Disappointed That Measure T Passed

Ryan A. got my goat with his celebration of the passing of Sacramento's Measure T on Tuesday. As he wrote:

Of all of the important things on Tuesday's ballot here in Sacramento, was Measure T, which would allow the City of Sacramento to give residents yard waste containers instead of exercising what people in the Land Park and East Sacramento apparently believe is their god-given right to dump leaves in their gutters. Apparently, the machine that picks up the leaves -- the claw -- is a Sacramento "icon." It passed and apparently is controversial because some Sacramentans can't bring themselves to do what the rest of us in non-Land Park and East Sacramento do: put the freaking leaves in a yard waste container.

As the news story states:

In the 1970s, residents passed Measure A, a law that prevented the city from forcing residents to use a container for yard waste. Because of Measure A, residents created leaf piles that would be picked up by the city's leaf picking truck, a.k.a. the claw.

On Tuesday, a "Yes" vote on Measure T would essentially repeal Measure A, and require Sacramento homeowners to use containers to for their yard waste.

"The key purpose of that measure was to prevent 100 percent containerization where the Claw became extinct, and that's what we fear again today," Measure T opponent Dennis Neufeld said.

"The Claw," the machine that scoops up yard waste left in piles in front of people's homes has become a Sacramento icon, and Neufeld credits freedom from containers for paving the way for the machine.

As I replied to Ryan:

It's more complicated than that. There are many yards where the volume of leaves AND LARGE BRANCHES is very hard to keep pace with. Hence the resistance: it's a bitch of a job, and the Claw helps. But more importantly, utility bills for the City of Sacramento have always outpaced inflation. There is NOT A SINGLE MONTH since I started keeping detailed records in 1998 where City of Sac billing fell behind inflation. NOT ONE! Since 2008, the increases are accelerating, and with implementation of yard containers, actual service is being cut. I've read that utility bills may even triple by the end of the decade, which is simply unacceptable.

I add:

I can appreciate the desire for containers - bicycling can be hazardous with all the leaf piles. But we must manage our urban forest and sweep after vegetable refuse that isn't just our own (I was surprised to be profusely thanked by a state worker for sweeping a portion of the DMV parking lot, which I do because I treat that fence line tree as mine, whether it technically is, or not). And we will continue to be charged for the Claw's service despite no longer receiving it. That aggravates me mightily.

And:

There will be more leaf piles than ever, because by restricting access to the Claw in favor of limited volume containers, there will be little choice but to create more and larger piles, either in the streets or people's yards.

And:

I'll become the Robin Hood of Curtis Park, afflicting the treeless poor and soothing the treeful rich, scooping up leaf piles late at night into a pickup truck and using my leaf blower to scatter the piles into random orderly yards in other neighborhoods. No one can stop me! NO ONE! Bwahahahaha!