Balance Is the Goal

Supervisors John K. Flynn and Frank Schillo seem to have missed a key point in their zeal to “implement” SOAR and Measure A:

The two-thirds of Ventura County voters who approved the Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources (SOAR) initiative were not clamoring for elected officials to do more but to do less. Stick to the General Plan and stop snipping the map into a doily with piecemeal rezoning decisions.

The success of SOAR and Measure A will not be measured by what politicians do, but by what they don’t do.

With that in mind, we urge a minimalist approach to their efforts as the reluctantly appointed “SOAR / Measure A Implementation Committee” of the Ventura County Board of Supervisors. We understand why their three board colleagues were taken aback last week by the two-man committee’s full-speed-ahead progress report. Flynn’s response--a huff-and-puff threat to resign from the implementation committee and nonsensical ravings about back room vote swapping--do little to inspire confidence that he is the person to lead Ventura County’s efforts to make sound public policy out of the public’s clear statement of dissatisfaction with the status quo.

Here are some suggestions for prudent steps the board should take to move toward the goals endorsed by the voters:

* Greenbelts: Voters supported reinforcing the county’s six greenbelts by changing them from handshake agreements to legally binding contracts, and adding five additional ones. The Times supports more and stronger greenbelts, in accord with our belief that keeping agriculture and housing far apart is the best way to ensure the success of both. All of the greenbelts should exclude such densely populated institutions as schools and prisons; there should be open public debate over whether golf courses are appropriate components of a greenbelt. Flynn and Schillo propose that they meet with city officials all over the county and bring recommendations for these changes back to the full board. We believe it makes more sense for each supervisor to work with the cities in her or his district.

* Education: This is a crucial component for several reasons. When voters endorsed SOAR, they turned Ventura County into a living laboratory for managed, balanced growth. Our success at this is being watched closely by everyone from home-builder associations to sustainable-living groups, by local planners across the nation and--most avidly--by the people who live, work and pay the bills in Ventura County. We need regular updates about the effects, both intended and unintended. Not surprisingly, all sorts of groups would like to help with this. Flynn and Schillo proposed a partnership with the nonprofit Global Green USA of Santa Monica to devise an educational program. We believe Ventura County has organizations qualified to do this, such as the Hansen Trust, the Sustainability Council and the Agriculture Policy Advisory Committee. The Times has previously proposed that the Agriculture Policy Working Group host quarterly town hall meetings to encourage discussion of how SOAR is playing out. Keeping a close eye on the effects and keeping the public informed and involved are essential, but Ventura County has the resources to do this for itself.

* Land Trust: This idea was added to Measure A as an afterthought, against the wishes of many APWG members, and we question the need for it. Ventura County already has a number of privately funded and operated land conservancies; farmers who want incentives to keep their land undeveloped get substantial tax breaks under the Williamson Act. It is true that some state and federal funds would be available to a countywide version of the successful Conejo Open Space Conservation Authority and this idea should be explored. But if greenbelts are solidified and the provisions of SOAR are enforced, the need for public entities to buy and maintain vast acreage will be reduced.

Supervisor Flynn’s accusatory remark that Supervisor Kathy Long is “trying to satisfy both sides of the issues--the developers and the environmentalists” shows how far off base he is on this issue. Achieving that balance--leading public policy in a way that acknowledges the concerns of both ends of that spectrum--is the whole point. Ventura County can do this, and it must.