After countless conversations, letters to the editor and weekly reporting, the Town Crier editorial board has found three main problems with Measure D.

The first is that Measure D is unnecessary. Citizen initiatives are fundamentally a last resort when government has been unresponsive to the needs of the citizens it represents. It’s hard to argue this was a necessary last resort while elections go unopposed, and board and commission seats go empty. We have a system that works pretty well if you get involved. You just have to raise your hand and participate.

The second is that Measure D was poorly drafted. Clearly, the idea behind Measure D was to put to a vote any theater, park or parking garage project on the parking plazas in downtown Los Altos. While the merits of that are debatable, that is not how the measure was written. Instead, the text of Measure D was written in such a way that it impacts our Housing Element and therefore the mighty State of California. If the measure had included the phrase “except housing,” we would be discussing what to do with the parking plazas instead of how to avoid lawsuits, Builder’s Remedy and rezoning. 

Finally, passing Measure D is the exact opposite of getting a more responsive government and locally controlled planning. Some might believe that Measure D gives the people a voice; that once the people have spoken, elected officials and city staff will have to listen to them. It doesn’t work that way. Instead, if Measure D passes, staff and elected officials will have less time to spend listening to what Los Altos residents want because they will have to spend more time listening to what lawyers, real estate developers and bureaucrats in state government want.  

While the specific impacts of Measure D remain cloudy – lawsuits, Builder’s Remedy, Housing Element recertifications, zoning changes  – one thing is certain: Mitigating those impacts will be done by elected officials and city staff at the expense of doing something else for the city. There is only so much time in the day. Do we really want city staff spending their days doing damage control?

The point of Measure D is well taken. Our community is changing and the residents want a say in how that change happens. Fair enough. While we agree with that premise, Measure D doesn’t actually do that. Instead, it just makes things harder for Los Altos. 

Let’s defeat Measure D and move on to the thoughtful, honest conversations about the direction of our community we all deserve as neighbors.  

Town Crier Editorial Board