I need your help, ladies!
On Tuesday at 10:30 the Board of Supervisors will be voting on a request from County Counsel to approve nearly $1 million to continue the legal fight against lawsuits against the General Plan.
There are 11 or 12 different lawsuits against the General Plan. 8 or 9 of the lawsuits are about oil and gas. 1 lawsuit is from labor organizations. And CoLAB's lawsuit is about the policies in the General Plan that harm agriculture and has nothing to do with the oil and gas issues.
If this funding is approved, the County will have invested $3 million to fight these lawsuits (including the CoLAB lawsuit).
Certain members of the Board and County staff are saying that they need $3 million to "fight oil companies with their deep pockets." But, in truth, the money is being used to fight against farming too.
The County has refused to meet with CoLAB and has not responded to our settlement proposals. They have become so focused on the fight against oil and gas that agriculture is caught in the cross-fire.
We simply cannot keep up with the County's multi-million $ effort against us.
We have a very real - although small - to get this funding request denied on Tuesday at the BOS.
But I need 5-6 farmers to speak at the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday at 10:30. Would any of you be available and willing to help?
I will provide talking points or even write up statements that can be read out loud. We want to remind the BOS that:
- the County is spending $3 million in a fight against local farming
- we have never received any counter proposal or direct response to the settlement proposal for agricultural issues
- Do not vote to increase funding in this fight against farmers.
I know it's been a while since I've talked about the issues in the General Plan that harm ag. Here's a quick refresher. Some of the policies in the General Plan will:
- Increase competition for agricultural irrigation water supplies
- Increase areas of Urban-Ag interface and cause the loss of farmland
- Increase economic costs for farmers by adding more restrictions and permitting requirements
“Collaboration for Sensible Regulatory Solutions”
Louise Lampara
Executive Director
Ventura County Coalition of Labor Agriculture and Business
C (805)797-5679
Email: llampara@colabvc.org
Website: www.colabvc.org
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