MISSIN' PISTON
This last week a real Mariposa character passed in a Veterans
Hospital, leaving another generation behind to carry on the love of
life.
Bob Bissmeyer was eighty-nine and living mostly at the tip of Baja
where he loved to fish and soak up the sun. Twenty years ago or more
he was the mayor of Bootjack with his welding shop and the Missin'
Piston Auto Sales next to what is now the Bootjack Market. Bob sold
the kind of cars that a poor boy could afford. He also could fix
anything. His confrontations with the county were monumental,
especially over a bit of property at the west end of old Bootjack
Road where he had a collection of old mobile homes and trailers that
that same poor boy could afford to live in. He even had a sign stating
that this collection of sometimes miserable boxes were intended to be
a final resting place for refuges from South East Asia, but that was
only to tweak the nose of county planning. Bob was just one of the
un-reconstructed WWII veterans who, having weathered the war, now
sought to weather the bureaucratic peace.
So Bob has now passed on, doing what he loved best, leaving me a
kissing cousin and all the rest. My opinion is that Bob loved life
and lived his way and why not.
CATHEYS VALLEY
I have read and re-read a couple of times a document very much
unlike any other governing land use in Mariposa County. The recently
released (February) Catheys Valley Community Plan is a bit confused
and needs a steadier hand than Andy Hauge can bring to the table, but
let the message come clear. Catheys Valley residents see themselves
as knowing what is best for their future and they are mostly right.
For example they prohibit any community water and sewer systems, thus
meaning no high density subdivisions. Unlike anywhere else in
Mariposa County they see their Advisory Committee as being the
decisions makers as far as the management of their part of the
county, with the Planning Commission and/or the Board of Supervisors
as the body of appeal. Interesting. An unelected, almost self
appointed body, representing one area of the county somehow will be
able to make decisions that the rest of the county will have no voice
in but will get to assist in the payment of. Frankly I like it. But
I have always been fascinated by anarchy.
Their goal is to keep Catheys Valley, at least that part which is
within the community boundaries, undeveloped. The five acre parcel
will be the rule for subdivisions. Congratulations, that has been
the standard outside Mariposa and Coulterville for more than thirty
years. They see themselves as a crossroads community, which they
are, encouraging agriculture as their economic base as long at it
doesn't use much water. Again, I agree, although I don't think that
they understand water because if it is to be based on a grazing
economy, it is the surface water that comes through the yearly
rainfall that determines the viability of the agriculture economy.
The well water, drawn from below the "green stone" dike as my water
mentor Elmer Stroming liked to say, will be the source for such
things as vineyards, orchards and possible row crops. By the way,
adding hydroponics as a possible viable agricultural pursuit needs
the caveat of not the amount of water that it uses but the amount of
propane.
The report seems to understand the importance of the Tourism
Economy but rejects in one section the development of services for
travelers while in another encouraging Agri Nature Tourism as an
economic asset. Facts are that if services such as fuel, food and
lodging are not provided within the agricultural environment with the
ability of the traveling public to access these services, then failure and loss of capital will result. I pretty much know how much time has been spent on crafting this plan, and I suspect a bit of money. Quite a bit of work will
have to be done to make it adoptable. Mostly at the hands of the
expensive consultant. But there is something about the tone of this
plan that is not hard to decipher. That is the interest in resisting
growth and development. If this philosophy is to be adopted, then it
must be adopted county wide because in order for these land owners to
keep their Williamson Act Contracts and the 25% reduction below
market values for their land and the state follows through on the
withholding of the subvention revenues of somewhat over $200,000,
then it will have to be made up somewhere either by cuts in the
budget or increasing revenues from another source.
One other point that I would like to make is that the most important
Specific Plan governing a community in Mariposa County has not had an
Advisory Committee in almost 20 years. That is our County Seat,
Mariposa.
The citizens of the town of Mariposa have not had the pleasure of
having a voice in the management of their planning document. All the
while Fish Camp, Wawona, and Coulterville have. The result is that
there is no citizen involvement in the governance of the land use
document for Mariposa town.
But getting back to the desire to preserve a rural lifestyle, I am
all for it if-----that also includes the ability to work within the
framework of an agricultural lifestyle and the investor is able to
utilize the full range of agricultural pursuits. That means having a
road side stand to sell their products, or having a guest ranch, or
having activities that are ranching related using livestock typically
commonly found in a modern agricultural lifestyle. The requirement
that there be no net loss of Ag land is a blatant attempt to control
the nature of agricultural endeavor. There is little class one land
in Mariposa County, that being suitable for growing row crops. But
there is plenty of various qualities of rangelands including some not
suitable for goats. Truly if a grazing economy is to survive in
Mariposa County, the best grazing lands need to be set aside just for
that use.
The Williamson Act is not the best way to prevent residential or
commercial development of Ag Lands for the long haul. Within a few
years the Williamson Act will disappear in the maw of the need for
government to have all the tax dollars it can muster. What else is
available when the land owner wants to assure that long after they
are no longer able to protect against speculative development. The
answer is Conservation Easements.
The Conservation Easement does not require the concurrence of the
County or neighbors. It is a clear decision make by the land owner
to deed the development rights to their land to a trust that will
hold and protect those rights into perpetuity. That means forever.
Challenges to that deed to the trust will be defended by the trust as
well as the landowner receiving payment for those rights. It the
trust ever defaults, the ultimate recipient would be a third party
receiver, usually the California Department of Fish and Game.
Conservation Easements do not have to respect any planning document
since what is deeded to the trust is those rights that the property
already has. Even if the county would wish to change the zoning on a
particular piece of property for future planning purposes, the deeded
rights would stand. The positive side of this is once the trust is
made, the land would no longer be subject to development along the
lines agreed upon. Not all rights are granted in most cases. Wood
cutting, livestock grazing, farming, equestrian trails, bicycle and
hiking trails and even sale are among examples of exclusions in the
agreement. The principal right that is granted is the dividing and
development of these properties.
The down side of this action is that future generations will have
fewer choices when it comes to land use. It also makes the
assumption that we know what is best for our progeny. How many times
things have changed in my 75 years leads me to believe that nothing
is forever. To my knowledge there is no tax advantage to a
Conservation Easement as the county does not recognize such private
agreements as having value for future planning or revenue adjustment.
Perhaps the Williamson Act, even if the county has to absorb the loss
revenue for the price of open space, is the best choice at this time.
Leroy Radanovich
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Leroy Radanovich
To Read More By Leroy Radanovich:
Leroy Radanovich's Mariposa Life Archives
To learn much more about Mariposa County along with
historical photos:
A signed copy of "Images of America" - Mariposa County,
By Leroy Radanovich can be purchased at his web site:
Radanovich Galleria & Books
This is a early day photo of the Mariposa Mine in
Mariposa County
that is mentioned in the article to
the left by Mr. Radanovich.
This photo and others can be purchased in various sizes.
All prints are archivally printed on fiber based paper, given a selenium wash which renders the photographs permanent with a
warm tone ready for framing
Radanovich Galleria & Books
Mariposa in 1920
This photo and others can be purchased in various sizes.
All prints are archivally printed on fiber based paper, given a selenium wash which renders the photographs permanent with a
warm tone ready for framing
Radanovich Galleria & Books
Mariposa County Courthouse written by Leroy Radanovich and
Scott Pinkerton is a book about the oldest courthouse in California that is still in use today.
The book is signed by Leroy Radanovich.
To purchase the book:
Radanovich Galleria & Books
Mariposa in 1860
This photo and others can be purchased in various sizes.
All prints are archivally printed on fiber based paper, given a selenium wash which renders the photographs permanent with a
warm tone ready for framing
Radanovich Galleria & Books