Voters have say on Clover Valley

Posted by Sierra Nevada Alliance Weekly

August 29, 2007

[Auburn Journal commentary forwarded by Clover Valley Foundation]

Rocklin Voters Will Stop the Destruction of Clover Valley - One Way or Another

We Californians have a grand tradition of taking our politicians out to the proverbial woodshed when we feel they've stopped representing us.
It goes like this: If We, The People, don't like how you are governing, Mr. Politician, then we'll take matters into our own hands. We do this through initiatives, recall elections and referendums.

Sometime very soon, the Rocklin City Council is poised to approve the Clover Valley development project, a decision that is wildly unpopular with the voters who put them in office. And when the council makes that decision, those same voters will be "taking to the streets" and gearing up for a referendum fight.

Nothing makes a politician's blood run cold like the fear of "voter backlash."

One of the greatest examples of voter backlash occurred back in the late 1970s when Californians felt they were being taxed into oblivion by deaf-eared politicians in Sacramento. A grassroots group got organized, collected signatures and put Proposition 13 on the ballot, which severely limited the state's ability to increase property taxes. It was coined "the taxpayers' revolt" and, whether or not you think Prop. 13 was good for California, it remains a triumph of "people-powered politics."

I absolutely believe in the people's right to take action and let their voices be heard. In Rocklin, the time for "direct democracy" is fast approaching.

Last month, the Rocklin Planning Commission recommended that the City Council give final approval to the controversial Clover Valley development project. By all indications, the City Council will follow suit, despite objections from Rocklin citizens, local environmental and cultural and citizen groups.

This project includes the building of a new highway that will result in more than 14,000 cars being dumped onto Rocklin streets, past schools and senior communities each day. It will result in the destruction of more than 7,000 mature oak trees. In this development, sprawling mansions will be built in and around and likely on top of ancient Indian burial grounds.

You heard right. Ancient Indian burial grounds. Thousands of them from more than 7,000 years of Native American history in the valley, which was once used as a regional trading center for many of the West Coast Native American tribes.

You remember the movie "Poltergeist" don't you? They're heeerre.

Well, guess what? The citizens of Rocklin are absolutely dead set against this development and all that comes with it. A recent survey of Rocklin voters found that three of every four Rocklin voters did not want this development. Furthermore, if the council approved the project anyway, these same folks said they absolutely wanted to have a vote on the issue.

And that's where the Save Clover Valley Coalition comes in. Once the project gets final approval, Rocklin citizens have 30 days to collect signatures from at least 10 percent of registered Rocklin voters (roughly 3,000) to get a referendum on the ballot.

If the City Council refuses to represent the voters of Rocklin, the Save Clover Valley Coalition is committed to letting the people represent themselves.

In the roughly 10-year battle over the fate of Clover Valley, a committed group of people has spent thousands of hours spreading the word about the unique cultural, environmental and archeological treasure that is this valley. Three different Web sites have popped up in opposition. Some 350 people recently turned out to the planning commission meeting, the vast majority there to oppose this development.

Yet it appears Rocklin's politicians aren't ready to listen. They need look only a few miles down I-80 to see what happens when politicians become out of touch with their constituents.

Pick of the phone, folks, and call your counterparts in Dixon, who desperately wanted a horse racing track in their little town, and yet were soundly pistol-whipped at the ballot box earlier this year by Dixon residents who didn't.

In this day and age, it is rare indeed for regular people to get their voices heard by the power brokers who run our lives. An upcoming referendum on the fate of Clover Valley will be one of those times.

And should the people win? Well, it's the wise politician who changes course when the voters have their day. Only a fool drinks twice from a poisoned well.

Auburn resident Rob Haswell can be reached at rhaswell-placer AT yahoo.com. Haswell serves as Region 1 Director of the California Democratic Party and is also an adviser for the Save Clover Valley Coalition.

STS NOTE: Listen to Clover Valley Foundation Director Marilyn Jasper speak at our Storybooth .