Read below the letter from a constituent to his council members, then consider the ramifications.
Linkage fees are already in play. Next, let’s also “throttle back on construction permits” to address the water crisis.
In fact, let’s do all we can to ensure owners can’t use their property and businesses can’t expand. That will save water, moreso as businesses locate elsewhere.
What’s more, why not a government moratorium on anyone moving to the state until water resources are no longer a problem?
Ridicul-inanity.
_____
Date: Sat, 18 Jan 2014
Subject: The Drought Emergency
To: SherriLightner@sandiego.gov; KevinFaulconer@sandiego.gov; TGloria@sandiego.gov; MyrtleCole@sandiego.gov; LorieZapf@sandiego.gov; MarkKersey@sandiego.gov; ScottSherman@sandiego.gov; MartiEmerald@sandiego.gov; DavidAlvarez@sandiego.gov
CC: CityAttorney@sandiego.gov; ATevlin@sandiego.gov
Dear Mr. Gloria and Council members,
The Governor declared a drought emergency yesterday, noting that the statewide snow-pack is at about one-fifth of normal. We might be in the midst of the most intense drought since we began keeping rainfall records a century or so ago. The situation is dire, getting worse.
Having little else to do with my time, I read the agenda for the Planning Commission and the DSD hearings that happen nearly every week. We issue a lot of permits, ladies and gentlemen, for a lot of new housing, in all parts of the city, seemingly oblivious to the need to reduce water use. That gets us deeper into trouble insofar as water usage is concerned.
The City has declared emergencies in the past for one shortage or another. I believe it’s time for the City to declare a drought emergency and then throttle back on construction permits while the emergency is in effect. I urge you to book a discussion of our water situation on the Council’s agenda soon, so we can begin to cope with it.
Jim Varnadore
City Heights
Comments 2
I think the author has the right idea — just the wrong strategy. Instead of banning construction, let’s ban welfare in California to solve the water shortage. ALL welfare.
I think we’d see a rather rapid solution to the water shortage problem. Millions of Californian welfare recipients would rapidly leave the Golden States for more welfare-friendly states (49 in all). We might even provide a humane, even GENEROUS “departure check” to expedite the process.
Of course, such a solution would solve MANY problems for California beyond the water shortage. Start with the billions we would save on state and local welfare spending.
“Affordable housing” paid for by taxpayers would no longer be an issue. It would no longer exist. Schools would no longer be overburdened with students. Medical facilities would no long have a flood of nonpaying patients.
The voting demographic would change dramatically, essentially limiting voting to people who work, save, control their spending and otherwise would become fine contributors to the prosperity of our society.
And, oddly enough, a surprising number of current welfare recipients would find work. It’s weird how that happens.
Jim Varnadore’s solution does the opposite — it drives the productive people and businesses out of the state while probably GROWING the number of welfare recipients. But then, for many of our short-sighted state and local politicians, they see the “unintended consequences” of Varnadore’s plan as a GOOD thing — more constituents trapped on the welfare plantation.
This was my reply to Jimmy V.
Jimmy:
Thanks for your latest. With respect to the drought and new construction, it appears the “Linkage Fees” will curtail that. In addition, until and unless the City declares a Stage-Three Drought Emergency, the City is obligated to continue selling potable water to SDG&E for use on their construction sites for dust-abatement at a non-tiered and dirt-cheap rate (pun intended) while the rest of us are conserving water and paying more for the opportunity to continue our normal lives. In the interim, lawns are turning browner and folks of lesser means are attempting to cope with the latest water rate increases.
When combined with the SDG&E rate increases for natural gas and electricity, things are going to get pretty difficult for the progressive believers. Perhaps it’s time for the City Leaders to give some serious thought to the entire scenario before the progressives are forced to face the reality of the situation.
John Pilch
San Carlos