Vote YES! on MEASURE B
*Shining Light on Measure B Red Herrings*
1. HERRING: Affordable housing will be harder to build — FALSE:
In fact: With Measure B affordable housing will be EASIER to build. It also can be MORE affordable. The city allows only a maximum of four stories.
2. HERRING: Lower building heights are less sustainable — FALSE:
In fact: Lower buildings use fewer materials to construct. They use less energy to heat and to cool. Lower buildings also block less solar access than high-rise buildings. They are MORE sustainable.
3. HERRING: Lower building heights will lead to sprawl — FALSE:
In fact: Lower building heights will have NO effect on sprawl. Considering the actual buildings, lower buildings vs. higher buildings, and not the uncertain and associated automobile usage, the carbon footprint remains the same or is less.
4. HERRING: Existing taller buildings, eg. the Arlington with its tower, the Lobero, Cottage Hospital, among others, can’t be rebuilt if damaged in a disaster — FALSE:
In fact: Towers
don't count in determining
height. ALSO: A non-residential building has TO
LOSE more than 75% of
its market value before
it can’t get a permit to rebuild. This
is a very unlikely occurrence. Imagine: If the newly
built Cottage Hospital - to state of the art seismic
standards! - should fall down in an earthquake! Most
likely then the entirety of Santa Barbara would be
flattened and these arguments would be trivial.
Of
course, if the city were to be flattened or Cottage
with less than 25% of its market value, the city and
Cottage would be rebuilt! The people would demand rebuilding.
(Click here for
a link to attorney Eugene Wilson's opinion concerning
rebuilding of non-conforming structures.)
Such a collapse
iis close to inconceivable since all the major buildings,
especially Cottage, have been retrofitted to state
of the art seismic standards. (A residential
building can be rebuilt to the same interior
space, etc. click here for
the code.) To "rebuild" means to replace,
to rebuild exactly what was there before the disaster,
including to the then existing building height.
5. HERRING: This is "ballot box planning" and that's bad — FALSE:
In fact: Measure B is NOT "planning". Planning is an elaborate process involving citizen commissions, city staff, city council. These city groups study the interrelationship of the disciplined details of architecture and urban planning, developing a synergy. Measure B is the straight-forward call of the people. It is permitted, even encouraged by state law for Charter cities, such as Santa Barbara. Those of us saying Vote Yes on Measure B have differing points of view on "ballot box planning" but, channelling Justice Stewart, we do know this isn't it!
6. HERRING: Lower building heights will mean a city of flat roofs — FALSE:
In fact: This one reeks so much that no self-respecting dog would follow it. If it were so, the buildings under 40', such as Casa de las Fuentes, Casa Carrillo on West Carrillo Street, and many others would be flat-roofed. They're not. Nor are they two-stories, as loudly trilled would be so.
7. HERRING: Measure B will change Santa Barbara — FALSE:
In fact: The red herring draggers are being coyly deceptive: Measure B will keep the character of Santa Barbara the way it is, a rare and special place to cherish for both our residents and economy-sustaining visitors.
8. HERRING: A Texas billionaire developer is trying to buy this election — FALSE:
In fact: Randall Van Wolfswinkel is from Texas and he is a builder but that's as far as the assertions are truthful. Van Wolfswinkel went to school in Santa Barbara, is, with his family, a part time resident of Montecito. As he says, "I can’t make someone vote. I simply have Santa Barbara’s best interest at heart—the way politics used to be in Santa Barbara. It’s time someone stood up. And I encourage others to do the same and help candidates who really care about this city to get elected." Daily Sound, October 3, 2009 for the complete interview.
HERRINGS, 9 and onwards: We understand the sea is full of fish; some of them flop up on shore, get dragged around and become red. Mixing our metaphors, we're prepared to reply to other canards, bring into light other red herrings. If you scent one or have a question please write us: info @ saveepv.org (no spaces).
*ETYMOLOGY of "red herring": a deliberate attempt to divert from the truth. "It is popularly believed that the idiom originates from a technique of training of young scent hounds involving "red" herrings. The pungent fish would be dragged along a trail until a puppy learned to follow the scent. Later, when the dog was being trained to follow the faint odour of a fox or a badger, the trainer would drag a red herring (whose strong scent confuses the animal) orthogonally to the animal's trail to confuse the dog. The dog would eventually learn to follow the original scent rather than the stronger scent. An alternate etymology points to escaping convicts who would use the pungent fish to throw off hounds in pursuit." Wikipedia
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