Sample Letter for Ride Organizers
Below is a template for contacting your Santa Clara County Supervisor regarding the proposed Encroachment Permit. Please read through it and replace the emboldened text with your information. To keep up to date on SVBC’s actions on this issue visit the webpage at http://bikesiliconvalley.org/sccpermit.
Honorable Supervisor _________,
I am writing to you regarding the proposed changes to the encroachment permit ordinance that is on the agenda for your December 9th and December 16th meetings. This ordinance was conceived in haste, and is unfair, excessive, and unnecessary. There is no reason that existing laws cannot be used to cover bicycle rides and other special events.
The current parade and special event ordinances allow for regulation of events that require road closures or otherwise interfere with normal road use. Furthermore, all violations of the California Vehicle Code are enforceable by the sheriff, highway patrol and city police departments at any time. Most noncompetitive, organized, bicycle rides want their events to be conducted in compliance with the law, and many require riders to sign forms agreeing to obey the law.
Organized bicycle rides are a benefit to Santa Clara County. Our ride, (name of your ride), raises funds for (name of local charities your ride benefits), brings participants to the county who stay in hotels, buy meals, and otherwise boost our local economy. (If you have numbers of out-of-county riders, or other ways to support this statement, you can use them here.)
(Add any personal comments here, but please keep your letter to one page.)
Bicycling is a healthy and environmentally-friendly activity. Charity rides raise millions of dollars every year for worthy causes while building the local economy. Most bike rides and charity events are organized by volunteers and this proposed ordinance would add an onerous burden to their work load, increase the expense to run the event, and deprive them of any meaningful rights to appeal permit refusals or requirements.
Please vote against this unneeded ordinance and help preserve the rights of citizens to use our public roads, and to raise money for charities while bringing needed revenue to our county.
Sincerely,
Your name
Your organization
Your address
