Six questions for First District Supervisor candidates
The Sun asked candidates for First District Supervisor candidates — Gina Cuclis, Susan Gorin and Keith Rhinehart — questions of particular importance to Sonoma Valley. Here, in alphabetical order are their unedited responses:
Gina Cuclis
Would you support incorporation of a new municipality for the Springs?
This is my long view vision for the Springs. Other than having a supervisor who lives in the Springs, and therefore understands our issues first hand, being our own city is the only way for Springs’ residents to have control over our community’s future. We would be able to elect five members of a city council who live here and share our priorities, plus the tax dollars collected here that fund local government services would then be spent here and not diverted to Santa Rosa. This lack of local governance is the reason why we continually create plans that sit on the shelf at the county. Our priorities aren’t the priorities of the five county supervisors. To have the amount of tax revenues necessary to operate a city requires a strong commercial base, which the Springs currently lacks. That’s why as supervisor I will work to attract serious investment in the Springs.
Housing has become unaffordable. Will you vote for rent stabilization?
Housing has been unaffordable in Sonoma Valley for most of the last 20 years. When I was on the City of Sonoma’s planning commission (1997-2006) I reviewed and approved two affordable housing projects, because the need was great. It’s become worse because we have a severe housing shortage. I recently heard about an individual who’s lived 20 years in a rent-controlled apartment in San Francisco, who’s now buying a vacation home in Sonoma. My daughter who lives in New York moved out of a rent- controlled apartment, because it was unsafe, to a regular apartment and paid the same rent. Rent control or rent stabilization doesn’t fix the problem of rents rising in non rent-controlled apartments, nor does it increase the housing supply. In fact, studies show it does exactly the opposite. We need new ideas to create workforce and low cost housing. Please visit GinaForSupervisor.com/issues to read my ideas for accomplishing that.
How much tourism is too much?
As anyone who has read my campaign materials or visited my website knows, I’m the only candidate who has made finding sensible solutions to mitigating tourism impacts a cornerstone issue of my campaign. This is because I’ve lived in Sonoma Valley 30 years and know what it means for our community to have become a world-class tourist destination. Wine and tourism are the backbone of our Sonoma Valley economy. I have met with the CEO of Sonoma County Tourism to discuss working together to better manage tourism in our communities. Issues such as impacts on roads, fire services, traffic, housing, and our rural way of life must be addressed. We currently have no leadership bringing us together to address these issues. As your supervisor, I intend to fill this void.
Do you support metering and regulation of all private and commercial water wells?
Over a decade ago stakeholders in Sonoma Valley came together and created the Sonoma Valley groundwater management plan, the first groundwater management plan to be created in Sonoma County. The new state law requiring the creation of local groundwater sustainability plans, through a process to be governed by local groundwater sustainability agencies, will further refine the work we already did. A groundwater sustainability agency and plan will be created for Sonoma Valley. As someone who lives in the Sonoma Valley groundwater basin, I join you in having a personal stake in this process. As your supervisor, I intend to make sure the process is under the local control of Sonoma Valley residents and landowners. I believe decisions for managing our groundwater should be based on science, data and collaboration. It’s premature to decide if metering of wells of necessary.
What is the best way to solve the problems caused by vacation rentals in residential zones?
Weekend zoning code enforcement is needed to take care of the noise problems and other violations that occur when vacation rentals are occupied by more people than allowed. Monday morning is too late for addressing violations on the weekend. The county also needs to track down on the illegal vacation rentals, those operating without a permit and which don’t pay transit occupancy taxes. The current policy of simply relying on neighbor complaints to report potential illegal vacation rentals is a failed policy.
The Supervisors voted down banning new vacation rentals in our traditional single-family neighborhoods, known as the R1 zone. Instead it provided the option of applying exclusion overlay zones in neighborhoods to prevent additional vacation rentals in the neighborhoods where the overlay is applied. This overlay zoning needs to be applied in R1 zoned neighborhoods the Springs, Glen Ellen and Kenwood, and other neighborhoods where the residents want it.
Other issues — What will be your top priority?
For Sonoma Valley my top priority is to ensure our community gets its equitable share of resources from the county. Equitable doesn’t mean equal, it means are we being properly served for the value for the tax dollars we send to the county coffers. From fixing county roads, to ensuring the Sheriff’s office and our fire districts have what they need to protect our public safety, we need a 1st district supervisor who’ll be a strong advocate and ask tough questions to ensure the county focuses on what should be its top priorities.
Overlaying this issue is the County’s pending pension crisis. Our ability to be properly served will be negatively impacted if the county’s growing unfunded pension liability isn’t addressed. Unlike the current supervisor, I’ve declined to sign pledges to the county’s public employee unions so that I can be free to represent the best interests of 1st district residents. Furthermore, when I ran for 1st district supervisor in 2012, I was the only candidate who advocated for appointing an advisory committee of experts to review the county’s pension problem and make recommendations to the Supervisors. Thankfully, the board did what I said. I’m the candidate who’ll be free to follow the committee’s recommendations.
Susan Gorin
Would you support incorporation of a new municipality for The Springs?
Our community must be able to have a voice in issues that directly affect their lives. Securing a $450,000 Planning Grant is allowing residents citizens to directly participate in planning the future of the area along the corridor. I would support the efforts of the residents of the four communities in The Springs to pursue incorporation. There are major challenges, however, because the funding needed to support government is derived primarily from property taxes and sales taxes from revenue-generating businesses, a difficult task when there are not enough businesses now and little open space for development. Residential property taxes do not cover the cost of government services.
Repaving our deplorable roads would fall to the municipality, as would the costs of law enforcement and other services in a very high need area. Special Districts for parking, business improvement and infrastructure are alternatives, but voters must approve them to accrue revenue.
Housing has become unaffordable. Will you vote for Rent stabilization?
Housing is at a crisis level in the valley, and our residents are seeking easy solutions to ease the skyrocketing rents. Rent stablization only covers multi-family homes built before 1995, in accordance with state law; it is not a magic bullet. I have requested that a review begin to estimate how many units in the Valley and in the County might qualify for rental control – the number is small. Until the Board has a deeper conversation about all strategies to alleviate our housing crisis, I will continue to work with the Sonoma Valley Housing Group to provide homeless outreach services, expand shelters and transitional housing, upgrade substandard housing, fund legal aid services for tenants, develop a Landlord/Tenant Mediation Board, and increase affordable housing in the Valley.
I’m pleased to announce that the Supervisors just approved my recommendation that we allocate $1m from our TOT funds generated by tourism to jumpstart our Housing Trust Fund.
How much tourism is too much?
Sonoma Valley benefits from a vibrant tourism economy, but the impacts on our community are significant. We are fortunate to live in an incredibly beautiful place rich in history, protected lands, parks and agriculture. Tourism accounts for 1 in 4 jobs in the Sonoma Valley, primarily focused on the wine industry. Still, I am very concerned about tourism impacts on our community – workforce shortage because of high housing costs, conversion of traditional agricultural lands into wineries/vineyards with requests for numerous events per year, loss of neighborhood character from too many vacation rentals, traffic congestion, and lack of economic diversity. We can find a way between boom and bust, but it requires strong leadership with the skills and experience to find balance to preserve the place we call home for a reason. I will continue to bring people together identify the challenges and collaborate on solutions.
Do you support metering and regulation of all private and commercial water wells?
Sonoma Valley was the first basin in Sonoma County to investigate our groundwater and develop a management plan. Through voluntary monitoring, we know that over-drafting of groundwater is occurring in Sonoma Valley – showing 5-7 feet of depletion over the past few years alone. California is now requiring us to form a Groundwater Sustainability Agency by July 2017 and approve an action plan within the next 5 years. This plan may include metering, best management practices, conservation targets, stormwater capture, aquifer recharge, and additional water storage reservoirs. I am collaborating with a number of groups in the Valley and Countywide to determine how this agency will function and coordinate with the two other GSAs in Sonoma County. Although it too early to identify the actions necessary to achieve surface and groundwater sustainability, it will require all of us working together to protect our most precious resource for generations to come.
What the best way to solve the problems caused by vacation rentals in residential zones?
Vacation rentals can blend into quiet residential areas, but it requires good management, respect for neighbors, and balance. The explosion of vacation rentals brings income for some, but too often, depletes the quality of life for residents and reduces housing stock for our workforce. I am proud to have led the effort that brought major new reforms in the areas of local certified property management, increased Code Enforcement, and a “3 Strikes You’re Out” provision in the updated Vacation Rental Ordinance. Most importantly, I pushed for the approval of Exclusion (X) Overlay Zones prohibiting new vacation rentals in all traditional single-family neighborhoods and some rural residential areas with a record of complaints. Over 10 different areas proposed for Exclusion zones in District 1 will come before the Board for approval on May 24. Combined, these measures will improve the negative aspects of vacation rentals while encouraging responsible property management.
Other issues — What will be your top priority?
Our Valley includes a diverse population with important issues. It is a critical moment.
Roads – Our roads have been neglected for decades, and it is unacceptable to ignore our neighborhood roads. I will continue significant general fund allocations to improve our neighborhood roads and bike paths.
Sonoma Developmental Center is not only our largest employer; it is also home to our most fragile population and keystone site for our Valley. For over three years, I have led a coalition fighting to retain essential services, preserve open space, and seek complementary uses for the property. In working with the State, I will continue to be a fierce advocate for the future of SDC.
The Springs’ development is a very complex undertaking that requires skill, an ability to listen, and navigation of local and state agencies. The $450,000 Springs Planning Grant is now enabling residents to have a major voice in determining the future of the Valley. Supporting and expanding small businesses, incentivizing commercial/retail development and jumpstarting additional housing are critical to the success of the area. Special districts for Parking, Business Improvement, or the Arts. Celebrate diversity, preserve our quality of life and maintain the energetic, eclectic vibe that is part of The Springs.
Keith Rhinehart
Would you support Incorporation of a new municipality for the Springs?
I would support it if that’s what the residents want. It’s a pretty large undertaking, considering that even the Town of Sonoma cannot manage to keep a police department of their own. I don’t see how the Springs can staff all the requirements of a municipality, and I don’t think there is a sufficient tax base to do so. So I do not believe it will happen without significant population growth, it’s probably 10-20 years down the road, at a minimum.
Housing has become unaffordable. Will you vote for Rent stabilization?
I support rent stabilization, with the caveat that the owner must be able to recoup any significant capital improvements somehow. I’m not saying it should be borne by the current tenant(s) immediately, I believe the City or County in which the rental exists must have the financial ability to subsidize the property owner with a low-interest loan in exchange for keeping rents affordable. And I think the 3% hike just enacted in CitySR is too low. It should be in the range of 5-10% maximum annually, and over time, supply and demand will also influence a property owners decision to raise rents or not. I also believe most propert owners are good people, and appreciate good tenants over a sudden opportunity for a 5% rent increase.
How much tourism is too much?
We have just the right amount, we don’t need more. That said, we need to coordinate winery and event center occasions in the same neighborhood on the same weekend, not just grant “x” number of events per facility and allow multiple events to cause inconvenience to our residents. And with breweries, distilleries and plans for commercial pot growing in the works, I believe a moratorium on such new businesses would not be out of the question. When you look at the winery, event business, builders, development attorney and commercial pot grower funds pouring into Susan Gorin’s campaign, you can see where the big money wants the Valley to go, and it’s not going to be pretty 10 years from now. Even Cuclis is taking the North Coast builders Exchange and Engineering Contractors maximum contributions. No professional politician, especially Gorin, cares if the Valley ends up completely paved over. We need to protect our open space.
Do you support metering and regulation of all private and commercial water wells?
I support monitoring of commercial wells, initially. We have no idea how much our water table is being lowered by wineries and vineyards already. I believe we could survey private residential wells and get a decent comparison in order to see who exactly is using our water resources excessively.
What the best way to solve the problems caused by vacation rentals in residential zones?
I think the problem is overstated. It’s a very few residents making a lot of noise, and not wanting to share the beauty of Sonoma County with visitors of modest means, like families. And at the same time, the people who helped create the “wine country lifestyle” have to accept some of the blame for the thousands of tourists who want to visit here. We live in a beautiful place, and frankly, the hotels have priced themselves out of the family market. The sharing economy is here to stay, Uber, Lyft, AirBnB and VRBO, and with “three strikes you’re out,” I believe VRBOs can be managed successfully. Let’s not forget the rights of property owners to profit from their investments as they choose – this is America, right? I think exclusion zones are unconstitutional, and I am waiting to support the first lawsuit by an exclusion zone property owner.
Other issues — What will be your top priority?
Pension reform is at the top of my list, with 60% of our current revenue going to pensions and pension interest. Our BOS has no courage for this fight, but if people like Tom Lynch and myself get elected, we will bring pension reform back to the table in a big way. The roads we need, the desire for infant childhood education (read “child care”) can all be funded if we roll back pensions to the 2002 level. I’m not talking about the “average $30K pension” that the SEIU 1021 like to crow about, I’m talking about the 369 retirees making more than $75K annually, up to $255K. Management also needs at 10% haircut across the board, not just Cuclis “giving back 25%” or Gorin not “accepting” her pension. I also believe that two terms as a Supervisor is enough for anyone. That’s $1.25 million each, and that should be enough for Zane, Rabbitt, Carrillo – all of them. I am especially concerned with the closure of SDC and will devote much of my learning time during this campaign to protecting the fragile population there, even though I know the PHA is supporting Gorin, and Evans in the 5th. Can’t get my head around that one.
