Following weeks of passionate opposition, city council voted to rescind language in Point Dume’s traffic-calming ordinance that required encroachment removal.
“As a lifelong resident of Point Dume, I share your concerns about parking. I think that parking and traffic safety are things that are important, but I don’t think removing encroachments is the right way to go about it,” Mayor Pro Tem Skylar Peak said.
Encroachments, when residents build out landscaping or mailboxes into the public right-of-way, are extremely widespread in Point Dume, where most residents have had them for decades.
What began as a plan by the city to solve issues of parking and safety in the neighborhood snowballed into a battle between residents — who believed the city was meddling in their neighborhood — and the city.
The decision was a victory for residents who opposed encroachment removal, and the council expressed its willingness to cooperate with what constituents wanted — but some council members felt the rhetoric had gotten out of hand.
“I’m sorry that all of you got so upset. I certainly didn’t enjoy listening to you, I’ll tell you that. I thought some of you were a little over the top,” Council Member Joan House said.
Earlier in the meeting, House was accused of calling a resident of Point Dume a “liar” — she clarified that she had called him “disingenuous.”
Residents accused several council members of making statements about the issue that they deem were inaccurate.
Sibert referred to the intentional spread of misinformation when he suggested the city’s traffic engineers might suggest traffic circles as a method of traffic calming.
“Somebody at some point will come back and say, ‘John Sibert was out there supporting traffic circles.’ No. I’m saying there are alternatives and we ought to take a look at it,” Sibert said.
Mayor Lou La Monte shared that the rhetoric on social media groups like Next Door, a location-based website that allows neighbors to discuss local issues, had prevented residents in favor of the ordinance from speaking publicly.
“I got phone calls from people that were in favor of the encroachments but they were afraid to speak out,” La Monte said. “I think you guys should think about the fact if you’re intimidating your neighbors you’re doing something wrong.”
The crowd’s vocal disapproval was evident during the meeting — specifically after House’s disapproval of the opposition’s statements.
“You’re coming with a very loud voice, I have to tell you that. I spent a lot of time on this,” House said. “I told my children that if they wasted my time they had to pay me back in time, so I think some of you people ought to come over and do my dishes.”
At the end of House’s statement a member of the audience shouted, “That’s pretty outrageous, what you just said,” which was supported by loud applause.
Council Member Laura Rosenthal attempted to appeal to the crowd by explaining that encroachment removal was originally suggested by two lifelong Point Dume residents, not council staff, during the second community meeting. An audience member shouted “Who?” multiple times, but Rosenthal did not identify the individuals.
Peak suggested council rescind the motion. In the past, public comment speakers had expressed their desire for Peak’s opinion on the topic. He was absent for both the March 14 meeting that passed the original ordinance and the July 11 meeting that discussed the issue further.
Peak commented that if he had been present, he likely would’ve voted with the council.
“I want to apologize for not being at the meeting in March. I was not at that meeting. Although at the time I probably would’ve potentially voted the same way as the other council members, because I didn’t really think about it,” Peak said.
The city council said they were willing to look at other traffic calming measures other than encroachment removal, but suggested looking at each street individually to see what it specifically needed.
“We should go back and take a look at Point Dume one street at a time and see what folks want,” Council Member John Sibert said. “That’s what we did with Zumirez. Essentially that was done with Grasswood. Those are the things we ought to be doing.”