This was a LTE in the Sierra Sun

My Turn: Protecting a neighborhood’s sanctity

By Jerry Dinzes, On behalf of so many in the community: Thank You Supervisor Bruce Kranz and the six other Tahoe Regional Planning Agency board members who agreed that the three-lane alternative had too many negative consequences. It would be the epitome of poor planning to burden a residential community with through traffic intended for State Route 28, yet thousands of vehicles were nearly diverted into the highly pedestrianized Kings Beach neighborhood, which is adjacent to the commercial corridor (SR 28).

Proponents of the lane reduction have accused me of fear mongering for bringing this issue to the table, but this is, in my mind, the most important issue at stake. My neighborhood doesn’t want — and doesn’t deserve — this burden, which the county traffic consultant claims will occur on around 100 days of the summer.

Those who have raised families along our residential roadways, and those who have bought into hearty mortgages, thank you for protecting their neighborhood’s sanctity. Thank you for not being fooled at the Sierra Businesses Council’s claim that the majority of Kings Beach wanted the hybrid alternative.

The SBC’s claim is unjust and non-representative of the community. After inviting citizens from across the Truckee and North Shore region to an SBC workshop, the council was able to get approximately 141 citizens to show a preference towards the lane reduction. In 2000, the U.S. consensus reveals that Kings Beach had a population of 4,037. To claim a majority would require 2019 Kings Beach residents, and not a 141 from Truckee-Tahoe at large.

However, the SBC seemed not as concerned with due process, as they were with advocating a particular position. This is apparent in their decision to place an avid “three-laner” in charge as one of the program directors running the workshops and compiling for informational handouts.

Jerry Dinzes is a Kings Beach resident. Link to Article in Sierra Sun 2008 All Rights Reserved

I start by pointing out the hyperbolae in the e-mail sent by the No on H supporter.

Dear Sir,

You do not represent the Republican voters in Rocklin in regards to measure H. I have worked with the Republicans & Democrats on this measure here in Rocklin. I have walked precincts. The majority of the Republican people here in Rocklin are voting NO on H. The signs that says ‘yes’ are on empty lots (do your own research), and the signs that say ‘no’ are on the average home in Rocklin – Republican & Democrats working together for a common goal. To think you would be a part of the funding by MASSIE & COMPANY, AND THE UNITED AUBURN INDIAN COMMUNITY OF THE AUBURN RANCHERIA, who can’t vote on this issue unless they live in Rocklin, is very disturbing. I realize the United Auburn Indian Community is concerned about money & the further expansion of the Thunder Valley Casino, I only hoped that the Placer County Republican Party chairman would do more homework, & find out for yourself what the people in Rocklin are really concerned about. Please ask the people. The regular people; Republican & Democrat, are concerned about the over population, the traffic, and the preservation of Clover Valley. As a Republican, I’m very disappointed in the latest flyer from the Rocklin Alliance for Open Space??, Yes on Measure H, with major funding by Massie & Company & the United Auburn Indian Community of the Auburn Rancheria.

Now Tom’s Response – Emphasis added where needed…

Thanks for taking the time to write.

As you might expect, the Placer County Republican Party tends to look to elected Republican leaders and Central Committee members from Rocklin when it comes to local ballot measures like Measure H. All of those people are supporting Measure H, so my views on the subject are somewhat irrelevant.

Our local Party is almost always at odds with the bogus Thunder Valley “tribe” and we have never had any direct or indirect support from Mr. Massie (as far as I know), so their support for Measure H was not very persuasive to anyone I know. What we found persuasive were the property rights and taxpayer protection arguments.

As a Republican, I support private property rights and I do not believe property owners should have to win an expensive election in order to use their own property productively. More than three-fifths of the land in Placer County is owned and operated by government; another one-fifth is directly controlled by government through agricultural conservation easements, Williamson Act contracts, Placer Legacy easements, and other means. Only one-fifth of the land is owned and controlled by private owners and much of that is already off-limits to development due to zoning laws and other government rules. I tend to think that government should do a better job of managing the four-fifths of the land that they own or control—and stop spending so much of their time and energy trying to control the tiny fraction of privately-owned that is available for development.

Furthermore, as a statewide leader in the California Taxpayer Protection Committee, I am concerned about what will almost certainly happen to Rocklin if the private owners of Clover Valley are not permitted to use their own land. Recently, the small City of Half Moon Bay was ordered to pay $40 million to a land owner who was not permitted to develop his land. The whole city budget is only about $10 million, so this has been a catastrophic blow to the city it may take them a generation to recover, even if the debt is restructured through municipal bankruptcy.Those facts are very similar to the Rocklin situation. Either the private land owners will be allowed to use their private land, or the taxpayers will be forced to pay for it. If Measure H fails, city leaders have no way to pay for the entire Clover Valley, so they will undoubtedly approve a new development plan—with 992 houses or more, rather than the 400 or so that are included in the current deal.

I have not taken a poll, but I suspect that you may be right that many Republicans in Rocklin will vote No on Measure H. Referendum campaigns can be very confusing and many people may not understand the legal effect of their votes. I am told that the current proposal sets aside 62% of the land as open space, which is something that the city has no ability to require. Many voters may assume that if Measure H is defeated, the city (or the courts) will require even more open space in the next proposal; they may not realize that such an outcome is extremely unlikely. Part of the mission of the Republican Central Committee is to investigate such matters and educate Republican voters.

We may not agree about this ballot measure, but I hope we will be able to work together on future ballot measures and campaigns. You are absolutely right that we need to do something about traffic in Placer County . The answer is not higher taxes or the abolition of private property rights; the answer is new roads and freeways. Our county budget has tripled in the last few years, but somehow they can’t find a penny for new highways. Your city budget has doubled in the last five years, but again, very little has been done to address traffic problems. We need to unite and tell our elected leaders that new roads and freeways are a priority for the voters.

Thanks again for your note.

Tom Hudson
Chairman, Placer County Republican Party

Apparently, measures involving development bring out the best in people. Measure H in rocklin is no different.

The NIMBY crowd first resorted to hyperbolae about trees and Indian burial grounds. Then the tribe signed onto the measure…

Now that the Tribe has eliminated the absurd sacred land argument – the NIMBY/ENVIRO crowd are destroying yes on H signs.

Look for a nice mailer bearing the signature of our club president coming soon in support of Yes on H.

Meanwhile, the Rocklin school board has decided that they wanted to make the “How to win friends and influence people” top 10 list. They callously and arrogantly shot down a charter school on absurd technicalities at the behest of the Teacher’s Union.

Look forward to more fireworks in Rocklin.

Attached here is Ken Campbell’s latest rant about Congressman Doolittle. It is disguised as a set of recommendations to our next congressman.

John Doolittle was basically forced out of office – a professional response would have been to find someone new who would not repeat John’s mistakes… not use the media and blogs for self-promotion and more attacks to satiate one’s need for revenge.

Please further note that the issues he brings up were not important to him in the past. I never read or heard Ken complain until he had an opportunity to exact revenge.

Ken has made posts and comments in the recent past critical of Rico Oller as well. In my opinion it is because he is supporting Eric Egland, even though he lacks the courage to do so publicly. With the exception of the cowardly Sac State anon commenters, the rest of Egland’s cadre have been out front for their man… good for them.

The aforementioned Auburn Journal article is the latest in a series of Rants that Campbell has been posting in the Auburn Journal for the last three years. Rants which led to his ouster as Placer GOP Chairman.

In addition, he makes sure that the fact that he is the former Chairman of the Placer County Republican Central Committee is mentioned in every article. This is an affront to the committee as they have rarely agreed with Ken’s actions – which have included repeated attacks against local elected officials… mostly over development.

Mr. Campbell has also proven that he is incapable of debate or civil discussion as every challenge I issue to his opinions is met with insults and anger. It is not just me, former Placer GOP executive committee members have all said the same thing, Central Committee Members and the like.

Ted Gaines, Bruce Kranz, a whole host of local electeds, the volunteers mentioned above and this blogger know too well why Campbell is the former Placer GOP Chairman.

I admitted I drank my Kool-Aid and I am proud that I stood by a good innocent man to the end – but Ken Campbell continues to distinguish himself in a completely different manner. How much is enough Ken!? Doolittle retired!!!