SOAPBOX
Letters to the Editor (cont.) (Cont. from page 8) The enrichment they bring excites us. San Clemente is pretty dull and predictable, other than wonderfully beautiful, as far as what retail exists. Shaheen and Linda seek out creative solutions to fill square feet with stimulating inventive businesses that speak to the overall concept. Their projects’ main antagonist, Wayne Eggleston, was the voice of support for the mainstream developer who didn’t get the nod, a pleasant fellow who builds typical, predictable projects filled with the cookie-cutter stuff that will fill Marblehead someday. When Shaheen got the nod, suddenly building there is all wrong for Wayne. One of the main complaints being voiced is view blockage of the ocean. I see that as losing the end section of a mile or so of drive-by view that begins at Shorecliffs, for the addition of a stroll around, sit down and eat, drink, shop, socialize, relax, elevated viewpoint experience that draws the community together. The view driving Coast Highway south from Shorecliffs still provides plenty of time for a dynamic assessment of the ocean. The proposed project adds to the variety of options to enjoy that area and leaves the beach experience intact-maybe even adds something. Parking: Is walking for a few minutes from an ample parking lot such a big deal? Is dropping your load at the current place, leaving someone there with it, then parking and walking five minutes so onerous? When asked how his project is going, Shaheen now candidly answers, “I honestly have no idea?” I think the resistance is chasing away the type of progressive, artful, development that hasn’t happened elsewhere in San Clemente...for a reason. Our community tends to make such original projects very difficult to actualize, in fact we’re becoming known for it. The beach trail was resisted by many of the same group. It turned out to be a good thing.
KEEP NORTH BEACH GREEN Juniel Worthington, San Clemente
Whenever I drive down El Camino Real toward Pico I enjoy looking to the west and seeing the scenic ocean view. I cringe at the thought that the LAB development will take that view away. The eyesore in the area is not the parking lot. It is rather the bowling alley and Miramar Theatre that will remain. I wonder if people really knew for what they were voting in the close Measure W advisory (not binding) election. I have always found it interesting that during the campaign time before the vote, someone had an ugly black canvas fence erected along the El Camino Real west side thus removing the scenic view with a view people would want removed. Guess that’s politics. On July 6, George Scarborough prepared a report on the city and LAB Holding Financial Transactions for the July 19 city council meeting. Its conclusion states: “Clearly, the financial expectations of the city when it entered into the exclusive Negotiating Agreement will not be realized. Given the relatively high cost of construction and relatively small lease-able space that is now proposed, this project’s financial viability is thin and it has very limited financial capacity.” What does the city have to gain in selling or leasing our beach property? The people have a lot to lose. Keep the area green and in San Clemente taxpayers’ ownership!
BOUGHT ELECTIONS IN CALIFORNIA Paul Carlton, San Clemente
Democracy in California, and the nation, is in peril. The recent primary campaigns of Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina are terrible examples of how money evermore controls many of our elections. I am sickened at the amounts that the two Republican candidates spent to insure that they were selected to be their party’s candidates for Governor and Senator. The sum spent by billionaire Whitman of her own wealth in campaigning and in advertising, set a highest record in a California primary. Fiorina spent less, but again, much of her own money. Many good candidates are not able to compete against billionaire candidates. Candidates should be selected on their platforms, their service and the positive results they have achieved; not on how rich they are. Public funding of our elections would be a way to end this situation. The wealth distribution in the U.S. is highly concentrated in a very few hands. The top 1 percent of households own about 34 percent of the privately held wealth. The next 19 percent in the managerial, professional, and small business Page 10 • San Clemente Times • July 15–21, 2010
groups own about 50 percent of privately held wealth. Thus 20 percent of our citizens own an astounding 85 percent of our country’s wealth. This leaves only 15 percent of the country’s wealth for the remaining 80 percent of our population. They can vote, yes, but many are susceptible to the entreaties by massive amounts of advertising for the wealthy candidates and parties. As an addendum, the U.S. has the highest ratio of wealthy to the rest of our citizens. Thus I believe democracy is in peril.
GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT Brenda Kinsman, San Clemente
I am shocked when I read these letters from people who obviously don’t know the facts about Playa Del Norte. When I read Mr. Falk’s letter about a parking lot on beach front property being open space…come on, it’s a parking lot for crying out loud! His letter saying Measure W was deceptive is insulting to every other voter in San Clemente. Does he think we are all stupid? Or did he not understand the measure clearly? The measure reads, “Should the City approve the LAB North Beach project, with Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, consisting of retail and restaurant uses, and public areas on city-owned property, including the triangular North Beach parking lot area, subject to: conforming to North Beach Parking and Traffic Master Plans, city scenic view policies, and land sale price based on city-approved direction?” That seems pretty darn clear to me. It is hard to imagine anyone intelligent enough to write a letter to the editor having difficulty understanding the ballot measure as it was written. Perhaps there is some other motivation here? There have been so many false statements about this project from uninformed citizens…like three-and four-story buildings—these heights were never considered even in the beginning—it’s a maximum of two stories tall. Playa Del Norte has been referred to as a strip mall (I think that is what Charles Mann calls the project), and is going to cost the city $20 million dollars. Come on people, this is false information. Playa Del Norte has been in front of the public for years and it has passed every test with flying colors. It offers plenty of parking, fantastic views, garden space, improved water quality, beautiful architecture and is a tremendous enhancement of a deteriorated North Beach. Mr. Falk, you really need to take your facts straight.
CIVICS 101 Candy Haggard, San Clemente
In reading articles about the so-called “North Beach Green Alternative” in both the Sun Post News and the San Clemente Times, one would almost believe that both the “Green Alternative” and the LAB’s Playa del Norte were going to be considered at the council hearing on July 19. However, the city council is under an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement with the LAB, and must conclude those negotiations prior to any other considerations. Even if the council should decide to cease their negotiations with the LAB, they can’t just take volunteers from the back of the room. There are competitive bidding processes that must be followed, should they wish to start the process anew. I feel that this has been very misleading to the public.
A SENSIBLE SOLUTION Tom Barnes, San Clemente
There is a new sheriff in town and his name is Ricardo Nicol. At a time when San Clemente is being torn apart by supporters of the big development LAB project and those who oppose it, he has offered up a sensible compromise with his North Beach Green Alternative. Creating an extension of the Ole Hanson Beach Club’s green lawn by removing 33 parking spaces in the Triangle, and replacing these with 45 new spaces on the city owned El Camino Real lots, Nicol has solved the problem of how to immediately improve North Beach. It is such an obvious solution that everyone can get behind and bring the city together. Furthermore, the NBGA carries out the city’s intent when it took 10 private lots by condemnation through eminent domain in 1970 to create the parking triangle. The express purpose of the “taking” was to provide parking and
YOU’RE INVITED! 8 a.m. Friday, July 16 at Café Calypso ••••• 114 Avenida Del Mar, Suite 4, San Clemente a park—which is exactly what Nicol is proposing. There is no need to change the General Plan or create special zoning for the park. In these “deleveraging” economic times what is best for the city is more public space and less debt—not more development and more debt. To spend $5 million dollars of scarce taxpayer money to add another economic “folly” like the Marblehead project to San Clemente just makes no sense. Hopefully, the City Council will bury this out of control development project and substitute the North Beach Green Alternative in its place. This is a sensible compromise that everyone can support. Residents of San Clemente can find out more about the North Beach Green Alternative compromise by going to: northbeachgreenalternative.com.
MUST FOLLOW THROUGH ON NORTH BEACH Bob Elwell, San Clemente
It seems that the natives of North Beach are getting restless. After passing Proposition W, they haven’t seen anything but stumbling and bumbling with the Marblehead Project. And nothing is happening with Playa Del Norte. Their hopes of a vibrant and prosperous community seem to be waning. The evidence is clear: When investments are made and property is improved, the results are beneficial for all. This is evident at places around San Clemente including Del Mar, the Pier Bowl and the Beach Trail. You don’t have to go back too far in time to remember the condition and the blight on the community that these three areas used to be. Yet with the investment from the city and the community, these are the three destinations that we as citizens are most proud of. There are some signs of life and some good things going on at North Beach. But if we don’t follow through with the Projects that the people want, the whole North Beach will stay the same if not get worse.
PLAYA DEL NORTE: A BREATH OF FRESH AIR Christy MacBride-Hart, San Clemente
I am really looking forward to taking a picnic dinner, sitting on the plaza at Playa del Norte and the sunset. The entire place will have beautiful landscaping, but I was especially interested in what I found out about the trees. The Ricardo Nicol park plan has only 34 trees. Twentythree of them are palms, which means at least seven of the existing 30 would be killed. The three lots being used for the Playa del Norte project currently have a total of 44 trees. All 30 palm trees will be saved and planted around the project—many on the plaza very close to where they currently located. Eighty-seven trees will be added to two lots on the coastal side of El Camino Real for a total of 117 trees instead of 44. They will include a variety of palms, deciduous trees and evergreen trees. The landscape plan is available in the EIR page 33 which has a link on the city’s website home page. There will also be about 65 trees and 10,000 sq. ft. of landscaping in the parking lot on the Marblehead site where there is currently nothing but weeds. All those trees will be removing lots of carbon dioxide from the air and giving off lots of new oxygen. I guess this makes Playa del Norte a breath of fresh air. To submit a letter to the editor for possible inclusion in the paper, email us at letters@sanclementetimes.com or send it to 34932 Calle del Sol, Suite B, Capistrano Beach, CA 92624. San Clemente Times reserves the right to edit reader-submitted letters for length and is not responsible for the claims made or the information written by the writers.
www.sanclementetimes.com