Welcome to Blog for Buellton

Welcome to Blog for Buellton

Welcome to the Blog for Buellton. Comment on posts by others, or create your own. To post, please e-mail jpowell@usc.edu and I will "invite" you, which will add you to the list of those allowed to post rather than to comment only.

You will need a Google account, which is easy to acquire and worth having: go to https://www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount.

No topic is off limits, but posts should be worded with respect for others and have relevance to Buellton. Posts with inappropriate language will be deleted immediately.

Please help us launch Blog for Buellton as a way of building community and sharing our ideas and hopes for our city.

Thank you for blogging.

Kudos to the Buellton City Council

The Buellton City Council did itself proud at their recent meeting on February 26. The Council reversed an ordinance passed last December, which would have significantly increased housing density in mixed-use zoned areas. Responding to sentiments articulated by confused and frustrated residents, the Council also turned a corner by agreeing to take a comprehensive look — even if they need to work on Saturdays — at all of the City's zoning regulations. A comprehensive look will ensure that Buellton does not suffer from piecemeal development and over-densification. Community workshops have been promised to help us understand how Buellton is currently zoned and solicit our feedback so together we can forge a community vision that includes a reasonable and workable zoning framework.

Special kudos to:

• Mayor Russ Hicks for his leadership in keeping the Housing Element Update workshop "open" in order for everyone to have sufficient time to review and digest the materials, allowing the public to speak without time-restraints, and suggesting that the Council step back and view the zoning issue in a more comprehensive way;
• Mayor Pro Tem Victoria Pointer for her insistence that the Council review the mixed-use ordinance on density in conjunction with the 2009 Housing Element Update report, and her tenacious questioning of staff to bring more clarity to the discussion;
• Council member Dave King for questioning city staff assumptions, asking hard questions and listening deeply to community concerns;

Council members Ed Andrisek and Holly Sierra also receive kudos for their careful attention to public comments, insightful questions and thoughtful comments.

I am glad to see some comments and response to my blog. Some of the answers to your questions are:1.) Jonata Park Road is named after Jonata Park which is now the Pistol and Bow Club. At one time it was a fire station, then converted to a park which turned out to have water problems.
2.)The Avenue of Flags, including the median is owned by the City of Buellton so it can be recreated however agreed upon .
3.) Redevelopment kind of lost it's steam on AOF when speculators bought up most of it and put outlandish prices on several parcels. It was like holding the City hostage. However it is still a top priority with the City. Moving the Post Office, library, visitors bureau and even a small museum to 2nd Street and the AOF now makes more sense then ever! With this economy, now is a good time for the City to acquire land to do so.
I was a contributor to Cal-Ed study and I do believe we need to protect our M zoning, which is Industrial property. Jobs need to be created for the residents of Buellton to eliminate all the commuting.

Buellton's Future

I would like to see the Post Office, Library and Visitors Bureau relocated to the Avenud of Flags and 2nd Street. This would truly create a downtown synergy because everyone would be going there every day. It would relieve the traffic on Hiway 246 and place it downtown where it is needed to attract new businesses. If you placed a Stop sign on the Avenue of Second street in both directions, it would slow the traffic down and allow more pedestrian movement for safety. It is my opinion that the Southbound offramp at the North end of town is highly dangerous and should possibly be moved further North to the City's Northern Boundary making Jonata Park road the new offramp. As it is now, traffic comes off the Northern offramp and does not slow down as it enters our downtown. Engineering needs to spent on a solution to this problem.
As far as growth goes, I think it is beneficial for the health of our city if it is controled and attractive. It was not more than 16 years ago that Buellton did not have one park, landscaped entryways, great police protection, or well maintained roads. We have come a long way from that day and I believe we have just begun if more concerned residents come to meetings and help direct our leadership in what we all want. When we become passive as has happened in the last few years, the leadership has to make uninformed decisions many times due to the lack of comments from the residents. I hope to see more of you blogging soon.