Comments by Kevin J. Lansing

Another bill to exempt developer from the law submitted to Assembly

AB 1991 “sets no precedent” claims the Half Bay City Council’s so-called “Truth Squad” (conceived and operated by professional lobbyist Lanny Davis).

The citizens of HMB need a Truth Squad to correct the lies told by the City Council’s Truth Squad.

The LA Time story shows that AB 1991 is a template for all kinds of future abuses.

And here is another example of the damage done by the HMB City Council. By caving in to Chop Keenan’s lawsuit rather than fighting it on appeal, the HMB City Council has encouraged another local developer (in Pacifica) to follow the same playbook. This is just the beginning if AB 1991 passes.

http://www.pacificatribune.com/ci_9479111

Now is the time to fax your letters to State Senators asking them to oppose AB 1991. Our Senator Leland Yee needs to hear from all of us that we oppose this destructive bill.

Opinion: CUSD board loads, aims at foot, prepares to pull trigger

Congratulations to John Moseley for having the integrity to vote against the Gardner-Schreurs led cabal that is once again corrupting the school board’s mission. The quality of local schools takes a back seat while our esteemed school board meddles in land-use politics.

HMB releases financial analysis of Beachwood settlement

Now let’s see. The City Council hires a consultant to perform a financial analysis that ends up supporting the Council’s goal: a bill that tramples over environmental laws.

What a coincidence. The financial “analysis” delivers the exact conclusion desired by the client (the City Council).

This is sort of like what happened in real estate in recent years where the appraiser got paid to come up with a number that made sure the transaction would go through--so everybody could take their cut. (Now we are seeing how that scam turned out).

Opinion: CUSD board loads, aims at foot, prepares to pull trigger

Why can’t the school board just stick to the job they were elected to? They are supposed to be working to improve the quality of the local schools, not sticking their noses into controversial land-use politics.

No wonder our local schools have academic achievement problems. No wonder, as Ken Johnson points out, that enrollment is declining as people who have the means to do so are taking flight from the school district. And no wonder that five consecutive parcel tax votes have gone down in flames. 

A complete failure of leadership. But does that mean that these people won’t be re-elected? No. Recall that George Bush was re-elected in 2004.

As recently as Fall 2004, school board member Jolanda Schreurs and co-cheerleader (and CCWD director) James Larimer were still pushing hard to have the new middle school built at Wavecrest, This was an unbelievable waste of time and money that could have been used to improve our schools and provide busing, thus allieviating morning traffic congestion.

http://hmbreview.com/articles/2004/10/20/news/letter_to_the_editor/story08.txt

AB1991 passes Assembly, moves to the Senate

Below is something I found posted over on the Review website. Sounds about right, but they did leave out any mention of Mr. Gardner, who on the eve of the last failed parcel tax vote, was out pushing another giant local development project (Big Wave).

“The middle school construction would have been done at least 5 years ago, and would have cost at least $10 million less if the late 90s, and early 2000s school board led by Ken Jones and Jolanda Schreurs (egged on by CCWD’s James Larimer) had not decided to get into the development speculation game (i.e., Wavecrest). It’s a really long story, but basically they tried to grease the skids for a major housing subdivision rather than focusing on their real job: ensuring that our schools actually teach kids.

Bottom line: we all lose but Jones/Schreurs/Larimer and their cronys are most at fault. Funny thing is, a little bird told me that the very same thing is happening again. Bye bye parcel tax for at least another 5 years.”

AB1991 passes Assembly, moves to the Senate

Farrallone view is in Montara--which is where CUSD trustees Jolanda Schreurs and Charles Gardner reside, I beleive.

So Ken, are you saying that these esteemed elected officials have not been wholly truthful to the community? I am shocked.

The only creature more feared than the Coastal Commission

The CO (Commanding Officer) of Truth Squad/Squid:
http://www.orrick.com/lawyers/Bio.asp?ID=149059

The CO doing what he does best (insult people):  http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/193955.php

The XO (Executive Officer) of Truth Squad/Squid:  http://www.stoptrafficlight.com/Elect_Bonnie_McClung.html

The XO’s promise as a candidate in 2005 (not kidding):
“Ending the polarization present in our politics today.”

HMB mayor, attorney say Coastal Commission staff is lying to legislature

The City Council, and in particular Mayor Bonnie McClung are an embarassment. It is unacceptable to go around insulting a state regulatory agency.

The ones who are lying here are the City Council members as they recite the lines written for them by Mr. Spin Lanny Davis.

The legislative analyst from the 5/30 Appropriations Committee accurately summarized the objections to AB 1991 as follows:

1. The bill creates an extremely undesirable precedent; no project wholly within the coastal zone has ever been completely exempted from Coastal Act requirements.

2. The Beachwood settlement signed by the City Council is heavily weighted in favor of the developer.

3. The settlement also includes the Glencree subdivision, a project that has never been the subject of a coastal development permit application, was not included in any litigation, and is wholly inconsistent with numerous coastal resource protection policies.

4. Authorizing development today based on a preliminary environmental review done in the year 1990 will result in unacceptable and unmitigated adverse impacts to coastal resources, and will have negative impacts on traffic on Highways 1 and 92.

The “truth squad” marks a new low for Half Moon Bay’s credibility in protecting the environment.

Appropriations Committee passes AB1991

I’m still kind of interested in hearing how Kevin Barron can reconcile his support for AB 1991 (a bill that grants amnesty for a subdivision that would otherwise break the law) with his previous comments on this website where he said:

“...how about just enforcing the LAW that is ALREADY in place?”
http://coastsider.com/index.php/site/news/un_dia_sin_immigrantes_a_day_without_immigrants/#1477

Appropriations Committee passes AB1991

Anneliese,

Below are some things you can and should do if you oppose AB 1991. Encourage your friends to do the same.

(Please note of course, that the high-priced, so-called “grass roots” campaign being run by ex-Clinton lawyer Lanny Davis is doing this and more--including paying people to write letters for willing locals.)

1. Write, fax, or call Assemblyman Gene Mullin and ask him to withdraw AB 1991. The bill will be heard by the full assembly during the week of May 26th, perhaps as early as May 27th so this is urgent.

Mullin’s website contains contact info:
http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a19/

2. Provide a comment on AB 1991 directly via the internet. Type “AB 1991” in the place for “Bill Number” at website below, which will take you to a comment page.
http://www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/acsframeset2text.htm

3. Fax a letter of thank you to the Democrats who voted against AB 1991 and a letter expressing your displeasure with the Democrats who voted for it. For Democrats who abstained, FAX a letter urging them to vote no.

(Republicans are a lost cause on AB 1991, so don’t waste your time. But that should tell you something about the people supporting AB 1991)

Democrats Voting Against AB 1991:
Mark Leno- 916-319-2113 (FAX)
Pedro Nava- 916-319-2135 (FAX)
Patty Berg- 916-319-2101 (FAX)
Mark DeSaulnier- 916-319-2111 (FAX)
Jarred Huffman- 916-319-2106 (FAX)

Democrats Voting For AB 1991:
Ted Lieu- 916-319-2153 (FAX)
Fiona Ma- 916-319-2112 (FAX)
Jose Solorio- 916-319-2169 (FAX)
Anna Caballero- 916-319-2128 (FAX)

Democrats Abstaining
Paul Krekorian 916-319-2143 (FAX)
Mike Eng 916-319-2149 (FAX)

4. Finally, email the Half Moon Bay City Council at the addresses shown below and let them know that you do not want them to spend our money lobbying for bill that will trample over every state environmental law on the books.

Bonnie McClung:
John Muller:
Naomi Patridge:
Jim Grady:
Marina Fraser:

Appropriations Committee passes AB1991

Ok Charlie. Didn’t you, McClung and others who now suport AB 1991 also tell us for years that putting the Middle School at Wavecrest was “the best deal for our community?”

After wasting 10 years and tens of millions of dollars in escalated construction costs, we all got to find out that you were wrong.

And your letter count is wrong too. I am talking about letters sent to the Committee who voted on the bill.

Appropriations Committee passes AB1991

Steve, the point is that realtors are looking out for their own professional and financial interests. SAMCAR has a hired professional lobbyist (George Mozingo) working to help push AB 1991.

That is not a “grass roots campaign”.

The grass roots folks are the volunteers trying to stop AB 1991 with nothing to gain other than the satisfaction of knowing they are doing what is right: protecting the integrity of the Coastal Act and other environmental laws.

SAMCAR = San Mateo County Association of Realtors.

Appropriations Committee passes AB1991

Bonnie McClung says
“The citizens of Half Moon Bay have worked hard on a grass-roots campaign to support AB 1991..”

Madam Mayor, please tell the truth. Hiring a Washington DC lobbyist named Lanny Davis to push this bill through the Assembly with the help of local realtors is not a “grass roots campaign”

At the Local Government Committee hearing there were more individual letters against AB 1991 than for it. I don’t know the letter count at the Appropriations Committee, but there were many, many letters from HMB citizens who oppose this awful bill.

Really offensive to have the Mayor of the town say things to the press that are simply not true.

Half Moon Bay Review reporters last about a year on the job

There is no question that the Review has changed over the last 10 years. For evidence just check out the following examples:

1. A 2002 article by Jim Welte providing an in-depth, well-researched article on the blood shed over Wavecrest:
http://hmbreview.com/articles/2002/03/20/export9091.txt

2. An amazing, 3-part article in 2001 by editor/reporter Eric Rice on the history of Devil’s Slide (link courtesy of Commitee for Green Foothills):
http://www.greenfoothills.org/news/2001a/11-19-01_HMBReview.html

It is really hard to imagine the current incarnation of the Review producing articles that are of the same caliber as these.

Although, I would like to give some credit to Lewis Rutherfurd for his reporting on the local surfing industry and to David Smydra for an interesting story about the lost town of Purissma.

Finally, in the interest of full disclosure, I should say that I am not the biggest fan of the Review:
http://coastsider.com/index.php/site/news/opinion_reviews_coverage_of_ab1991_isnt_objective

Local Government Committee passes AB1991—next stop: Appropriations Committee

“Did the right thing”? 

Patridge & Co. schemed to reward the developer with a windfall and now they are trying to trample over every state and local environmental law on the books.

Maybe for a realtor like Steve that seems like “the right thing.” I would say it is criminal.

Local Government Committee passes AB1991—next stop: Appropriations Committee

Steve Hyman wrote:
“What bears repeating is that HMB was in a poor bargaining position.”

Wrong. The City’s recently hired law firm told us at a public meeting in January that Keenan could never collect the $41 million that Judge Walker awarded because it meant that essential City services would need be curtailed. Hence, the $41 million was uncollectable and our City Council knew it.

So Patridge & Co. schemed up a way to give Keenan even more than Judge Walker awarded: AB 1991 would hand him full developlment rights not only on Beachwood but also on Glencree.

This is by far is the most corrupt political backroom deal in the history of Half Moon Bay.

We need term limits at the local level to remove entrenched Council members who sacrifice the public good to grant favors to their developer friends.

Local Government Committee passes AB1991—next stop: Appropriations Committee

Francis wrote:

“Their [the HMB City Council’s] legacy is and will remain [a] contemptuous and incompetent coastal government undeserving of assistance from other Californians.”

Exactly. Our pathetic City Council has managed to start a high stakes war that involves every major environmental group in the entire state.

And let’s not forget our esteemed Mayor signing her name to several unprofessional official letters (written by Lanny Davis) that crudely insult an official state regulatory agency, namely, the California Coastal Commission.

AB 1991 is an abomination. With the help of their high-priced strong-arm man Davis, the City Council is trying shove AB 1991 down the throat of the entire state. The bill is a gross corruption of the entire statewide process of environmental protection.

So Steve Hyman wants to stop spending money on lawyers? Maybe he should start thinking about the cost of the legal fight that looms ahead if AB 1991 is ever signed into law.

Letter: Fax Appropriations Committee chairman this weekend to vote No on AB1991

If you don’t have access to a fax machine, your letter can be priority mailed on Monday 5/19 to:

The Honorable Mark Leno
Chair, Assembly Appropriations Commitee
P.O. Box 942849
Room 2114
Sacramento, CA 94249-0013

Local Government Committee passes AB1991—next stop: Appropriations Committee

Following up on Anneliese’s post. It is critical for those opposed to AB 1991 to FAX their letters in by Monday.

The City Council’s old guard supporters and their realtor/developer friends are sending in their own letters for sure.

Below is my own letter.

via Fax: 916-319-2113
May 16, 2008

The Honorable Mark Leno
Chair, Assembly Appropriations Committee
Subject: AB 1991 (Oppose)

Dear Chair Leno and Members of the Appropriations Committee:

As a former Chair of the Half Moon Bay Planning Commission, I am writing to urge you in the strongest possible terms to vote no on AB 1991. This bill seeks to exempt the 129-house Beachwood/Glencree project from having to comply with our state’s environmental laws.

AB 1991 would establish a precedent of overriding the interests of all Californians for the benefit of a few. This bill raises important concerns about equal protection under California state law. The bill also seeks to abrogate local laws that would require the developer to provide some affordable housing.

AB 1991 would effectively approve a 129-house subdivision on the basis of a preliminary environmental review (a 1990 vesting tentative map) that is now 18 years old. An up-to-date environmental review is needed to address the growth in traffic since 1990 and the current water situation that exists on the coast. The traffic generated by this huge project would be funneled through a new signalized intersection just north of an existing subdivision, likely causing gridlock during commute hours and restricting coastal access by visitors on weekends. It is critical that a full environmental review be conducted before this project is approved. AB 1991 would bypass that review.

The Half Moon City Council is claiming that AB 1991 is necessary to avoid an $18 million settlement payment to the developer. Please note that it was the City Council itself that agreed to the $18 million payment, after doing its legally-required due diligence to ensure that payment could be made. The City Council now comes before the Assembly and asks for “legislative relief” from its own fiduciary decisions.

Most troubling, AB 1991 lays out a method by which future coastal development projects can be exempted from environmental review simply by having a local government enter into a settlement agreement with a developer and then beg the legislature for relief. What if a member of Congress proposed a bill that would exempt one financially-strapped but well-connected company (let’s call it Enron), from having to comply with the SEC’s mandatory accounting regulations? Obviously such a bill would constitute a horrible public policy precedent and should not even be considered. The same goes for AB 1991.

We all owe a tremendous debt to the state legislators who had the vision and foresight to pass the California Coastal Act, the California Environmental Quality Act, and the California Endangered Species Act. These laws protect California’s coast for the benefit of current and future generations. The stakes involved here extend beyond Half Moon Bay to all of California. To protect this legacy, I urge you and your fellow committee members to vote no on AB 1991.

Sincerely,
Kevin J. Lansing.
Half Moon Bay

Opinion: Review’s coverage of AB 1991 is biased and incomplete

The Review has a long track record of distorting the facts.

In August 2004, for example, the Review printed a highly misleading story (written by Jeanine Gore) and an accompanying editorial (written by Debra Godshall) that falsely claimed “State and Federal Biologists Find No Frog at Wavecrest.” (We all know how that one turned out).
http://www.hmbreview.com/articles/2004/08/19/news/letter_to_the_editor/story12.txt

I will be the first to admit that complaining about the Review’s biased coverage will not do much good---other than perhaps to inform a few unsuspecting recent subscribers. As I have said before, it’s the Review’s basic nature to slant things toward the interests of realtors and developers.
http://www.hmbreview.com/articles/2005/02/23/news/letter_to_the_editor/story07.txt

Finally, Kevin Barron seems to think that AB 1991 is being opposed by enviro-extremists.  Nothing could be further from the truth. Lots of people are opposing AB 1991 because it undercuts existing laws. In other words, they are saying

“...how about just enforcing the LAW that is ALREADY in place?”

Where I have heard that phrase before?
http://coastsider.com/index.php/site/news/un_dia_sin_immigrantes_a_day_without_immigrants/#1477

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