From: Rachel Bartz
To: City Council; Mary Gourley
Subject: Public Comment for Feb 1 Council Mtg
Date: Monday, January 31, 2022 1:32:13 PM
Public Comment On the Overwhelming RV Situation in Sebastopol, for Feb 1 Meeting Dear Council Members:
In her novel, Beloved, the author Toni Morrison writes, “Everything depends on knowing how much. Good is knowing when to stop.”
“Knowing when to stop,” means tuning in: knowing when things are out of balance.
I’d like to submit, if your constituents are suing you, it’s a sign you don’t know when to stop. City Council, you aren’t listening to regular Sebastopol families and businesses.
Sebastopol is out of balance. Our lax parking rules continue to attract RV transients.
In the recent past, large numbers of transients made the Joe Rodota Trail unsafe.
Likewise, growing numbers of RVs are transforming Sebastopol neighborhoods.
Morris Street is full of garbage, crime has increased, and drug use is proliferating.
Instead of “Peacetown,” we’ve become “Vantown.”
It’s overdue for the Council to adopt permitted RV parking laws that will stop this “free for all” situation. Further, instead of sowing division (pitting Morris Street against North Seb), a respectful Council would pause the North RV Village project, working with its constituents, not unilaterally. Instead of calling each other “NIMBYs” we insist that all Sebastopol residents deserve safe, sober and clean streets.
It feels like our Council sees itself as the answer (perhaps a savior?) to Sonoma County’s unsheltered. But the reality is the homeless crisis is too big for one small town to own. Broader, County-wide efforts are necessary to balance burdens, with shared efforts across cities. Everything depends on knowing how much. Good is knowing when to stop.
Sincerely,
Rachel Allen
Sebastopol Resident