Comments on Measure B defeat
Sonoma’s Measure B, which called for limiting new or expanded hotels to 25 rooms, was defeated by about 100 votes in Tuesday’s special election.
The Sonoma County’s Registrar of Voters reported 1,853 no votes (51.3 percent) and 1,716 votes in favor (48.7 percent). A small number of ballots have yet to be counted but should not affect the result, officials said.
“This has always been about protecting our hometown,” said Nancy Simpson, the No on B campaign manager. “In the end, voters have concluded we don’t have a hotel problem and we should work together as a community to protect this sense of place we all love about Sonoma.”
Sonoma Ken Brown said the result was “wonderful,” and praised the work of No committee and volunteers who “ran a smart and upfront campaign, and it paid off.”
Measure B earned a public vote by collecting more than 1,400 signatures in a petition drive mounted by Preserving Sonoma Committee, a group headed by Larry Barnett.
“I’m disappointed, of course,” Barnett said. “But the voters have spoken and that was the whole point. Our campaign changed the conversation in Sonoma about growth and tourism, and though Measure B did not win, we’re proud of having run an honest campaign that respected the intelligence and wisdom of the voters in Sonoma.”
The defeat clears the way for developer Darius Anderson to re-submit plans for a 59-room hotel on the 100 block of West Napa Street. At a victory party Monday night, he said any new design would be a united effort of city planners and the public, including supporters of Measure B.
“We look forward to collaborating with all Sonoma residents to balance our quality of life as residents and welcome visitors in a thoughtful and respectful way,” Simpson said. “I believe we can accomplish this most important task together as a community.”
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No wonder most of the children move out of town. It appears all we ever have to offer them is low paying service industry jobs. When will we find a developer that has more to offer, such as a small tech park, or other more “inspirational” sources of income? Let’s really move forward and upward from here. Sincerely, P. Mount