I am an Oceanside voter unaffiliated with any organization that supports or opposes the local ballot initiative, Measure Y. I have read information provided by supporters of Measure Y, sometimes referred to as “SOAR”, as well as a letter from Nagata Brothers Farms Inc., and Mellano & Company, hereinafter NBFMC, which opposes Measure Y. I have researched Measure Y and it does one thing – prevent zone changes of Oceanside open space, farmland, parks, and recreation areas without voter approval. This is all you need to know. If you want more info read on.
I believe the Oceanside City Council will oppose Measure Y because it restricts their power by preventing them from making zone changes without voter approval.
I believe NBFMC opposes Measure Y because it will hinder their ability to subdivide their land and build houses or commercial property, hurting their ability to profit from their land. I believe NBFMC’s quote, “As a result our properties lose value,” is accurate. I believe some quotes in NBFMC’s letter, such as, “Without that value, we can’t secure the financing we need to keep our farms working,” are an exaggeration. A bank looks at land as collateral for its loan. If the bank forecloses, it will sell the land at its current value to recoup some or all of its loan. Thus, an appraiser will give little value to a potential zone change years in the future that may or may not occur.
I believe supporters of Measure Y want Oceanside voters to vote “Yes” because they are trying to add a layer of protection to prevent zone changes to the remaining open space, farmland, parks, and recreation areas within the city. I believe their quote, “Measure Y does not allow zoning changes in these areas without voter approval,” is accurate. I believe the quote, “Yes on Y will preserve our open space, farmland, parks and recreation areas…” is an exaggeration. There is no guarantee that passage of Measure Y will preserve these areas. Oceanside voters could vote to allow a park or farmland to be rezoned for development.
I distinguish an exaggeration, which embellishes the organization’s claims, from deceptive or false statements, which are intentionally misleading. I do not believe that any statements in the literature by supporters of Measure Y are deceptive or false. I believe there are several deceptive or false statements in the letter from NBFMC, including but not limited to, “The measure was sold to our Oceanside neighbors under false pretenses,” “You may have been told that Measure Y protects open space and parks, yet that is false,” “This deceptive measure does nothing to protect park lands,…,” “Even worse, this misleading measure threatens the viability of every farm. Rather than protect agricultural land, Measure Y encourages our city’s farmland to be developed…,” “For the wealthy homeowners backing Measure Y, the real goal may be to make Oceanside an enclave for the very rich….”
The website for supporters of Measure Y is www.Oceanside-SOAR.org
The website for NBFMC, which opposes Measure Y, is www.KeepFarmingOceanside.org
I have not been coerced by any organization nor am I receiving any compensation for writing this letter. I intend it solely to help Oceanside voters make an informed decision about Measure Y.
Don Miller, Oceanside
3 comments
The buffoons who oppose measure Y are being confused by the wording of the measure. It was made to closely mirror each sides position.
Do you want to have the ability to vote on preserving property and land zoning?
Do you want to keep the valuable agricultural land as the beautiful resource that it is?
The wealthy developer opposes measure Y because he can’t buy the land to throw houses up.
VOTE YES on Y
If you are familiar with college Rd / vandegriff / River Road areas then you know how congested traffic is now. It’s a mess. Do you really want thousands of more cars on these roads? Do you drive on River rd now and wonder how much more traffic would impact the area with thousands more cars in stopped traffic would feel like.
N River Rd would have the same thrilling feeling as sitting on the I-5 during rush hour.
Please vote for Measur Y
If you ever wondered what an advantage money provides look no further than the latest lottery. With $1.6B on the line it was entirely possible for someone with an extra $600 million to buy every number combination possible, grossing $900 million in winnings and netting $300 million in their pockets.
Think of the folks against measure Y. They purchased the land zoned for farms using pennies on the dollar and expect to gross a profit re-zoning and selling at a developers premium.
Who’s left paying for the infrastructure? Roads are congested, the freeways are congested, the waste water is congested and smells like crap! My property taxes are already through the roof. Is opposing measure Y going to reduce my taxes; no it’s not! My taxes will continue to balloon along with the rest of you, so these jerkoffs can profit from our taxes (at our expense).
The same goes for the developments in our downtown. We’re stuck paying the bill to maintain tourism where the big resorts are profiting from our taxes for infrastructure. We do not see those profits. We as residents pay the bulk of the taxes while the resort owners pay very little (if at all) by giving out a handful of service jobs. THIS IS CRAP! AND YOU KNOW IT!
YES ON Y!
Stop the scammers with direct democracy; where your vote actually counts.
Follow the money and follow the lies. You said it yourself. Supporters are not trying to deceive people. Too bad the other side has to resort to taking money from developers to spread their falsehoods. People are smarter than that and can see what is going on. Same kind of tricks were (and still are) being used in Carlsbad. Must be contagious.
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