Bill Hocker | Feb 27, 2015

Why not listen to the public? Kathy Felch

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Carl Bunch adds:

Kathy, many, many thanks for your thoughtful and provocative letter to the editor in this morning's Napa Register. This is the argument that is most likely to prompt thoughtfulness on the part of the policy-makers in Napa County and its cities. It has been my experience as a labor relations lawyer for 50 years that so-called decision-makers in government pay attention first to money for reelections and second to the numbers of citizens unhappy with their decisions sufficient to cause concern about their possibilities of being re-elected. While it's very nice and polite to curry good relations with decision-makers who make decisions affecting the local citizenry's lives and lifestyles, it is often necessary to band together to let them know that they can be defeated at the polls.

Articles and letters to the editors of newspapers strongly disagreeing with actions and policies of the boards of supervisors, city council members, and their appointees on planning commissions (ie. by beating them over their heads!) are what can prompt policy changes. Your letter does just that and to the extent Napa's policy-makers read the local newspapers such letters may actually cause them to modify their positions. We read in the Register that County Planning Commission members and certain Supervisors are now talking about the "temper of the times", the "new norms", and "land use", etc. and are at least mouthing their implied interest in reviewing and possibly revising policies affecting local residents. Their pro forma approvals of winery use permit applications for wine event centers, additional wine producing capacities and increased visitation by potential wine buyers, and their likely reactions to the expansion of businesses such as Syar's and strip malls along Hwy. 29 are good examples of their indiscriminate preferences favoring "development (where the money comes from!) and have the result of creating even more difficult problems for Napa County's citizens.

I really appreciate your taking responsibility for getting across the views of many individual residents regarding such unfortunate and uncaring policies and actions.

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