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The town is more accessible than the county
By Brent N. Ventura
One evening a homeowner spots a suspicious young man entering his neighbor's garage. A phone call to the neighbor, who is home alone with her small children, reveals that she is unaware of the stranger's presence. She hurriedly calls 911 and runs from the home with her children. Twenty minutes later police arrive but the intruder has vanished. It is later discovered that a patrol car from the adjacent jurisdiction could have arrived at the scene in three minutes.
Two friends are conversing about the large remodels occurring in their neighborhood. One complains about the new two-story addition built next door which looms over their house and intrudes upon their privacy.
"I never had a chance to comment on their plans," says one. "I didn't even know about their second-story addition until I returned from work and saw the framing. I called but was told there was nothing I could do; the permits were properly issued."
"That's funny," responds his friend. "My next-door neighbor added a second story, but I received a notice in the mail and had an opportunity to review the plans and request some changes. My neighbor was great. He included the minor modifications I requested, and we have no problems with what they built. You live less than a block from me. I wonder why you didn't receive any notices?"
A pleasant, tree-covered neighborhood is suffering from traffic cutting through it to avoid congestion on Los Gatos Boulevard. Two streets, parallel to each other, in particular are impacted. Residents complain that the volume and speed of the traffic are destroying the peacefulness of their homes and jeopardizing their children. Residents of one street petition their elected officials for relief. They are successful and traffic impediments are installed to slow and divert the traffic. Residents of the parallel street, a quarter-mile away, also petition their elected officials for relief, but are ignored. Traffic is now even worse there, as the street carries additional traffic from the parallel route.
These Kafkaesque recitations are all true events. I have witnessed each. They are the results of two separate governments serving one small town.
I have lived my entire life in Los Gatos, 20 years in county pockets, 25 years in the town. I have served as a planning commissioner for both Santa Clara County and the town of Los Gatos and also served on the Town Council.
Los Gatos currently has two governments, two sets of leaders, two sets of rules and two levels of service. One government is close, small and accessible. Its five elected officials all publish their home phone numbers. The other agency is huge and distant, and only one of its five elected officials represents Los Gatos. Most of its billion-dollar-plus budget is devoted to providing health, welfare and social services, not municipal services.
There are many sound reasons why it is in the best interest of county residents to avail themselves of the opportunity to join the town. The most obvious of these are already part of the ongoing discourse.
* Sidewalks and streetlights will not be added to existing neighborhoods.
* There will be a quantum improvement in police patrols and emergency response.
* Annexation will save county residents more than $100 per year in lower garbage rates and elimination of the library assessment on their property taxes.
* Property taxes will not be reassessed.
* Streets will be improved and storm drains will be maintained.
* There will be greater accessibility to government decision makers.
* The county has an ongoing policy to remove itself from the obligation to provide municipal services, and the level of service in the county pockets has been declining and will continue to decline.
The argument raised most frequently by annexation opponents is that the county's planning and building requirements are far less demanding than the town's. Opponents suggest that property owners can pretty much get anything approved by the county, while the town arbitrarily and unjustifiably burdens applicants. Regrettably, for opponents, this seductive claim is more myth than fact.
Closer scrutiny of the facts illustrates a different reality. The only types of applications relevant to pocket residents are home remodels and additions. While the town's review process for new hotels, shopping centers and subdivisions is probably more demanding than in other jurisdictions, it is simply immaterial to how the town and county process home remodels and additions. There is little difference between the town's review process for remodels and additions and the county's.
Both agencies use the same building code; both have similar setback and height requirements, and both require all applicants to address concerns regarding fire, road and geological issues. It is insulting to suggest that county planning and building employees rubber-stamp all applications without review, and that projects are approved by winks and nods.
I can assure you that the county staffs in these departments are all highly trained and dedicated professionals whose primary concern is that all new construction protect public health and safety--the same as the staff in Los Gatos.
The only difference in the processes is that some applications in the town require notice to immediate neighbors. While some may see this as a drawback, many others perceive this as a protective benefit. As a result of several large second-story additions in the Rancho-Rinconada neighborhood, when I left the county Planning Commission a study was under way to provide some protection to neighbors of new second-story additions. Soon the county's policy in this regard, as is generally the case, may mirror the town's.
All these arguments overlook what I believe to be the most compelling rationale in favor of joining the town. This conclusion is reached, in part, from my 17 years of public service. Simply put, the best form of government is the government closest to (most accessible to) the governed. The government of a small city or township is a superior alternative to government at the county, state or federal level. It is the government providing the greatest efficiency, responsiveness and democracy to its citizens. The further a government is distanced from the governed, the less powerful the voice of individuals and small groups. The more distant government is from the governed, the more powerful are the monied and special interests. One need only consider how Congress conducts business to conclude the obvious.
In Los Gatos, individuals or small groups without financial resources can and do successfully petition the Town Council to address their concerns. This, with much greater difficulty and far less success, can be accomplished with the county. It is virtually impossible at the state and federal level.
The best reason to annex to Los Gatos is that the governed can effectively influence and change their government. In Los Gatos, any individual's voice, your voice, can be heard. If you believe town services are poor or inefficient, you can change that. If you believe the town's remodeling requirements are onerous, you can change that. If you want more or less government regulation, you can change that. You can even get elected to the Town Council without raising and spending thousands of dollars. Decision makers in Los Gatos are simply a phone call or doorbell away. By joining Los Gatos, county residents can participate in a vibrant and thriving democracy, one much closer to the ideals of the Founding Fathers than what we find in any other form.
Brent Ventura is a Los Gatos resident who has served on the Town Council and on the county Planning Commission.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
