Or, to paraphrase the title of this entry: "Whose Quality of Life  is to be sacrificed...and WHY?"

1. The City of Half Moon Bay is being sued by the Beachwood developer for $30,000,000. (That's right 30 MIllion dollars...which would bankrupt the city if the developer  won a jury trial scheduled to start mid April 2007) Note the City has budgeted an additional 1.2 million dollars for this litigation...and may spend more.

Apparently the lawsuit  is not about building lots of  houses.  But because the developer  apparently alleges  the City, by unauthorized excavation of soil from his property, tried to build a drainage route for the adjacent  (Alianto property) the city "took his property".  (Closest synonym I can think of is "they bought it") by creating wetlands on the property and making it worthless for development.

It would appear that  all the definitions of wetlands (Seasonal/Unseasonal/nocturnal),  buffer zones (100/50/0 Feet) and who created the definitions will be discussed to the jurys satisfaction. Oh!... also its been rumored that the Beachwood developer wants to charge Ailanto properties many millions (15 ?) of dollars for the right to cross his property from Highway 1 (the most logical entry to the Ailanto property and favored by competent traffic engineers)

2. The goats are gone and rumors are circulating about development of the goat farm property(wouldn't a gas station to replace the one to be lost in the widening of Hwy 92 be just theright location at the corner of the stoplighted Foothill Blvd and Hwy 92?)

3. Rumors have been circulating that the Podesta property (corner of North Main and Hwy 1) may be developed?


SO WHAT    HAS ALL THIS GOT TO DO WITH: Under Difficult Conditions Can The Right Decisions Be Made? ...read Lucy Lopez letter below to the HMB City Council  and put yourself in the position of a City Council member and what would you do (on April 3rd) to do some "community building"  ...remembering what your mom taught you that "Two Wrongs Don't make a Right" ...or (please forgive the sexist remark )...what your Dad may have told you...somebody is going to get "sold down the river...again".


Jerry Steinberg
Half Moon Bay


Lucy Lopez has written the  email "pasted in below" to the HMB City Council requesting clarification of remarks by City Attorney Adam Lindgren at the last City Council meeting.

March 25, 2007

Dear Mayor Patridge, Vice Mayor McClung, Council Member Fraser, Council Member Grady and Council Member Muller,
 
At the March 20, 2007 Council Meeting, Adam Lundgren stated that the Ailanto lawsuits were a discussion item during that evenings closed session and that he would have a report on this issue for the April 3, 2007 Council Meeting. 
 
Did Adam mean that there would be a report on the Highway1/Terrace Signalization Project?  If so, will this item be on the meetings agenda?  If this item is on the agenda, will the outcome of the project be decided at this meeting?
 
On December 15, 2006, there were many comments submitted to the City regarding the results of the Draft Environmental Impact Report, which also included a 9-page document signed by many of the Neighborhood residents.  At the time when I submitted the Neighborhood comments to the City, I also dropped off a copy for each one of you. For your convenience, I have attached a copy to this e-mail.  Please take the time to review all the comments submitted by the residents of the Community and include them in the decision making process.  These comments were made in response to the DEIR but they express legitimate concerns that should be considered regardless of the status of the DEIR. I understand that you have consultants to advise you, but they don’t know our Community, you do. 
 
I look forward to hearing from you.  Please let me know if I can assist you in any way.  I can be reached by e-mail at lucyhmb@aol.com.
 
Sincerely yours,
Lucy Lopez