#87, February 20, 2002
The Lafferty Park epic
continues to write itself. Just when you think it might end, it doesn't. When
it seems that it can't get any weirder, it does.
Last month, dozens of
Friends of Lafferty Park (FLP) walked the seven miles from Putnam Plaza to the
locked Lafferty gate, to demonstrate support for opening the park. Surprise, we
were greeted by half a dozen police cars. Bigger surprise, Peter Pfendler was
talking with them on his cell phone while
hiding in the bushes not far from the gate. The police, who later
correctly reported that the hikers were safe and well-behaved, refused to order
the hikers to leave the "contested" strip of
shoulder in front of the
gate.
To counterattack, Mr.
Pfendler and his neighbor and fellow SMC member Michael Caruana wrote the Argus
and attempted to pin the "blame" on the city. Mr. Caruana wrote,
"the march may simply have been a ploy to antagonize those who live on
Sonoma Mountain Road." Perhaps he didn't get a good look at the signs we
carried, all of which addressed the county supervisors, not the SMC (e.g.
"COUNTY SUPERVISORS: WHERE'S OUR FAIR SHARE? SUPPORT LAFFERTY PARK!")
Our purpose was and remains
to get our county supervisors to start working with the city to open Lafferty
Park. This means agreeing on affordable speed reduction measures for the road,
and Open Space District purchase of development rights. Can we be blamed if the
SMC is antagonized by our unwillingness to simply "walk away" from a
40-year, multi-million dollar investment in this public treasure?
The SMC isn't waiting for
us to walk away . they are actively driving us out. Mr. Caruana 's letter
correctly points out that the city "had no funds for the (Lafferty)
project." He could have said the SMC has succeeded in bleeding dry the
city's Lafferty fund. If the City Council were to authorize FLP volunteers to
start building the handicapped access trail, (which we are ready to do at no
cost to taxpayers), the SMC will put the city in court with no budget for legal
defense. If this were chess, the SMC would say, "check."
With the city effectively
paralyzed, and still no help from the county supervisors, we citizens were
forced to bring pressure on the supervisors, and are using the walks as a means
of raising the issue to a county-wide audience. But the SMC wasn't about to let
democracy get out of hand. Less than two weeks after the walk, SMC attorney
Steve Butler wrote the Petaluma city attorney threatening to hold the city
"liable for any injuries that occur during upcoming events being promoted
by city officials." To give Mr. Butler's letter some extra weight in front
of a judge, Caruana's and Pfendler's letters both claim the walk was organized
by the city.
This is the same tactic the
SMC used to inflate the costs of the EIR. First, they repeat an outrageous
claim (real example, EIR page 655: "Lafferty could tip the scales from
ranching to sprawl.") Then they threaten to sue if the claim is ignored.
Are the actions of roadside hikers that dangerous? In 1998, two dozen of us
walked all over Sonoma Mountain Road, and nobody called the police or wrote threatening
letters. The difference: we were picking up litter.
The city clearly did not
organize these events. Several councilmembers and commissioners, acting as
private citizens, helped organize and participated in the events. To threaten
to hold a city government liable (and its general fund hostage) for its
citizens' expression of free speech is a chilling attack on the First
Amendment. In their effort to "checkmate" proponents of Lafferty
Park, the SMC has stepped way over the line.
The SMC is acting like Enron
executives, hiding behind their elaborately constructed shells, banking on
their back room government influence. But here's the real question: when will
we get a county board of supervisors with the courage to drop the SMC like
Congress is dropping Ken Lay and his cronies. Ask Mike Kerns. And join the next
walk to the park, Sunday, February 24. See www.laffertyranch.org for details.