Letters from your neighbors…
Approve ADUs now
EDITOR: I attended a Windsor Town Council meeting on Nov. 1, 2017. Item 11.3 on the agenda, “Potential Housing Measures for Post-Fire Recovery Effort,” should have included something called “Building ADUs.” At the meeting, a few of us who own houses in Windsor expressed the wish to provide additional housing for fire victims (at no cost to you, the taxpayer) by building ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units) in our backyards. The Town of Windsor already has guidelines for building ADUs: lot size minimum of 5,000 square feet, five-foot setbacks, 16-foot height maximum and 840 square foot maximum.
Here’s the problem. The Town Council is unwilling to approve any of these units at this writing. And yet we are enduring a housing crisis. Before any of the 5,100 houses burned down on Oct. 8, Sonoma County was in the midst of a housing shortage. The Windsor Town Council needs to act now. If we don’t provide housing for those who lost their houses, these people will leave the area. Our local economy will suffer.
If the Windsor Town Council were to approve these ADUs within the month, each of the interested parties could build a unit that could house at least two people per unit; these units could be available for rent within 2-3 months of breaking ground. The problem is that the Windsor Town Council wants to hold more meetings before it can decide upon approving any ADUs.
Folks, we don’t have time. For the next several months, FEMA and private companies will be cleaning up the lots where the houses burned down. By next spring, the rebuilding will begin, and there will be a shortage of manpower. I personally have rented my house in Windsor to a fire victim, a contractor who is available to build an ADU in my backyard. He won’t be available next spring, when he will be rebuilding his own house that burned down. If the Town Council doesn’t act soon, I view this as a missed opportunity for providing additional housing, paid for by private citizens.
Please contact the Windsor Town Council members ([email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], and [email protected]) and urge them to move forward with the approval process immediately.
Joyce Y. Chang
Windsor
Lions holiday dinner
EDITOR: Just in case anyone is looking for something fun to do on Dec. 9 the Lions District 4-C2 is having a special holiday dinner to raise money for the Student Speaker Foundation. The foundation organizes the Student Speaker Contest and provides all of the scholarship money for the District, Area and final MD-4 contests. Last year over $103,000 was given out in scholarships.
In order to maintain that level of funding each district must raise money to help support the foundation. This fundraiser is the combined effort of our district. Only advance tickets will be available and can be ordered by sending a check for $45 per ticket to Windsor Lions Club, PO Box 6, Windsor, CA 95492.
Beverlee Block
Windsor
Excellent piece
EDITOR: My father would often say, “It’s impossible to do one thing,” to remind my brother and me to look beyond what we thought was “a good idea at the time” (which he never said). Good examples of why this is an important way to evaluate decisions and their consequences were explained in Amie Windsor’s excellent piece in the Nov. 2 Harvest Edition of the Times: ‘Next Gen’ Farming.
Jane St. Claire
Healdsburg
Let the animals live
EDITOR: Mardi Storm of Trickster Rabbits (‘Heritage’ applies to more than tomatoes, 11/2/17) says “new and modern rabbits don’t like people; they aren’t friendly and not necessarily cuddly.” The millions of house rabbit owners nationwide would strongly disagree. Rabbits are now the third most popular pet, enjoying equal companion status along with dogs and cats; they even have an organization called House Rabbit Society advocating for their protection. I live with two rescued bunnies who know their names, use litter boxes, love to be petted, do binkies (a rabbit dance of joy), cuddle on the couch and hop around the house spreading delight wherever they go.
Whole Foods Market recently recognized that bunnies are considered more valuable as companions than dinner when, after scores of protests, they stopped selling rabbit meat in their entire chain of stores across America. The owner of a popular local grocery store told me that meat sales in general have declined sharply in the past few years, and he theorized that the emergence of more exotic meat is an attempt to rekindle interest. He admitted it hasn’t taken off.
Perhaps in our current culture, people are now becoming more interested than ever in adopting a plant-based diet to reverse heart disease and diabetes, lose weight, lessen their impact on global warming, live longer and healthier and to simply let the animals live.
Diana Rousseau
Forestville
