Letter to Editor | Reject Charter amendments

||| FROM MIKE CARLSON, for SAN JUAN BUILDING ASSOCIATION |||

Proposition 1 adds new language: “Let us acknowledge we reside on the ancestral lands and waters of the Coast Salish people . . .” We cannot and should not speak for the tribes. The existing permitting process is already open to include tribal influence to protect their cultural resources. This is redundant and ignores current State and County laws. This is a philosophical amendment that goes beyond what we already do and elevates “rights of nature” above owner’s rights. It is certain to make home permitting more difficult.

Proposition 3 will place a non-elected Climate and Environment Commission in direct oversight of the Planning Department. Its mission will be to “provide a mechanism . . . in the County’s efforts to address climate change . . .” This amendment was written as though we do not have current mechanisms which protect the environment and address climate change. We do! Those who have obtained a building permit in SJC know we have very robust mechanisms.

All employers are already subject to state and federal laws regarding non-discrimination. Propositions 5 & 6 add another layer of regulation. There will be a non-elected Justice Commission who will decide who the county hires and if a local contractor may be eligible to bid on county contracts. Hiring labor locally is difficult now. This could make it even more difficult.

VOTE AGAINST inflicting more commissions, processes, even longer permit review times and expenses onto ourselves.