Creating a Water and Land Conservancy
This article originally appeared in our newsletter, Landmarks, Spring 2008
When the Land Trust Board adopted our strategic plan two years ago, it included working towards the creation of a special district to help fund land protection as a major goal. The statistics were compelling: counties with open space districts have saved tens of thousands of acres and a quarter cent sales tax in our county would generate $8 million a year for conservation. Another statistic is daunting: a tax increase requires a two-thirds vote.
Last summer we commissioned a poll to determine the public taste for such a measure. The answer was that there was just enough support, but that success at the ballot box would require, in the words of our pollster, "a perfect campaign." One key finding was that while voters strongly support conservation, they don't see conservation issues as particularly pressing in Santa Cruz County.
The threat of development may not be imminent and that's one reason we think now is the time to act – 
before land protection is prohibitively expensive. The fact is that this wonderful place to live is 20 miles away from the fourth largest metropolitan area in the country – an area that has already gobbled up the rich farmland of the Santa Clara Valley and is now moving into the Central Valley. The threat is long term and so is our Board's vision.
The winning compromise
To improve the odds of voter approval, we asked key opinion leaders in our county to help us craft what we call "the winning measure" – something that would be likely to win two-thirds support. The take home message is that a winning measure is a compromise measure.
At the end of March the Land Trust Board approved the basic elements of a winning plan for what we're calling the "Santa Cruz County Water and Land Conservancy." We envision a local tax that would be spent on:
- Acquisition of natural lands from willing landowners to protect wildlife habitats, water quality and water supply;
- Agreements with landowners to preserve working lands including farm, ranch and timber lands, keeping lands in private ownership;
- Stewardship of protected lands, including building and maintenance of hiking, biking and walking trails;
- Acquisitions from willing landowners for neighborhood parks and for maintenance of neighborhood parks;
- Grants to support local responses to climate change, to improve water quality and supply, to fund environmental education, agricultural awareness and other conservation projects.
Over the next two years we will take this framework and work with our partners to craft the details of a ballot measure for 2010. Perhaps, most importantly, we will continue our work to build a strong coalition of supporters. "We need more time to talk to more people," says Corwin, who has been talking with and listening to a lot of people lately. She's repeatedly seen initially cautious support turn into genuine enthusiasm. "Talking to people, I've become convinced that this is the right thing for Santa Cruz County." •
Email this page to a friend
