August 13th 2015
by: Matthew Reed 08/13/15 The Mendocino Beacon Bob Canclini and Sam Levine have resigned their positions as members of the Albion-Little River Fire Protection District board. His resignation comes as a protest of the district’s proposed standing dead tree ordinance. At the June 10 board meeting, Canclini, along with fellow board member Sam Levine, made several motions to reject the ordinance, citing letters from CalFire, Mendocino Redwood Company and the California Forestry Association that state ALRFPD’s proposed ordinance is outside its jurisdiction. Levine also resigned from the board. During the meeting, Chris Skyhawk, board president, said that the board could not vote on the ordinance because it was not on the agenda. Canclini said he had expected the item to be on agenda and asked why the board could not simply vote on it. Canclini was frustrated. “I’m just wondering what the hell I’m doing on this board,” he said. In an interview, Canclini said his concern with the ordinance and how it was presented to the board started at the May meeting. “It was on the agenda at the May meeting and when it came to discussion, I had my objections,” he said. Canclini said the May meeting was the first time he saw the ordinance after it was already sent to Mendocino County Counsel’s Office. “It was not properly presented to the board,” he said. “It should be discussed by the board, then a writer chosen, then a draft comes back to the board.” He said that was not the process that was used to created the proposed ordinance. Canclini also said that he had concerns with the nature of ordinance itself. “The district is not a law enforcement agency,” he said. “The ordinance fines the owners of dead standing trees. It did not denote who would enforce it. “It was poorly written,” Canclini said. At the May meeting, Canclini said he made a motion to reject the ordinance. He was seconded by another board member, but Canclini said Skyhawk would not recognize the motion. When it comes to the issue of herbicide use to kill unwanted timber, Canclini acknowledged the issue. “Sure, there’s a problem out there,” he said. “But the process has already gone through the forestry people. It needs to go through the state if there is a problem.” At the June meeting, Canclini said the proposed district ordinance was not on the agenda. He asked for it to be put on the agenda. “I had a right to ask to have it put on the agenda,” he said. “I made a motion again at the June meeting to reject the ordinance. My objections were the same as before, but the motion was not accepted by the chair.” Canclini was adamant the ordinance and the process that was used have terminal flaws. “As far as I’m concerned, the ordinance shouldn’t go anywhere,” he said. “Votes were there to kill this thing. Two other members objected to the ordinance.” After the meeting, Canclini said he went home and spent two or three days thinking about the situation. Then he submitted his resignation. “I felt the ordinance was taking up too much time. It was an improper ordinance and it was taking up too much time.” Canclini’s objections were not being acknowledged by the board, he said. “I felt I was being ignored,” he said. “This is the first time I’ve walked away from a situation.” Skyhawk said that Canclini’s and Levine’s reasons for resignation were varied, but said that two community members, Debbi Wolfe and Michael Issel, were appointed to complete their terms until elections later this year.