Spellman spent time at the 3-17-11 Copperopolis Forum explaining his reasoning for being one of the two votes at the 3-15-11 Board of Supervisors meeting in favor of allowing conditional use permits for Ag land.
According to Spellman the majority of people present at the 3-17-11 Board meeting were under the impression that the conditional use issue was strictly an application to the Trinitas Project, either for or against the project. However, he was quick to point out that “it is so much more than just a Trinitas issue” that if he had voted opposed to the conditional use permits he would have been “neglecting the opportunity to relieve liability to the County.” Stating that there are additional current businesses within the County that would benefit from a conditional use permit.
When asked if the current businesses he stated existed adhere to current Ag land usage, Spellman said yes that some do yet some are “not permitted, yet exist” with the knowledge of the County, furthering his reasoning for voting in favor of the conditional use permit, “If you want to hold (one party) to the law then you need to hold everyone to the law.”
“County Council has spent 17 months” preparing a legally defensible position for the Trinitas project, yet Spellman states that there have been 3 suits filed with the County with regards to that project. There is a current stay on the auction of the property yet he says that he is aware of at least one developer of golf communities that is interested in the note, “the county allows special district communities…like Saddle Creek…..they are not subject to (the same rules) as a stand-alone golf course” potentially creating “a service district of up to 100 homes, instead of the 13 large parcel sites and one clubhouse” slated for the Trinitas project.
Reviewing issues Spellman has been working on, he updated the citizens in attendance with the news of the VLF and gas tax, stating that Auditor Rebecca Callen does not have statistics for delineation of vehicles in the area and therefore cannot break down the amount of VLF and gas tax coming from District 5. However, he did state that Rebecca will be able to break down the property tax amount received by the County from District 5, allowing Spellman to see “how much District 5 is contributing… just some accountability.”
On the snow plow issue, Spellman stated that the VLF funding to the Sheriff Office could be reduced by almost 500k and that he views the new snow plow that cost the County 500k as an asset, if the SO is going to take such a large loss in revenue “I will make a motion to sell that asset to guarantee public safety.” He also pointed out residents “have to be aware of the area they are moving to or living in…and that they cannot expect the county to be responsible for snow clearance.”
The Williamson Act was discussed; the fact that the state has not funded the Williamson Act for “at least two years” the County is proposing to place the cost of that lost revenue back on the land owners within the Williamson Act areas. This will “put small ranchers in a hard spot” said Spellman pointing again to the benefits of conditional use permits, “allowing land owners to do more with their land” to realize potential income.
At this point a citizen with property within the Williamson Act posed the informational question, “If a property owner chose to seek a conservancy for his/her property the County would receive $0 tax dollars from that property.” Spellman will look into that.
The Williamson Act Subvention program was a program that granted farmers and ranchers breaks on their property taxes with the state making up the difference to the participating counties. In return the parcels were restricted to agricultural use and not allowed to develop. The Williamson Act helps to protect California’s $37 billion agricultural industry, preserve open space, control urban sprawl, provide habitat, and assist in the reduction of green house gases while providing counties with one of their few forms of discretionary funding to carry out critical programs for the state.
The Williamson Act Subvention program was a program that granted farmers and ranchers breaks on their property taxes with the state making up the difference to the participating counties. In return the parcels were restricted to agricultural use and not allowed to develop. The Williamson Act helps to protect California’s $37 billion agricultural industry, preserve open space, control urban sprawl, provide habitat, and assist in the reduction of green house gases while providing counties with one of their few forms of discretionary funding to carry out critical programs for the state.
Supervisor Spellman is available to the residents of District 5 every Thursday afternoon at Snaps Coffee House in Town Square from 2:30 to 4:00 pm.
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