Protect Sonoma Vote NO on Measure B

>Hotel proposals in the City of Sonoma should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the General Plan, not based on the formula outlined in Measure B. >Measure B contains a clause that doesn’t allow for more hotel rooms unless the hotel occupancy rate exceeds an 80% average in the prior calendar year – no hotel in the City or County has ever reached this average and this threshold is unrealistic! >Sonoma has done a good job of planning for hotel growth in the City – in fact, no new "large" hotels as defined by the ballot measure have been approved in the City over the past decade; we don’t need to make significant changes to existing policies. >Police and fire services, which accounts for 70% of the City’s entire budget, depends on tax revenues from hotels and tourism. TOT (transient occupancy tax, or hotel room tax) revenues provide 40% of these funds to both departments combined, and limiting new hotels in the City would reduce TOT revenues, threatening future service levels. >The TOT is one of the largest sources of public revenue flowing to the City’s General Fund and 100% of TOT revenue stays in Sonoma to pay for vital community services. >TOT revenue benefits many local non-profits including Vintage House, the Boys & Girls Club, Ecology Center and Community Center. >Only 6% of City land is designated for uses that generate jobs. >In most cases, the land use proposals fall under the environmental impact report (EIR) study requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). This thorough environmental study is conducted before an appointed or elected body can even consider voting for or denying a project. >Beware of “unintended consequences.” Measure B may limit or chill new hotel development of any size in Sonoma. Considering the cost of development, the scarcity of appropriate land and the marginal return on investment expected from small hotel developments, the creation of new hotels of 25 rooms or less in Sonoma will become unlikely. The outcome of Measure B would essentially be a blanket moratorium on hotels – not a limitation. >Sonoma does not have a hotel problem and nothing is broken!

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