Democracy is not a spectator sport. It’s good to watch the news, debates or documentaries to inform yourself – but it doesn’t do anything to change anything. It’s like watching your house burn down without doing anything about it.
If you want to change something about your government, you must do something proactive, like:
- Write to your elected representatives;
- Put feet in the street, march or stand vigil;
- Call government officials;
- Meet with policy makers;
- Participate in phone banks or letter-writing events;
- Knock on doors;
- Display yard signs and bumper stickers;
- Join a political action committee;
- Post on social media
- Donate to candidates and/or activist organizations;
- Sign a petition;
- Volunteer to serve on citizen/stakeholder advisory boards;
- Show up at public meetings;
- Testify at public hearings;
- Run for office;
- VOTE!
This is what we at the Sierra Roots/No Place to Go Project are doing. We’re putting our thoughts into action in Nevada County – and we’re seeking support from other counties in rural Northern California.
a chance for change
This summer, Nevada County proposed a tiny-homes-on-wheels ordinance, making it legal to park and live in them on private property in the unincorporated areas of the county.
Without specifically saying so, the ordinance is worded in such a way as to exclude other homes on wheels – trailers, RVs and mobile homes.
We have a problem with that. Thousand residents of Northern California are already living in these homes on wheels – but this proposed ordinance still leaves us illegal. An anonymous complaint, regardless of merit or malice, is enough for Nevada County Code Compliance to force our relocation to anywhere but where we are safe and welcome.
And it is a well-documented fact that, essentially, there is no place to go.
Therefore, we are seeking to amend the tiny homes-on-wheels (THOW) ordinance to legalize all homes on wheels (AHOW). I say “we” because I am a stakeholder, having lived illegally in a trailer on some friends’ property for the last six years.
Your turn
Although as creative director of the SR/NPTGP, I am continuing to talk personally with the Nevada County supervisors and senior staff, nothing’s going to change unless people – many people – get involved. We are asking folks to sign our petition, write letters of support and testify at upcoming public hearings.
For the petition, all we ask is your name and ZIP Code. You don’t even have to be a Nevada County resident. We want to show our government leaders that people all over rural Northern California want AHOW legalized.
You can see links to the petition and the reasons to sign it on our homepage www.noplacetogoproject.com.
We are delighted to announce that we have just received petition signatures from Nancy Baglietto, executive director and CEO of Hospitality House and Joe Naake, director of strategic programming. Hospitality House is Nevada County’s only 24/7/365 homeless shelter and housing provider.
If you want to do even more, we strongly encourage you to write a message of support for the legalization of AHOW to Nevada County Principal Planner Tyler.Barrington@nevadacountyca.gov. Due to the dozens of letters of support, the original deadline of Sept. 5 for written comment has been extended indefinitely.
And if you really want to get proactive, you can speak to Mr. Barrington in person at two Nevada County public hearings:
- Wednesday, Oct. 16, 6 p.m., Higgins Lions Club, 22490 E. Hacienda Dr.
- Thursday, Oct. 17, 6 p.m., Penn Valley Fire Station, 10513 Spenceville Rd.
We expect all supporters to be respectful and civil. Threats and insults will only hurt our cause.
Testimony does not stop there. The Nevada County Planning Commission meets Oct. 24. This session is critical. We expect the Planning Department to recommend the THOW ordinance as proposed. Our goal is the persuade the commissioners to recommend to the Nevada County Board of Supervisors that the ordinance be amended to include AHOW.
The as-yet-unscheduled public hearing at the Board of Supervisors, probably in November, is where we’re hoping a large number of supporters will show up. We want people to use their three minutes to encourage the supervisors to lead the state in legalizing AHOW.
Instead of asking supervisors to throw more money at the homelessness problem, we’re asking them to change some of the laws that are causing homelessness.
We have a housing crisis. Trailers, RVs and mobile homes may not be the ideal solution, but they are the best solution for right here, right now.
Winter is coming. Let’s get people safely inside.
Tom Durkin is the creative director of the Sierra Roots/No Place to Go Project. Sierra Roots is a 501(c)3 nonprofit serving homeless people in Nevada City. He may be contacted at tomdurkin@sierra-roots.org, www.noplacetogoproject.com or 530-559-3199.