Santa Rosa City Council urged to drop membership in sustainable development group

See our worthy discussion about whether ICLEI and Agenda 21 goal is "political oppression" or Sustainable Development here:
https://www.waccobb.net/forums/showt...ighlight=ICLEI

This is another conflict between property rights and communal cooperation and planning.

Barry
:waccosun:

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Santa Rosa City Council urged to drop membership in sustainable development group
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/articl...p=all&tc=pgall
By KEVIN McCALLUM
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 8:57 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 11:11 a.m.

Property rights activists urged the Santa Rosa City Council Tuesday to cancel its membership in an international group promoting sustainable development.

After protesting in front of City Hall Tuesday afternoon, about a dozen people asked the council to distance itself from ICELI, the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives.

The group, whose official name is ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, claims 1,220 local governments from 70 nations are members. It was formed in 1990 and is headquartered in Bonn, Germany.

Santa Rosa has been an official member since 2007, paying $600 per year, according to James Bennett, a local car dealer and redevelopment critic.

“Please reconsider your allegiance with this globalist UN sponsored NGO,” Bennett told the council during a discussion of whether the city has enough water to support future growth.

Council members did not respond to the request.

Bennett and others have repeatedly asked the council to explain its membership in the organization, but claim they have not gotten a straight answer.

He and others, some aligned with the Tea Party, view international efforts to limit sprawl and conserve energy as stripping local governments of their autonomy and denying people basic property rights.

They held signs Tuesday that read “Kick ICLEI Out” and “Our City Sold Us Out.” During Tuesday’s council meeting, they stood repeatedly to speak during public comments on several issues before the city

Some council members have at times expressed concerns about regional government initiatives. Vice Mayor John Sawyer, for example, has expressed concern about the One Bay Area plan to direct future development in the nine Bay Area counties, saying it might influence local land-use planning.

But Bennett and others see far deeper conspiracies foot. Coordinated efforts to reduce greenhouse gases, increase public transportation, cluster future development in cities, or conserve natural resources are all viewed as part of a global plot whose true goal is political oppression.

“They would rather let the water run out to the ocean than to let the ranchers and farmers and growers use it to feed the people,” Bennett said. “It’s almost biblical. It’s like you people, through your ICLEI allegiance, aligned us with the Dark Side.”

Some are concerned that regional governmental bodies are by design less accountable to the public.

Kay Tokerud noted that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority meets in Oakland at 7:30 a.m., making it virtually impossible for Sonoma County residents to have a voice in their decisions.

“We’ve had to track them down to get them to listen to us,” Tokerud said.

But they haven’t been satisfied even when those groups seek public input locally.

Tokerud and like-minded activists last month disrupted a meeting last month aimed at having a dialogue with the public about long-range transportation and housing plans. The meeting, held at the Finley Community, was hosted by the Association of Bay Area Governments and Metropolitan Transportation Commission. Police were called after activists interrupted speakers and refused to limit their remarks to the allotted times.

Bennett said the city, when it does respond, will probably portray ICLEI as “benign consulting group.” If that’s the case, the city should have no problem holding a forum to explain its affiliation.

“Anything that so profoundly affects our fiscal and civil landscape, I think the people have a right to know about it,” he said.