That is an amazing article Nancy. Much food for thought as Sebastopol citizens and officials grapple with how to best manage change, as change is inevitable.
It is extremely insightful on the differences between US and European land and growth policies. I would encourage anyone to read it to think about whether to invite the proposed hotel in or look at alternatives that would support the local agriculture economy.
Notable quotes from the article:
"Although the percentage of Americans involved in agriculture is today only 1.4 percent, with a total of around 2.1 million farms, France by itself has some 730,000 farms in only 6 percent of the total land area, with 7 percent of its population employed in agriculture." (what a difference!)
"Although the notion of "locally-sourced" food products has lately gained some traction, this has not translated into much if any public policy.."