Community Workshop from Citizens Planning Foundation on Neighborhood Advocacy
Received this from CPF for a series of workshops in both North and South County over the next week and a half.
============CPF Press Announcement================
Citizens Planning Foundation presents…
FREE Do-It-Yourself Neighborhood Advocacy Workshops
Take charge of your future!
Somewhere close by developers and government officials are planning YOUR community's future. Do these people know what's best for you and your community? Find out how to make sure they do!
Join the Citizens Planning Foundation for any of the following FREE evening workshops:
Thursday, March 6 (6:30-8:30pm)
@ Goleta Valley Community Center
5679 Hollister Ave, Goleta
Sunday, March 9 (6:30-8:30pm)
@ La Casa de la Raza
601 E. Montecito St., Santa Barbara
Wednesday, March 12 (6:30-8:30pm)
@ Center for Employment Training
509 W. Morrison Ave, Santa Maria
Refreshments, Spanish translation, and resource materials will be provided.
Bring a friend or two (or more)! These workshops are for everybody!
RSVPs appreciated, but not required.
For more information:
(805) 966-3979
kamron@citizensplanning.org
www.citizensplanning.org.
Special thanks to the Fund for Santa Barbara for making these workshops possible!
============CPF Press Announcement================
Citizens Planning Foundation presents…
FREE Do-It-Yourself Neighborhood Advocacy Workshops
Take charge of your future!
Somewhere close by developers and government officials are planning YOUR community's future. Do these people know what's best for you and your community? Find out how to make sure they do!
Join the Citizens Planning Foundation for any of the following FREE evening workshops:
Thursday, March 6 (6:30-8:30pm)
@ Goleta Valley Community Center
5679 Hollister Ave, Goleta
Sunday, March 9 (6:30-8:30pm)
@ La Casa de la Raza
601 E. Montecito St., Santa Barbara
Wednesday, March 12 (6:30-8:30pm)
@ Center for Employment Training
509 W. Morrison Ave, Santa Maria
Refreshments, Spanish translation, and resource materials will be provided.
Bring a friend or two (or more)! These workshops are for everybody!
RSVPs appreciated, but not required.
For more information:
(805) 966-3979
kamron@citizensplanning.org
www.citizensplanning.org.
Special thanks to the Fund for Santa Barbara for making these workshops possible!
posted by Sara De la Guerra | 3/02/2008 07:53:00 PM
Our Community Guidelines ask that you use the Blogger/Open ID login or the
more private Name/URL option when making comments. Comments using "Anonymous" will not be published. For more info, see choosing an identity.
12 Comments:
I assume the Obama people will pack these forums so they can change things ....brick by brick. Will they really put the work in or just mouth the rhetoric?
CPA/CPF is nothing more than a paper tiger. A lot of talk, very little action. Under their watch, we've seen the city of Santa Barbara become more and more like Los Angeles. The CPA insiders are in bed with the current Council majority.
How many CPA insiders voted for, or otherwise helped Dale Fancisco in the last election?
No, these aren't the Obama people. He's for CHANGE. The only change these folks want is to roll back time about 30 years or so.
I'd say these are McCain supporters all the way!
Obama and McCain are not the topic here! The organization is CPF -- the education side of the organization. It's a 501c3 and doesn't take on political action. They don't advocate voting for anyone -- nor does CPA for that matter.
As for action, CPA is suing over Veronica Meadows currently...not a small thing.
If it was not for Citizens Planning Association, this town would long ago have been buied and lost in massive and ugly over-development.
Criticism here comes only from those too lazy to do the in the trenches hard work. You know, the Obama people who really don't want change. They just want someone else to do things for them. Well, guess what. CPA does things. And you can thank them later.
You are whining because you can't afford to live here and blame CPA. But without CA, you would not even want to live here. So live with that.
I don't see you packing up to live in Oxnard. You want to stay in Santa Barbara. And you need to think long and hard why that is the case.
Answer: organizations and people like CPA. Get involved and stop lobbing pot shots from the hip.
Thank you CA - you do good work. And you are appreciated. Very much.
Bill Carson said...
... How many CPA insiders voted for, or otherwise helped Dale Fancisco in the last election?"
Don't know who voted how, but long time CPAer Mary Louise Days was out front and everywhere with her commercials in favor of Dale. Were you?
Actually, who are "CPA insiders" anyway?
This blog has become kind of funny! If we're honest, there are about 20 of us that actually check it out and continue to regurgitate the same opinions. About 18 of you folks are about NO GROWTH, NIMBYISM and then there's me and perhaps one other (maybe sa1) that take the opposing view. I'm not sure where it's all headed but it's somewhat amusing at the very least!
To XYZ and Thank You CPA,
A little criticism and you lash out by attacking the critic. This is a long-standing strategy used by many thin-skinned city council members.
The CPA can be a very influential group. They should be. Without naming names, some of the “insiders” on the CPA Board of Directors have been active in helping elect the very same council members that are causing this city to look more like Orange County than Santa Barbara. I suggest you stop trying to defend CPA with knee-jerk responses and ask yourself why these involved, well-informed and good-intentioned individuals claim to protect Santa Barbara, yet continue to contribute to the problem by electing and then tolerating the never-ending push by City Hall to develop our city into something that none of us want or need.
CPA is changing. It was at the forefront of "smart growth" which was the platform of the now overly liberal city council.
That got exploited to become the egregious social engineering agenda and developer lovefest who moved in quickly to exploit the CPA endorsed candidate's superficial good intentions.
CPA (and I do not speak for them) of late has seen the light and are pitted against the developer exploitation.
Sadly to say, most of the city council still does not know how they got hookwinked by the developers because they still don't know how much the developers have corrupted city staff.
They are well-meaning people but destructively naive. There are good candidates out their in the wings for the next elections and there will be a very strong change of direction on the council and CPA has become far more protectionist because they too have learned from the errors and mismanagement of city planning issues, primarily inflicted by city staff.
But it would be best if CPA spoke for itself. And they have been visionary in the past. I think their agenda got hijacked by developers and city council people asleep at the switch who many still do not see how they got gently corrupted. Barnwell remains clueless. And city staff remains arrogant and unrepentent.
It will take a new majority on city council to begin the depth of change needed. It will take actively engaged city council members, not those with their own personal agenda, higher office seekers and those still phoning in their duties.
They are now paid to do a full time job; yet most still do not. We need a full time city council whose only priority are city matters and who know they run the city staff and it does not work the other way around.
CPA knows this now too.
Be sure and read in the Daily Sound how it was a unanimous city council vote yesterday for the new development coming along at 517 Chapala.
That means UNANIMOUS 6-0 in support of the staff and process with new member Francisco also voting in favor. (Mayor Blum was not there.)
I agree with "thank you CPA": Council is now paid for a full-time job --- plus lots of other perks. It would be interesting to know exactly how much time they put in, exactly how much they receive when salary, health and benefits, parking, travel, conferences are all figured. How about it, News-Press or Daily Sound or Independent, how about some digging?
Or maybe the Grand Jury, but that publicly-funded group takes forever to do anything.
As for CPA, I agree again, it should speak for itself, but do point out that it is a membership organization and everyone with an interest in planning can join and change its direction.
I don't know what CPA knows; not sure it does know anything, but that it is struggling to attempt to get some public awareness and in that, accountability of the staff --- but without ANY city council responsiveness on this.
Problem is that the details of planning are minute, multiple — and mind deadening, for most who attempt to understand — but the devil is indeed in the details.
CPA and League of Women's Voters are the only groups in town I know that consistently show up, do their homework, offer credible and concrete solutions and reliable public input.
The League in particular provides balanced forums on all important local topics, open to the public and only after studying the issues in smaller group discussions do they take stands on important municipal matters.
Both these groups spend long hours as public watchdogs. They deserve to be honored and listened to, supported and joined in their fine efforts.
announcements for this meeting are all over everyone's email, and now here too!!!!!!!!!!!
Post a Comment
<< Home