concerns.   http://www.sthelena2030.com/  Even if you cannot do this your attendance and vocal support is essential. Many people have worked very hard to ensure our voices are heard and reflected in the general plan that affects our city for the next 20 years. High impact development and unnecessary street extensions could well occur within our city if we do not make our voices heard.

 

 

Look for our group ad in next week’s St. Helena Star!

 

Please also visit our web site for additional information www.shrfrg.com

 

Thank you all for your support!

What does joining SHRFRG entail? Basically, it means you will be placed on an e-mail distribution list so that we may keep you informed about important issues and public meetings concerning the future of St. Helena. YOUR NAME WILL NEVER BE PUBLISHED IN A LIST NOR WILL YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS BE GIVEN TO ANYONE ELSE. You may request to be removed from our e-mail distribution list at any time. Any contributions to our organization will also be kept confidential. What we are striving to create is significant bloc of like minded voting residents who share our vision of responsible growth and limited impact development. By organizing together we can assure that the voices of residents are heard and respected by elected officials, City staff, and outside consultants

Town Hall Meetings for General Plan

 

The Council has approved three town Hall meetings, to solicit public input. For  at least one of these meetings, Mayor Del Britton is ordering some hand held voting devices to instantly measure public input. Our group had a major influence in the creation of these meetings. We are still working out the voting details, (limiting to only residents of SH, trying to understand and help frame the voting questions, etc.). Please mark your calendars. If there was ever a time to turn out in force, this is it. A weak showing will strengthen the pro-high impact development set and undermine the credibility of our organization.  We all have been working hard to build our group, sharpen our message and reach out to community leaders, and we are now viewed as a potent voting bloc. Stay tuned for more information on these events. Our plan is to have group volunteers each study a specific element (there are 9) of the GP, and provide a report and recommendations to the group at large. You can review the element drafts at the city web site. The first meeting is more of informational meeting where the plan will be presented, and we may be able to ask some questions. The second two meetings will be Town Hall meetings to hear comments and presumably vote on issues.

 

We need volunteers to study various GP elements and report to the group major questions and concerns. This feedback will evolve into specific questions that will be voted on at the town hall meetings. The deadline for the review and reports from our volunteers is 3/15,. You volunteer on the facebook link or e-mail me.   So far we have volunteers for the following areas:

 

Circulation

Parks & Recs

Land Use and Growth Management

 

 

We need volunteers for the following elements:

 

Community Design

Housing

Public Services and Infrastructure.

 

 

The more people we have familiar with various elements, the more effective we will be raising questions. We will post our questions and concerns on the web site, so even if you are not involved in researching an element, you will be able to speak up at the Town Hall meetings. These are the only elements we deem necessary to research at this time. We also can still use help with the elements that are under review.

 

First Town Hall   3-13 This will coincide with the release of the draft GP

 

Second TH           4-10  

 

Third TH               5-8

 

GPUC Mtg. to review TH comments        5-12 and 5-19

 

Revised GP Draft              Mid-late July

 

Public Hearings -  City Counsel    August

 

Adoption – To be determined

 

 

Web Site

 

Most of you are aware of our web site www.shrfrg.com  There are also important links to information on this site. The facebook link allows dialogue amongst our group and only takes a minute or two to set up. This is the best way to share your views and objectives and provide input to our steering committee. Our facebook group is growing and it is good to see the group dialogue

 

 

Fund Raising

 

We are raising money for advertising and ultimately supporting a new and improved slate of council members for the November elections. Checks can be made out to “George David, Trustee” and sent to 451 Pope Street, Saint Helena, CA 94574. The three signatures on the account are George, myself and Wendell Laidley. Two signatures are required for checks to be written and well will receive monthly bank statements. These will be posted monthly on the web. No money will be spent without input from the group and a vote of the 10 member steering committee. After the November elections any extra money in the account will be donated to the Saint Helena Family Center.

 

As of 2/10 we have over $2,800 in the account. Thanks to those folks who made such generous donations. We would like to hear from the group, especially the donors, as to ideas for using the funds. Feel free to post comments on the facebook link or e-mail to me. The ideas for now include placing an ad in the Starr to recruit members to our group. A 1/8 page ad costs $264, ¼ page costs  $528, etc. The steering committee will begin drafting some sample ads, as we would like the ads to run before the first Town Hall meeting. Any ideas or input is very welcome. We will also seek to build a “war chest” to help support our candidates in the November elections.

 

We will be running an ad in the Star in the March 4^th edition. The goal of the ad will be to raise awareness of RRG and recruit members. We are looking for a group logo that will appear on all of our ads and collateral. We envision a picture or drawing of Mt. St. Helena over the mustard laced vineyards, with the letters RRG in the logo. If anyone has any skills in this area please provide any ideas or feel free to submit something.

 

Group Meeting

 

We are looking for volunteers to host the March group meeting. Due to the increasing size of the group, we will also start looking for public venues. We may use a public venue for the next group meeting, which is tentatively set for March 4, at 5:30. The meeting will include a brief tour of the flood project and some of the property at risk of high impact development.

 

Steering Committee

 

Our steering meets every Thursday at 5:30.  Our focus has been meeting with city elected officials and members of various civic organizations to build recognition and support for our group and our causes. This week we are meeting with Councilperson Eric Sklar. We also plan on reaching out to the local Chamber of Commerce. Several of our group met last week with Doug Ernst, Editor of the Star. It was a good groundbreaking session and we will be soon meeting with their editorial board.

 

Recruiting

 

Kathy Coldiron and her team have been busy canvassing door to door with amazing results. They are also organizing posts outside Safeway and Sunshine. In addition to being very effective the group has been having a lot of fun meeting new neighbors. Please contact Kathy at fauxfinder@mac.com or 963-5381 to help the cause.

Here are some links to the important GP Elements. Please go to the links tab to be directed to the appropriate documents for study. We need people to volunteer to take on these elements. The goal here is to study the documents and then develop questions for the Town Hall meetings.

Here are the Important Elements:

Public Safety, Health & Noise
Open Space & Conservation
Land Use & Growth Management
Community Design
Circulation Element

 I was touched by Sampson Bower's Letter to the Editor printed February 11. 

 

Although he is experiencing serious health challenges at this time, he cares enough about the well-being of Saint Helena to write and encourage all of us to participate as Saint Helena updates its General Plan. Once this document is complete it will be in place for the next 20 years affecting the future of Saint Helena and having an impact on all of its residents. 

 

The City of Saint Helena will be holding Town Hall meetings presently planned for March 13, April 10 and May 8, time and place yet to be announced.  This will be an opportunity for all city residents to learn more about what outside consultants, City Council members, and their appointees see for the future of Saint Helena. More importantly, it will also give residents a chance to voice their opinions. 

 

Mark your calendars and check out the Saint Helena Residents for Responsible Growth’s web site, www.shrfrg.com  for more information. The General Plan will have an influence on all city residents and we should care enough to attend and be heard.

 

Hope to see you there.

 

Donna Hardy

Saint Helena  

 

On a second note, Carol Hasselbrack, Kathleen Forni and I would like to help look in detail at the Parks and Recreation section of the general plan.  If you tell us it is still available we will start on it today.  If not that element, where can we best help out.

Donna 

Town Hall Meetings for General Plan

 

The Council has approved three town Hall meetings, to solicit public input. For  at least one of these meetings, Mayor Del Britton is ordering some hand held voting devices to instantly measure public input. Our group had a major influence in the creation of these meetings. We are still working out the voting details, (limiting to only residents of SH, trying to understand and help frame the voting questions, etc.). Please mark your calendars. If there was ever a time to turn out in force, this is it. A weak showing will strengthen the pro-high impact development set and undermine the credibility of our organization.  We all have been working hard to build our group, sharpen our message and reach out to community leaders, and we are now viewed as a potent voting bloc. Stay tuned for more information on these events. Our plan is to have group volunteers each study a specific element (there are 9) of the GP, and provide a report and recommendations to the group at large. You can review the element drafts at the city web site.

 

We need volunteers to study various GP elements and report to the group major questions and concerns. This feedback will evolve into specific questions that will be voted on at the town hall meetings. The deadline for the review and reports from our volunteers is 2/20, just 10 days away. You volunteer on the facebook link or e-mail me.

 

First Town Hall   3-13 This will coincide with the release of the draft GP

 

Second TH           4-10   Changed from 4/17

 

Third TH               5-8

 

GPUC Mtg. to review TH comments        5-19 and 5-26  changed to 5-12 and 5-19

 

Revised GP Draft              Mid-late July

 

Public Hearings -  City Counsel    August

 

Adoption – To be determined

 

 

Web Site

 

Most of you are aware of our web site www.shrfrg.com  There are also important links to information on this site. The facebook link allows dialogue amongst our group and only takes a minute or two to set up. This is the best way to share your views and objectives and provide input to our steering committee.

 

 

Fund Raising

 

We are raising money for advertising and ultimately supporting a new and improved slate of council members for the November elections. Checks can be made out to “George David, Trustee” and sent to 451 Pope Street, Saint Helena, CA 94574. The three signatures on the account are George, myself and Wendell Laidley. Two signatures are required for checks to be written and well will receive monthly bank statements. These will be posted monthly on the web. No money will be spent without input from the group and a vote of the 10 member steering committee. After the November elections any extra money in the account will be donated to the Saint Helena Family Center.

 

As of 2/10 we have over $2,800 in the account. Thanks to those folks who made such generous donations. We would like to hear from the group, especially the donors, as to ideas for using the funds. Feel free to post comments on the facebook link or e-mail to me. The ideas for now include placing an ad in the Starr to recruit members to our group. A 1/8 page ad costs $264, ¼ page costs  $528, etc. The steering committee will begin drafting some sample ads, as we would like the ads to run before the first Town Hall meeting. Any ideas or input is very welcome. We will also seek to build a “war chest” to help support our candidates in the November elections.

 

 

Group Meeting

 

We are looking for volunteers to host the March group meeting. Due to the increasing size of the group, we will also start looking for public venues.

 

Steering Committee

 

Our steering meets every Thursday at 5:30.  Our focus has been meeting with city elected officials and members of various civic organizations to build recognition and support for our group and our causes. This week we are meeting with Councilperson Eric Sklar. We also plan on reaching out to the local Chamber of Commerce.

 

Recruiting

 

Kathy Coldiron and her team have been busy canvassing door to door with amazing results. They are also organizing posts outside Safeway and Sunshine. In addition to being very effective the group has been having a lot of fun meeting new neighbors. Please contact Kathy at fauxfinder@mac.com or 963-5381 to help the cause.

Thanks everyone for attending the meeting. Tomorrow I will have the 9 Parts of the General Plan listed with links so that we can start volunteering to specialize on certain parts. Remember that this is so we can prepare questions for the Town Hall Meetings. And,...we must be sure to attend these meetings in numbers.

A reminder that Wednesday, 2/10, there is a group meeting at the home of George David at 451 Pope Street. George may be short some chairs, so if anyone can bring a folding chair or two that will help.

 

Agenda:

 

5:30-5:45   - Arriving, milling and chatting

5:45 – 5:55 – Review of activities – Bank account, steering committee activity, web site, (Chuck V)

5:55- 6:15 – Review of General Plan elements- asking for volunteers to review specific elements, report to group (Ann N.)

6:15 – 7:00 – General discussion – (some members will need to leave to attend GPUC meeting at Firehouse.

Town Hall Meetings for General Plan

 

The Council has approved three town Hall meetings, to solicit public input. For  at least one of these meetings, Mayor Del Britton is ordering some hand held voting devices to instantly measure public input. Our group had a major influence in the creation of these meetings. We are still working out the voting details, (limiting to only residents of SH, trying to understand and help frame the voting questions, etc.). Please mark your calendars. If there was ever a time to turn out in force, this is it. A weak showing will strengthen the pro-high impact development set and undermine the credibility of our organization.  We all have been working hard to build our group, sharpen our message and reach out to community leaders, and we are now viewed as a potent voting bloc. Stay tuned for more information on these events. Our plan is to have group volunteers each study a specific element (there are 9) of the GP, and provide a report and recommendations to the group at large. You can review the element drafts at the city web site.

 

Draft of GP complete – 2-10

 

First Town Hall   3-13 This will coincide with the release of the draft GP

 

Second TH           4-17

 

Third TH               5-8

 

GPUC Mtg. to review TH comments        5-19 and 5-26  changed to 5-12 and 5-19

 

Revised GP Draft              Mid-late July

 

Public Hearings -  City Counsel    August

 

Adoption – To be determined

 

 

Web Site

 

Most of you are aware of our web site www.shrfrg.com  There are also important links to information on this site. The facebook link allows dialogue amongst our group and only takes a minute or two to set up. This is the best way to share your views and objectives and provide input to our steering committee.

 

 

Fund Raising

 

We are raising money for advertising and ultimately supporting a new and improved slate of council members for the November elections. Checks can be made out to “George David, Trustee” and sent to 451 Pope Street, Saint Helena, CA 94574. The three signatures on the account are George, myself and Wendell Laidley. Two signatures are required for checks to be written and well will receive monthly bank statements. These will be posted monthly on the web. No money will be spent without input from the group and a vote of the 10 member steering committee. After the November elections any extra money in the account will be donated to the Saint Helena Family Center.

 

 

Group Meeting

 

The next group meeting will be Thursday February 10^th, at 5:30pm at the home of George David, at 451 Pope Street. Some of us will be leaving early to attend the GP Update Committee meeting.

 

Steering Committee

 

Our steering meets every Thursday at 5:30. Last week we met with Mayor Del Britton and Planning Commission member Peter White. Next week we are meeting with County Supervisor Diane Dillon. We will also be reaching out to the other council members and town officials. Our primary focus is attending council and planning meetings and providing input on behalf of the Residents for Responsible Growth. We will begin devoting time to discussing the three council seats that are up for election this November and developing a strategy.

 

I look forward to seeing many of you 2/10 and hopefully a lot of you for the Town Hall meetings. Tell your friends as well, these issues affect all Saint Helenans.

 

Chuck Vondra

(Saint Helena, CA) A coalition of diverse local residents has formed a group, “Residents for Responsible Growth”, whose goal is to “help Saint Helena prosper, in a sustainable fashion, while preserving the unique charm and beauty of our community” according to member Chuck Vondra. “Saint Helena is a very special place; however there is a concern among many of our friends and neighbors that we need to become more aware and proactive in guiding decisions about the future of our community. Many important recommendations for the new General Plan will soon be made by a Committee of City Council appointees who have done a lot of good background work to get to a preliminary draft we can all review.  Now it’s time for more public input to help ensure the final 20 year plan represents most St Helena residents perspectives, or we could one day wake up to a different St Helena than we want.” 

 

The group began as a sidewalk discussion between two neighbors, resulting in a community meeting of 25, and has now evolved to over 120 members from all parts of St. Helena. “I am amazed at the response I get, visiting my neighbors, trying to understand their concerns regarding the character of our town,” relates Kathy Coldiron, who spends several hours a week with other members visiting neighborhoods throughout St. Helena, “of every 5 doors I knock on, in 4 of them our message of limited impact development and sustainability seem to really resonate, I add 15 -20 residents to our group every time out. The General Plan affects everyone in this City – some things will directly affect neighborhoods and homeowners, while other things will affect open space, new construction projects, views, public resources and services throughout the City.”

 

“I love this charming and quaint little City”, says commercial airline pilot and local resident Dave Valentine.  “When I hear about the potential for almost 300 houses or apartments and a thousand additional people packed into the vineyards behind me where I walk, I get concerned. And there’s another proposal for nearly 100 housing structures and apartments just a quarter of a mile from that.  I’m concerned if we grow at a rapid pace we won’t have the water, sewer and services to supply the City. So what will be next – large chain stores, bigger class sizes and new roads diverting traffic through our neighborhoods?”

 

The Residents for Responsible Growth has been active and offering input at planning and council meetings and has a web site www.shrfrg.com, The group meets monthly and a steering committee meets weekly. “If our growth keeps up at this pace”, Vondra projects, “we will be looking into larger meeting venues.”

Thanks to all who stayed so late at the Council Meeting last night to make sure the Public input into the new GP is included in the draft.