A Gamble
In an attempt to diminish these intra-community wars, the leaders
of the recall campaign took a calculated risk. They walked into
the next meeting of the I.V. San Board and gave the petitions
containing the 1,600 signatures to the Board of Directors and
announced that they were calling off the recall campaign. They
then asked the Board to reconsider their decision from two weeks
earlier to have the Sheriff immediately evict the Villagers
and to wait the 3-4 months that it would take the County to
decide on the Park District's campsite plan.
The
I.V. San Board quickly voted unanimously to call off their eviction
effort! Needless to say, there were visible sighs of relief
on both sides of the issue.
Supes Reject Campsite
A few months later, the Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 against
the re-zoning of Tipi Village into a campsite. The most strident
voices at the hearing against the campsite were families from
Isla Vista's St. Athanasius (Evangelical Orthodox) Church and
a couple of people who lived near the Village. But, as the UCSB
NEXUS reported at the time, "the final blow against the
Village was organized, researched, and carried out by the Evangelical
Orthodox Church" (10/17/79, page 1).
The NEXUS also reported that the testimony against the Tipi
Villagers was "emotional, although not strictly to the
point," and "gave the impression" that the Villagers
were "being accused of being drunken, disease-carrying
rapists."
Traditional prejudices against Isla Vista also played a part.
Supervisor David Yager (Montecito) said in voting against the
campsite plan that, "There were already too many transients
in Isla Vista!"
Keeping to their promise to live by the results of the Supervisor's
decision, the Villagers abandoned Tipi Village within a few
days. Before they left, they held a dinner party for all of
the people who had helped in the effort to save the Village;
it was one of the warmest and saddest events I ever attended
in Isla Vista.
Bill Wallace, who still lived in Isla Vista at that time, was
the only County Supervisor to vote in favor of the campsite
option. A few months later, when he was running for re-election,
hand-painted signs appeared around I.V. urging people to "Vote
No on Tipi Bill."
He won re-election handily.
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