Sonoma City Council candidate Q and A
The Sun posed the same five questions to candidates David Cook, Laurie Gallian, Amy Harrington and Jack Wagner. Scroll down to read all the responses.
DAVID COOK
Cook, an incumbent, was elected to the council in 2012. He has lived and worked in Sonoma Valley for 21 years. A small business owner since 2003, he served on the Board of Directors of the Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce for four years, including one as its president. He is a member of the Library Advisory Board. Re-electdavidcook.com
Sun: What is the most important problem facing the City of Sonoma today, and how would you solve it?
Cook: The most important issue facing the city of Sonoma is the lack of workforce and affordable housing. Four years ago I called for the enforcement of all illegal vacation rentals. The city of Sonoma has done a lot of enforcement, but we need to continue until they are totally abolished. I support local legislation that would allow junior apartments in our residential districts. This would increase the inventory of housing. I would like to see more out of the box thinking that we have discussed at a local level to help keep our families and our work force living in Sonoma. It is important that local, county and state officials continue to work together to help solve this crisis.
Where do you stand on The Urban Growth Boundary — renew, amend or let expire? Why?
I support the UGB and its renewal. The Urban Growth Boundary is the biggest tool in our planning arsenal to keep our city safe from expansion. In the next four years this will be an important item for the council to understand why it was implemented in the first place and continue its success
Affordable Housing: what’s the solution?
There is a lot of work in this issue and I will continue to support legislation that can help bring back affordable and workforce housing to Sonoma. We are in a housing crisis. Owning a home in Sonoma is almost unachievable to most individuals. Our rents are too high for our families and workforce. I support local legislation that will make it easier to allow junior housing. Enforcement of illegal vacation rentals is an important part of the solution. There is a lot of out of the box approaches that need to be looked at to help in our housing crisis.
Do you support renewal of the half-cent sales tax? Why?
I support the renewal of the half-cent sales tax. The half-cent sales tax goes directly into the city’s budget. With these monies we have been able to improve our infrastructure (roads and sidewalks) along with many other programs. Continuing this tax makes sense for our city to continue to have a strong balanced budget.
Climate Action 2020: what should the city be doing?
Climate Action 2020 is an important issue. I’m proud of the work that has been done on this issue and support it. Sonoma needs to be a leader in our state to help stop green house gases. Its implementation will be a great tool to improve our environment.
LAURIE GALLIAN
Gallian, the current mayor, was appointed to the council in 2008, and reelected in 2012. A Sonoma resident of 35 years, she served as the City of Sonoma’s representative to the Sonoma County 2007 Climate Action Plan advisory committee, and the City’s Community Services and Environment Commission. Re-electgallian4council2016.com
SUN: What is the most important problem facing the City of Sonoma today, and how would you solve it?
GALLIAN: The issue is Housing. The Council spent the last year identifying the lack of workforce and affordable housing within city limits. I advocate for affordable housing and rental-tenant protections for people working here and living here. This obvious need was verified when preparing the Housing Element. In sessions with the Planning Commission new alternatives were discussed. A report will be before council soon with options on fees and methods to address future housing decisions and programs. Funding for housing programs, and a potential Housing Trust, are key.
Where do you stand on The Urban Growth Boundary — renew, amend or let expire? Why?
I support its renewal when it expires in 2020. UGB defines the maximum expansion of a city, protecting our Community Separators. UGB promotes smart growth within a city and its “sphere of influence”.
Affordable Housing: what’s the solution?
Redevelopment Funding ended in 2011, which was an additional portion of property taxes used in City limits. Earlier this year in goal setting, I opted to put before the voters an additional (up to 2%) Transient Occupancy Tax for the General Fund. Next, create a housing fund and policy with incremental funding on an annual basis. I proposed and voted for Council to upgrade the rent protections with the Mobile Home Rent Control Ordinance. In future, Vacation Rentals discussion options are: action to stop, or study before approving any new applications. I recommend one option, provision for Accessory Junior Unit Ordinance modeled by Lilypad homes. AJU is contained inside existing homes and up to 500 feet of living space. This is a fast track item to supply more affordable rentals. A model ordinance is on the Governor’s desk to sign.
Do you support renewal of the half-cent sales tax? Why?
I support it. The original tax was to fund the cost of the State dissolution of our Redevelopment Agency, which impacted our General Fund. The City has seen increases in TOT and Sales Tax revenue, but these don’t match the decline in revenue resulting from the loss of Redevelopment dollars. The State has decided to not address redevelopment activities or replace its funding. Without extending the tax, we face a $2.2 million shortfall in the General Fund for the next fiscal year, impacting City services and programs.
Climate Action 2020: what should the city be doing?
First we must approve the expanded goals under our countywide Climate Action Plan to reduce our carbon footprint. Then we must then assess our current contribution of GHG and evaluate emission targets to comply with that plan. My goal is to have the City adopt the improved GHG reduction measures that were going to be considered in August, but were delayed. The program seeks to increase reductions over the years, so we will have to be systematically more vigilant to meet those targets.
AMY HARRINGTON
Harrington was born and raised in San Francisco. She attended UC Davis and then to UC Hastings, where she received a law degree. With her husband and two daughters, she moved to Sonoma in 2010. For the last decade she has worked as an elder law attorney. She currently serves on the Community Services and Environment Commission. Amy4citycouncil.com/media-1
SUN: What is the most important problem facing the City of Sonoma today, and how would you solve it?
Harrington: The most important problem facing our city is that the scales have tipped toward tourism from a proper balance between residents and visitors. This has had direct impacts on our quality of life, including our housing and traffic problems. I’d solve this by rebalancing the scale and putting the interests of residents before tourism. And remember, that’s not just resident friendly, but business friendly. Visitors love Sonoma because of our small town, hometown feel. Losing that isn’t just bad for residents but visitors as well. Rebalancing the scale means no more vacation rentals, licensing and regulation of existing vacation rentals, city support of local nonprofits and traditions (Vintage Festival & Fourth of July), an effort to diversify our local economy so it’s not so dependent on tourism, and housing policy that ensures more seniors and young people can stay here.
Where do you stand on the Urban Growth Boundary – renew, amend or let expire? Why?
I support renewing the Urban Growth Boundary. The UGB was passed 16 years ago by voters in an effort to stop suburban sprawl and preserve open space, agriculture, and a small-scale community with livable neighborhoods and a high quality of life. These are essential Sonoma characteristics and should be timeless goals, whether yesterday, today, or tomorrow. The UGB has worked. We owe it to future generations to renew it when it expires in 2020. Our housing crisis is a result of a lack of supply. A UGB doesn’t mean no development or no supply, it just dictates where. It requires smarter development instead of mindless suburban sprawl. That’s the type of future Sonoma deserves.
Affordable Housing: what’s the solution?
We’re not going to be able to wave a wand and magically solve the housing crisis. But we can start to deal with the problem. There are many different strategies that should be considered, including: protecting our housing stock from vacation rentals and our neighborhoods from commercial uses; the discussion of raising the TOT tax (paid by tourists) and direct new revenue to support housing; evaluating housing impact fees” to be deployed in a “carrot and stick” approach that encourages the private market to create the type of community we want; and, the discussion of the creation of a non-profit trust fund that could supplant the loss of redevelopment. Our housing crisis wasn’t caused by our city council, but their lack of action has exacerbated it.
Do you support the renewal of the half-cent sales tax?
At this point, I support a one-time renewal of the half-cent sales tax. The revenue generated from this measure helps to fund many important city projects, ranging from roads to redevelopment. One of my goals will be working with our new city manager to identify new sources of revenue so that this tax, if approved, will become unnecessary when it expires five years from now.
Climate Action 2020: What should the city be doing?
I’m proud to have been endorsed by the Sonoma County Conservation Action. We both believe that the City should be doing our part to reduce greenhouse gases by moving forward with the implementation of the eight measures of Climate Action 2020
JACK WAGNER
A Sonoma native, Wagner graduated from SSU in 2005 with a Bachelor’s in English and a minor in Political Science. After college he traveled, worked in the video game industry, and volunteered for charities and political campaigns throughout the country. He moved back to Sonoma in 2012, found work in the farming and service industries, and got involved in local politics. Votejack.nationbuilder.com/blog
SUN: What is the most important problem facing the City of Sonoma today, and how would you solve it?
The lack of accessible housing is the most important issue needing to be addressed by the City Council. We need to prioritize a series of reforms to address nocause evictions, vacation rentals, lowincome housing, homelessness, potential for public housing, and other ways in which we can help deal with the crisis.
Where do you stand on The Urban Growth Boundary renew, amend or let expire? Why?
If we can act now we can discuss updates to the UGB in the context of our General Plan, and address issues that need longterm,sustainable, solutions; such as housing, traffic, ecology, business, public transit, and tourism. If the City Council is unable to act in a timely manner, then at minimum we need to renew the Urban Growth Boundary as it is.
Affordable Housing: what’s the solution?
There is no single solution. What is needed is to a series of reforms. Requiring future developments to have a substantial amount of lowincome or affordable housing will help increase units over time. Making the new Local Code Enforcement Officer a fulltime position to address unlicensed vacation rentals will bring more units onto the market immediately. Creating a moratorium on new vacation rental applications will help protect the current housing stock. Increasing services for the homeless will ensure the worst off amongst us are taken care of as best we can. Working with the Housing Land Trust would help create a path toward homeownership for low and moderate income families.
Do you support renewal of the half cent sales tax? Why?
I support renewing the halfcent sales tax. Half of sales taxes collected in the City are attributed to visitors and tourists, and we need to invest in infrastructure needs now to save money in the future. I have advocated to the Board of Supervisors for the creation of a Public Bank which could generate millions of dollars in nontax revenues for the County and member Cities. I support increasing the TOT by 2%, which would help make future salestax renewals unneeded. I would also stop spending our surplus, address the Cemetery Enterprise debt/deficit, and require the TID to cover as much of the Visitor’s Bureau’s budget as possible.
Climate Action 2020: what should the city be doing?
Until the pending lawsuit settles the City should begin adopting as much of Climate Action 2020 as possible locally. With a focused majority on the Council, a lot can be accomplished. In addition to adopting the goals of CA2020, increasing public transit and safe bike and pedestrian infrastructure will help reduce our City’s carbon footprint. Working with SCEIP and SCP to finance solar on city owned buildings would further decrease our dependence on fossil fuels.
