A true nightmare story of what can happen when you find yourself outside the political “inner circle.” A relative of a disgruntled employee told Hillary Falconer of Briarcliff Farm that she was going to report  Falconer to the county and other agencies.  Shortly thereafter, Briarcliff Farm was inspected by the enforcement unit of the Planning Department of the County of Santa Cruz.  And thus, the nightmare began! 

Santa Cruz "red-tagging" is an experiment in social engineering.  Those in favor with those in power get special treatment.  Those who are not in favor often end up with  alleged building code violations called "red tags."  This is not the story of a free America that has rights protected by the Constitution.  Rather, it portrays the “Gestapo of the West” where only the wealthy or those willing to commit their life savings or retirement funds have a chance to protect themselves.*

SUMMARY: Sharon Votaw thought she and her husband had purchased a farm; but, they found a conglomeration of local, state, and international government and non-government agencies already had firm control.

At the U.S. Conference of Mayors in San Francisco on June 5 (World Environment Day), 2005, two documents - the "Green Cities Declaration" and the "Urban Environmental Accords" - were presented.  Every mayor in attendance signed them, and because of that, every citizen in America is threatened.  The elected officials have signed on (knowingly or not) to the destruction of property rights and the U.S. Constitution, and now individual citizens must arm themselves with the knowledge of the problem, educate their fellow citizens, and take back their cities.  With knowledge about Green Cities and Sustainable Development, we are going to be the solution.

Most property owners affected by the Board of Supervisor's future vote (May 22, 2007) to eliminate timbering on smaller (80 acre and less) forest lands have not been notified by Santa Cruz County of the plan to downzone their properties.This ordinance takes away current and future economic "use" of their properties, and also increases the risk of fire danger in the mountains.