RICHARD BARTEL and Ellen Stok discovered Pacific Legal Foundation in 2008 in the most unlikely place—an elevator in Lijiang, China.
The Aptos, California, couple was on a round-the-world charter flight, when their stop in Tibet was diverted to the far-off southwest Chinese village of Lijiang.
The chance encounter happened while waiting for the hotel elevator.
“Next to me was a tall older Caucasian gentleman, which you don’t see many of in remote China,” recounts Ellen. “So I decided to initiate a cordial conversation.”
It turns out that the gentleman, Dr. Warren Koenig, and his wife, Amelia, were also from California, a stone’s throw from the Bartel-Stok home.
“I was floored,” Ellen says. “Here we are in a remote part of China and they came from the next town over.”
The elevator conversation quickly turned to home, and the Bartel-Stok’s plans to build an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU), on their property.
That struck a nerve with Warren, who told them about the stifling bureaucracy he experienced at the hands of the Santa Clara County Planning Department when building his home. While still in front of the elevator, Warren offered this advice: “You might want to check out PLF. They’re a very worthwhile organization.”
Once back home, the couples reconnected, became dear friends, and the Bartel-Stoks joined PLF.
At that time, Richard and Ellen were jumping through the county’s many regula tory hoops to start building their ADU. One outrageous rule required them to rent only to a low-income tenant.
That’s when two pieces of mail arrived. First, a letter from the county saying the low-income housing rule no longer applied. “Then, lo and behold, we get our very first PLF newsletter,” Richard says. “And what’s the headline article? ‘We just won a lawsuit in Santa Cruz County to stop the county from forcing people to rent to low-income housing.’ So, from that standpoint, we benefited from PLF almost immediately after we became members.”
Even after 10 years, Ellen says they’re all still amazed at how one chance encounter had such a remarkable impact.
“Government overreach leaves a real bad taste in our mouths,” she says. “And that’s why we believe wholeheartedly in PLF’s mission. But we would have never crossed paths with PLF if we had not met Warren and Amelia. And we would have never met them if not for an elevator in a remote part of China.”
