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Los Banos Ca. is growing and it is growing fast. Those of us who love a small town atmosphere are going to have to come to grips with the fact that LosBanos needs to either go high-tech or spiral downhill both economically as well as in the area of quality of life for our residents.

It is my opinion that Los Banos California is at a crossroads both socially and economically. If we do not make the correct decisions RIGHT NOW Los Banos could cease to be a pleasant community and will instead struggle for any vibrance whatsoever. In fact if we do not embrace those things that will grow this town in a decent direction we will be sucked down into the same quicksand that many other valley towns are experiencing. This will come with an attendant increase in unemployment, crime, and other negative attributes because residents tried to 'keep their town small'.

Whether we like it or not, Los Banos is a town that is on the move and we MUST start courting all of the high tech businesses that we possibly can. The town of Los Banos is going to grow. The floodgates are already open, the question is not IF we are going to grow but HOW.

The question of HOW we are going to grow is one of direction. Simply put we can choose either the high density housing model with lots of transient small and medium businesses or we can choose to be a bit more elite than other Valley town have and get a piece of the high tech pie while encouraging only nicer single family housing. It is my opinion that the latter will keep property values up, crime down, and keep Los Banos from becoming yet another 'crummy valley town'.

I believe that an influx of high-tech would be an absolutely fantastic way to accomplish this. The high tech industry would help to bring a large number of jobs to our city, it would be a boon to property values as folks who did not wish to spend four hours on the road each day came here from San Jose, and high tech it would bring in revenue to the city from taxes and fees.

This particular What This Town Needs opinion piece is broken into two major sections. In the first part I will deal with why we should not fear high tech and specifically what we need to safeguard, and in the second part I will offer my opinions on why we absolutely MUST embrace high tech industry.

Part I - NO FEAR!

From what I understand Los Banos as a city has apparently been reticent to fully embrace the idea that we are going to have to make some serious changes. Some long time residents and politicians have apparently have had mixed feelings at best about the 'over the hill' set who commute to their high tech Silicon Valley jobs every day. Many of the old guard have grudgingly accepted the fact that some of the brainpower from over the hill will choose to LIVE here, but by-golly these old guard folks just do not want to allow Los Banos to 'go High Tech' and have the geeky folks WORK here too. The thought is apparently that Los Banos can become a bedroom community for Silicon Valley, but we certainly shouldn't be 'plagued' by actually employing the techies here in town with their yuppie ways and ugly buildings. I hate to break it to you, but Los Banos will NEVER be a Los Altos Hills, Hilsborough, or Atherton. Those communities may not have a lot of 'industry' of their own soil but they are so close to Mountain View, Cupertino, San Jose, etc. that those cities can afford to be commercially exclusive. Los Banos does not have that option.

At some point gasoline prices and the long commute will re-ballance the scales and it will no longer be possible to raise a family here in a nice home instead of being forced into an apartment in San Jose. At that point there will be an exodus of all of those techies and your property values will take a nosedive thanks to all of the other vacant homes that will be foreclosed and left behind. When that occurs there will be a corresponding rise in unemployment as those people and small businesses that once supported the techies are no longer needed. When this occurs you can certainly expect a social and criminal blighting of the neighborhoods. I submit the opinion that with the property glut will come with an increase in crime and other disorders that plague 'once nice' towns. We must stop this from occurring at all costs.

I hear some saying "Good! Let the techies leave. Los Banos can just go back to a nice small town that supports farming and dairies here on the west side." I opine that It is just too late to do this. Years ago, had we stopped all of the housing development we might have stopped the growth of everything but the dairies, orchards and farms and thus put the brakes on property value increases and MAYBE we could have stopped this. We did not and the growth of Los Banos in the last decade or so has made it impossible to return to an agrarian based economy. Like it or not our wagon is hitched to the health and vibrancy of high tech industry... be it over the hill or here. With places like Santa Nella, Gustine, and even the unincorporated areas on the west side being open to housing tract development and business development Los Banos could well lose the allure we have now. Again this would result in a downward spiral. We need something to set us apart and that is a growing high tech industrial base. As of this moment we have the infrastructure and the framework of a city that the others do not, but we will quickly lose the initiative if we do not act to get more large businesses and industry in here NOW.

The sentiment of those who fear high tech is quite understandable. The small town 'feel' of Los Banos is truly a treasured asset and unfortunately in the modern era an asset that is being squandered by many other towns which are either caught in a downward spiral of crime or the rush and bustle of high-tech. Losing the small town and community feel that we have in Los Banos can not be an option. Our small community parks, our approachable city council, the mom and pop restaurants, and the local fairs and festivals add charm and a feeling of community. These things can not be allowed to escape us. For instance losing the feel of a quiet afternoon at the Lunch Counter at the Los Banos Drug Company or any of the other niceties of small town life WOULD be a travesty. I do not think that high tech necessarily must exclude a small town feel. I submit that there is really no reason however to fear high tech *IF* we grow the town properly and those in power make the proper choices continue to support the small town sociology as well as the smaller businesses even when bigger businesses and high comes in.

Keeping a small town atmosphere in a high tech city can be done using good business sense, keeping small town social events, and making sure aesthetics stay in bounds.

Business

The focus on keeping downtown vibrant with small businesses is in my opinion critical to keeping the small town atmosphere. Keeping small businesses involved in our town and keeping the downtown area from becoming a ghost town similar to what happened in Merced in the 1970s is apparently a real and very laudable priority for our city mothers and fathers. Despite the fact that WalMart and other big box stores and chain restaurants have made their way into Los Banos, there is still a real accepting customer base for the small businesses and mom-and-pop restaurants. This needs to be continued and encouraged.

If you want to keep a small town feel small businesses are a requisite part and it is my personal belief that they can live alongside the big box stores because they outshine the competition with service and uniqueness. Members of the community can help by patronizing the mom and pop places when they have the opportunity to do so and thus help the economic vibrancy of these small places. Don't worry, Wal-Mart will still be there for the big stuff even if you purchase your greeting cards downtown.

Social

Los Banos also has a large number of wonderful homey festivals and gatherings at various times of the year. Small town type community events such as Mother's Day In The Park, farmers markets, the spring fair, and others all build the small town feel. Attendance is not the measure of success of these events. The mere fact that they are available is an asset in itself.

Agricultural exhibits and events 'keep the small town feel' even in the midst of an ever increasing geek population base :-) The spring fair is an annual event where this is done right. Members of the community and people from the surrounding area show livestock, farming machinery, and generally have a good old fashioned good time. I understand that Los Banos is looking into obtaining the use of local farmland so that the kids in the community can participate in agricultural learning without violating city ordinances that do not allow for livestock in residential areas. That is a very positive thing and I think goes a long way to keeping traditions alive and keeping some of the rural feel we need. The Farmer's market is also a nice addition which as it grows will help keep a feeling of small town in the midst of growth.

Additionally, a real positive and traditional focus on the recreational opportunities amongst our natural wonders around us is also key. Embracing traditional values when it comes to recreation is important. The display of a a non-jaded eye toward hunters, fishermen, target shooters, horsemen, trapshooters, and other traditional sportsmen, as well as plenty of good old fashioned camping and hiking is a subtle but good measures of how non-yuppified a community is. Again, the small town feel is what PEOPLE make it. Do not be fooled, not every high tech geek is anti-hunting or anti-gun. In fact there are a large number of folks that I know personally that would leave silicon valley if they could get jobs here who make traditional sportsmanship a real focus of their lives and spending dollars.

Another critical item that we need to make sure we safeguard is the homegrown feel of our politics. By that I do not mean the old boy network but the ability of the common citizen to feel that he has a listening ear at City Hall. A very accessible council makes for a very positive and small town feel. Keeping this accessibility is critically important. I absolutely applaud the City Council for making a point of of going to the parks and talking with residents in much publicized city-chats last year. It is this sort of non elitist way of doing business that can also keep a small town feel and in fact keeps the politicians in far better touch with his constituents. It is my hope that the movers, shakers, and elected officials of Los Banos will keep going with the positive and personal communication. OurLosBanos would like to be a part of this and offers the city leaders and anyone else that would like to participate our online forum and bulletin board system so that just this kind of public discussion can be had on a personal level.

I would be quite remiss if I did not mention the key role that traditional religion plays in keeping a small town feel. If you carefully read what is in this entire article you will see that there is an underlying theme running throughout this missive: that idea is 'small community values in a growing city'. Even in the midst of growth making sure that there are small positive community groups that cater to helping one another is an absolute must. A large role role of churches is to do just this. Community and neighborhood churches and lots of them offer individuals in town a place to meet others, to spend time getting to know their neighbors, and to build relationships that tie people to a place. In my opinion there is no better vehicle to bring people close to one another than what can be found in church. If you want to keep the small town atmosphere keeping traditional church venues available will also be important.

Building & Aesthetics

While social ideals are critical in keeping a small town feel, the way we present our town aesthetically and through the way we handle building is also key to keeping a positive small town atmosphere. Parks, low density housing, proper placement of industrial campuses, and what type of artwork is placed on city property is all very important.

Small neighborhood parks are a factor. A small town atmosphere is not retained just by how social, recreational, religious, and business matters are handled but also on how building is handled. A good example of right-thinking is that the planners and movers in our town have made sure to keep a sense of community with each new development by demanding that each new development also put in a community park. This is HIGHLY positive and helps to inspire a sense of community. Small community parks encourage neighborliness and give neighborhood children a place to meet and play while the adults get to know each other and build community bonds and spirit. The way Los Banos has handled community park development should be continued.

I have already mentioned the TYPE of housing that is needed to keep a small town atmosphere, but I will expand on that here. Like it or not the fact of the matter is that even in a quickly growing city high density housing is NOT a way to build a pleasant community with a small town feel. Single family residences promote good citizenship and a small town feel because of the pride of ownership and the want to improve and protect ones assets. This is almost never the case with apartments or rentals. It is my considered opinion that keeping a small town feel will have to include a severe limiting if not an outright ban on high density housing. As callous as that may sound it is just a fact that such housing does not contribute positively to a small town feel nor does it draw in the types of individuals who are likely to make investments in the city.

There are many other things that say 'small town' and go a long way to keeping that feel. For instance from an art perspective when it came time to create a 'city plaza' the council wisely decided to make the centerpiece a very attractive and very old fashioned statue of "an historic ol cowboy on a horse" instead of some twisted rusting piece of modern art tripe.

There is absolutely NO reason why all of this homey atmosphere can not be kept alongside of high tech. Even when it comes to how our town LOOKS we need not lose much. If we keep the larger high tech type buildings out of downtown, perhaps to the far northwest, we can still keep the small town look. They did this in Spring Hill Tennessee when Saturn built a massive manufacturing plant there. They kept the small town look but just out of sight of the highway one of the largest manufacturing buildings in the state was turning out brand new cars by the thousands. There is no reason we can not do the same with high tech businesses.

Let's not overlook retrofitting either. Older buildings that are vacant very close to downtown that could be retrofitted into something pretty darn cool which could house companies based out of silicon valley. Not every high tech company will want to have a glass high-rise and those that do can be shunted to the edges of Los Banos while those that want to have a retro-cool look could make something of the existing brick structures near downtown. Why not?!?! With some serious capital investment of a wealthy high tech company I can see the old creamery being turned into a very VERY cool office space with shiny brass highlights and oaken leaded glass entrances. Of course things of that nature would be a best case scenario, but there really is no reason why occupancy of the upper floors of buildings downtown can not be high tech office space.

Keeping the City of Los Banos looking and feeling small even as the town grows through a myriad of community parks, tasteful artwork, right building choices, and restrictions on the more garish examples of high tech campuses downtown will go a long way to keeping the atmosphere we all love.

All of these things keep a small town feel. All of these things should be continued and or increased. We do not want to lose the small town atmosphere. But we also do not want to squander the opportunity to get some real industry here before it is too late.. I truly believe that we do not have to fear high tech and that working WITH high tech will be a key to keeping Los Banos going in a positive direction instead of turning into another valley sewer.

There are many positives that can be had from the introduction to high tech...

Continued in part 2

Please click here to see part 2 of this article
High Tech? BRING IT ON!

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8-22-06