When he did not contact me as promised, I contacted the Buellton City Manager Marc Bierdzinski, and he said the RV, boat, and trailer ordinance will be revisited on July 27 at 6 p.m. You need to know that the May 25 Santa Ynez Valley News had an article in it about John Connolly giving his resignation. His replacement will be chosen during the June 22 or July 13 council meeting, just prior to revisiting the ordinance. John is one of the council members who changed his mind and elected to revisit the ordinance. This looks to me like an attempt by Mayor Holly Sierra to replace Mr. Connolly with someone who will support her position without considering the financial hardship this ordinance imposes on every Buellton resident who owns a RV, boat, or trailer.
To quote the Valley News, May 2, 2017, “Mayor Holly Sierra expressed reluctance to revisit the RV ordinance, indicating claims that the ordinance was instigated by and only benefited a few residents were not true and that the council made the right decision.”
I disagree. I reviewed the pertinent city archives, and this ordinance was introduced and rushed through within two weeks. Every one of the council members I spoke with said they were amazed at how fast they pushed it through. They did not give the citizens of Buellton who were going to be affected by this ordinance a chance to even find out it was on the agenda. Think about that.
The mayor should represent the public and consider the well-being and interest of the city as a whole and not let personal agendas or friendships get in the way of her job as a responsible administrator who fairly manages the affairs of all of the citizens of Buellton.
We need to address this issue with the city to show that we care and that a great many of us are not in support of the unnecessary restriction on our personal freedoms and do not approve of an additional financial burden on so many citizens.
This article appears in Jun 8-15, 2017.