 
There’s a whole lotta squeakin’ goin’
on about Burger King
While the tilting at Burger Kings rages on, I’d like to turn our
attention to all the people who did not sign the letter to the editor
in today’s Express. Let me first say that I know and like most of
the people who signed. But the letter, despite the impressive list of
names, isn’t truly representative of the larger community.
If you scratch everyone off that list who’s either a Winters Community
Roundtable member, or friend of someone who is, there aren’t many
names left. The Roundtable group began honorably as a collection of citizens
wanting a role in shaping the “gateway” along Grant Avenue.
However, (and this was reported to me by more than one person who dropped
out of the group early on) the meetings took on a decidedly “Stop
Burger King at all costs” tone.
Some core group members are crusaders for health/nutrition related issues,
and while these issues are valid in their own right (and I happen to agree
wholeheartedly with them), they don’t have any relevance to the legality
of a Burger King opening for business in Winters.
The proposed Burger King has a lot in common with the proposed Islamic
Community Center near Ground Zero. Both are despised by certain segments
of the population that will stop at nothing to keep them from opening
up, however, both are also legally allowed under local city zoning laws
and land use permits.
Nobody had an issue with the local zoning until something certain folks
didn’t like was proposed. I guarantee that if a Trader Joe’s
was proposed for the corner of County Road 90 and Grant Avenue, the same
group of people who are opposed to Burger King would be falling all over
themselves to pave the way.
However, the Roundtable group and Winters Friends of the Roundtable (WFoR)
insist that their intentions are pure, and it’s all about the planning
process. So, I’ll just grant them that, for the sake of this argument.
Which of course means that if Burger King pops up at, say, where Dean’s
Frostie used to be, there won’t be one squeak of protest, because
this whole fracas is all about the gateway planning process and nothing
else, and since that’s the type of business that stood at Railroad
and Grant for decades, there should be no objections at all. Not one peep.
Yeah, right.
Back to reality. The current commentary process is lopsided. The Roundtable
group is about 80 in total. I don’t know how many WFoR there are,
but let’s say each core member has three friends. That’s 320
total. Of Winters’ entire population of 6,977, that’s less than
five percent. However, this less-than-five percent of the population represents
about 90 percent of the commentary at public hearings regarding Burger
King. Who’s not commenting? The ones I mentioned earlier — those
who didn’t sign today’s letter to the editor.
Now sure, one or two signees fall into the following categories, but they’re
a relatively small number amongst the total. Overall, the following groups
are unrepresented amongst the signees:
~ Those who spend their Saturdays at AYSO soccer games and Winters Junior
Warrior games, and spent most of their evenings last spring at Little
League practice and games.
~ Those packing the stands at a Winters High School home football games
(which probably outnumber the entire Roundtable and WFoR group on any
given Friday night.)
~ Those who either work in the fields or packing/processing industries
or who currently employ people who work in the fields or packing/processing
industries.
~ Downtown business owners.
~ People who eat at Cody’s, Chuy’s and Round Table more often
than they eat at The Buckhorn, Steady Eddy’s or Ficelle, and watch
“American Idol” more often than they go to The Palms.
~ Those who come home to Winters to sleep, get up and commute somewhere
else to work, don’t read the local paper, get their Winters news
from the Sacramento Bee, and never participate in anything unless it affects
them personally.
Aside from the last group who, in my mind, don’t even exist, the
other folks represent a substantial chunk of the population, possibly
the majority. However, they’re too busy running after their kids
or their businesses to speak up much at public hearings. But it’s
the squeaky wheel that gets the grease and the Roundtable/WFoR folks can
squeak like nobody’s business, and that’s what the planning
commission and city council are hearing at public meetings.
However, although less than five percent of the population is doing 90
percent of the squeaking, the commissioners and council members have to
represent Winters’ total population, not just the ones who flood
City Hall from time to time. Moreover, regardless of how much squeaking
is going on, the commissioners and council must make decisions that are
consistent with the city’s planning process and more importantly,
that are legal.
Like it or not, under the current zoning laws along the highway, a Burger
King is a legal land use and is consistent with the city’s General
Plan. How it looks when it springs up, well, that’s still squeakable.
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