Comments by Steven Hyman

Mountain lion sighted at Ocean and Bernal in Moss Beach

Perhaps the animals smell garbage when its trash day.  I know in my neighborhood, the raccoons are visible the night before and over turn many garbage cans that are left outside. Putting trash out early in the morning might minimize the problem.

I think its a gross exaggeration to say that their habitat is being reduced by the “gross flurry of development on the Coast”. All the building, especially on the mid-coast, are infill lots.  Over the past 2 years a grand total of 30 buildable lots sold. And don’t forget that it takes almost 2 years now for a vacant lot to be turned into a home.  That’s also way below the growth limits set by both the City of HMB and the County.

Letter: Coastside Land Trust will tour HMB’s Railroad Right-of-Way, Saturday

When touring the Railroad Ave right-of-way, please keep in mind that half of the land west of the 60 foot strip is private property owned by many individuals.  Some parcels have been sold over the past few years and some are for sale now.

Its very likely over the next 10 years, this will be one of the next big legal battles facing the financially strapped City of HMB. As the price of these lots keep rising, the pressure will mount to build here.

And since we spent so much money on previous battles, there won’t be the deep pockets for more expensive litigation that is sure to come.  This will certainly make things interesting for years to come.

Letter: Just a thought

I don’t think the airport has had much impact on home prices in Moss beach over the long term, either east or west side.  Many of the homes on the east side have beautiful ocean views. The west side offers walking distance to the beach.

I know every home I sell there as well in El Granada and Montara has a disclosure for the airport. Additionally, its kind of hard to miss driving north from HMB.

Quiz: What was the HMB city council majority’s biggest mistake?

I have probably said this 50 times or so.  I also know that my views are contrary to the majority of your readers.

We all agree this was a stunning defeat for HMB.  That being said, our CC did the only logical thing and find a way out by settling. It would have been the height of irresponsibility to appeal since we wouldn’t have the money to pay if we lost again. You can’t place a bet if you can’t cover it. And its not these politicians money, its our money.

I also can’t place much stock in the advice from people who were proven so wrong.

Luckily we found a good new team.  The strategy they came up with was brillant.  I originially thought that it was creative with the option a and b plan .  But I also think they knew there was a plan c as well as the last card.

AB 1991 was only going to cost the State around $100,000.  When that didnt fly, the State felt guilty and was willing to throw us a $10 million consolation prize. Thats plan c.

What is most important to the people I’ve spoken to is not paying $18 million. Whatever we do to avoid writing that check is ok with them.  Beachwood is not sacred land, its an ugly infill parcel by McDonalds and isn’t worth all this attention.

Our officials let their egos get the better of them and foolishly wasted millions of our dollars on lawyers on a $41 million losing hand. As I said above, this should have been settled 5, 10, 15 or 20 years ago. Not to mention all the other money wasted on other lawsuits.

And when you combine that with several other mistakes, you find an angry public. And sad to say the mistakes keep on coming.

But to those people who feel they are right, try running for office and let the voters respond.  Anything is possible.  Richard Nixon made a comeback.

Anyway, this has been talked to death. We respectfully disagree and nothing I’ve heard here or on Talk About since November 2007 has changed my views.

Quiz: What was the HMB city council majority’s biggest mistake?

This is beyond silly. Doesn’t it depend on what the definition of “The hmb city council majority” is? Barry had his list and I have mine.

But please let me borrow your weed colored glasses because mine missed the word “current” that you seem to see in the headline.

More importantly, did you send a carrier pigeon to your goat herding cousin about my sweater yet? I’d love to have it for Pumpkin Festival.

Quiz: What was the HMB city council majority’s biggest mistake?

Carl,
please read my response more carefully.  Many comments were made about Beachwood.  But our CC’s made other mistakes so why not highlight those also.  Everybody has their favorite screw-up. Some people don’t like the lawsuits, some don’t like the park purchase, some don’t like the easements, some don’t like insubordinate city officials, some don’t like not having a Boys & Girls club, etc.

And btw, the question is “the” CC not “this” CC.  That’s your interpretation. Anyway, have a nice evening and say hi to your goat herding cousin. Can you ask him if he’d sell me a sweater?  I like navy blue v-neck in extra large. Thanks.

Quiz: What was the HMB city council majority’s biggest mistake?

The topic is “What are the CC’s biggest mistakes?” I think I added a few more items to the long list. I’m sure if Brian or George chimed in, there wouldn’t be enough room on your hard drive to cover it all.

Quiz: What was the HMB city council majority’s biggest mistake?

Barry,
I know this is an opinion piece but it was more like one of NP’s pitches outside and in the dirt, therefore my sarcastic and humorous response.

But to the points at hand which I have stated here a zillion times. I want to get out of this mess as cheaply as possible and I really don’t care what they do with that ugly worthless, except what is costing us, weed filled, tick infested piece of dirt by McDonalds and the sewer plant.

I don’t know keenhan and have never said 1 word to him. First time I saw him was in the Review cartoon.

I think Walker is correct because we screwed up. We didn’t have the competent leaders before to fix the problem, instead they made it worse and kept passing the buck to the next administration.

I think settling was the way to go. I’m no John Roberts and neither are any of you.  Its easy sitting in our comfy chairs taking cheat shots at people when we aren’t privy to all the facts.

And as far as government goes, I am not a big fan of any of it.  They are wasteful spenders who talk a lot and don’t much.  Watching this sad story unfold has only reinforced my negative feelings about how things are or are not done. And its not a pretty sight.  Bill Clinton’s lawyer did add a little levity to the situation.

The sad reality is that since the really smart people won’t take these jobs so we get stuck with the dregs. And look at all the costly mistakes they’ve made.

Quiz: What was the HMB city council majority’s biggest mistake?

None of these make my list so let me add a few.

P. Why didn’t the CC settle Beachwood 5,10,15 or 20 years ago?

Q. How much money has the CC squandered on lawyers over the past 5,10, 15 years?

R. What benefits have the residents of HMB gotten from all this money spent on lawyers over same periods?

S. Shouldn’t City officials who are openly critical of CC be forced to immediately resign or be fired on the spot?

T. Shouldn’t the residents construct a solar powered Beachwood Debt Clock made of dried weeds and skeletons from red frogs and sf garder snakes to constantly remind us how much money our elected officials have cost the community?

U. Shouldn’t the Gateway park coming into HMB be dressed up so it to doesn’t remain as another ugly example of how poorly our government works.

V. Is it wise to spend City money building parks on other people’s land without their permission?

W. How many lawsuits are in the pipeline facing HMB and what’s our liability?

X. Shouldn’t there be time limits on appealing projects so that we actually do things?

Y. Shouldn’t past officials who are critical of the CC be dragged off into the Beachwood Wetlands and be weed-boarded and attacked by the legions of red frogs until they see the light?

Z. Why can’t Barry ask questions that aren’t so blatantly biased?

Editorial: Senator Yee’s SB863 gets it right

Mike, the fact I replaced “wetland” with “someone else’s property” is factually correct and doesn’t change the fact it wasn’t City property.  It was owned by another individual.

To many, this sad looking parcel will always be a field of ugly weeds near McDonalds, our sewer plant and sandwiched between 2 neighborhoods.  Its unfortunately also a $25 million government folly that will be remembered for a very long time.

Editorial: Senator Yee’s SB863 gets it right

The basic issue is the City can’t deface someone’s property without permission.  The City could have used eminent domain if they wanted to put drain pipes on Beachwood but they didn’t.  Instead they just did it. That’s illegal.

And the City seems to do it again and again as is evident by our newest lawsuits from the residents near the Pilarcitos Park.

This repeated pattern of arrogance and lack of respect for people’s property is not acceptable.

When you combine this with the long list of stalled projects that have been dragged out for too long, you may start to understand why people are now fed up with the many poor decisions that our elected officials have made.  And how much of our money they have wasted in the process.

Editorial: Senator Yee’s SB863 gets it right

You just said that it “was unwise to put drain pipes on someone else’s property because of foreseeable negative consequences”.

That’s liability.  Case closed.  That’s why we lost and why are writing the check.

Editorial: Senator Yee’s SB863 gets it right

Since we both agree that the City illegally damaged someone’s property, I don’t see how a judge could come to any other conclusion.  We were 100% wrong.  The only question was going to be the monetary damages awarded.

I also don’t see what’s there to appeal other than the size of the judgment.  I know we are nice people here in HMB but that may not carry much weight with a bunch of federal judges.

But the issue at hand today is getting out of this mess as cheaply as possible.  HMB may have dodged the big bullet with the generous handout from the State and the insurance money.

Let’s hope too much of this $10 million dollar gift doesn’t end up in some other agencies pockets before it comes to us.  Could it be that Dr. Yee doesn’t have that much confidence in HMB handling money wisely? Anyway, let’s see how much money we end up getting.  Anybody want to pick a number?

Editorial: Senator Yee’s SB863 gets it right

Its also too bad that subsequent councils didn’t try to fix the problem they created then instead of letting it get this out of control costing $25 million.  In hindsight, this should have been fixed back in the 80’s

The reason many people decide to settle is they don’t want to put their fate in the hands of a judge or jury.  When you settle, you know what its going to cost.  I guess it boils down to your level of risk.  And here, our council was gambling with our money, not theirs.  That requires a more conservative approach.

And I agree that we all wish we could see the future.  I know I would have done many things differently.

Editorial: Senator Yee’s SB863 gets it right

It would have been nice to have seen our past CC’s spanning 20-25 years not squander $25 million on this worthless piece of dirt by making a series of really poor decisions.

At least our current council is trying to get us out of the mess previous councils made as cheaply as possible.

And if people’s feeling got hurt in Sacramento or on the Coastal Commission, they’ll get over it. And as you said, they can get counseling from Dr. Yee.

But no matter how much counseling Dr. Yee does to the people of HMB won’t erase the staggering cost our leaders saddled us with from their unwise and illegal actions.

Editorial: Senator Yee’s SB863 gets it right

Glad to hear that the appraisal issue was anticipated.  Everybody would sure hate to have this blow up in our faces after the ink is dry.

I’ll hope for the best and wait with baited breath till the check comes.

Editorial: Senator Yee’s SB863 gets it right

I too am glad that this long running nightmare may be coming to an end.  Although, as you all know, we see things very differently.

Please lets not rehash the endless debate about which was better, settling or appealing, because we will never agree.

While 1991 was the cheapest way out, it seems to placate the environmental groups, the State is throwing us a generous $10 million bone.  So for only a mere few million bucks, we can put this to rest.

I did notice in the Review that this money, which will be doled out to us by another agency, is contingent on an appraisal.  That could be a tall order because we all know neither of these parcels are worth the gift money not to mention the real cost.  We all better pray for the “Mother of all Appraisals” because we will need a very generous one.  Surely we can find one of those unemployed bank appraisers to make this work.

Since we will be tapped out after this is done, these two beautiful parcels will remain as is for many years to come for the residents to admire.  A fitting testimonial to the brilliance of government.  Maybe we can scrape up enough money for a little plaque thanking the City for their wise investment in getting us such great deals.

Coastal Commission faces budget cuts

Obviously numbers can be misleading.  I try and be consistent and use the same method over the years to factor out any bias.

I also try and look at many factors like sales volume by price category cause that shows the weighting.

Tomorrow’s piece also mentions the percent of sales price to list price for the first half for the County.  The one weakness with this number is that the list price isn’t necessarily the original list price which could overstate things.  But you have to work with the data you have.

I’ll give you a hint that the percent of sales price to list price is very high although down slightly from both year end and first half 2007.  You’ll have to buy the paper to get the facts.

Coastal Commission faces budget cuts

I am referring to average home prices for both areas.  Go check out my website at century21sunset.com for charts on prices, volume, interest rates and inventory over time.

Also the Review has charts.  1 came out 2 weeks ago and 1 is coming out tomorrow on SM County.

Coastal Commission faces budget cuts

Most of the short sales I’ve seen were due to people buying homes with nothing down.  When their mortgages adjusted out of the teaser rates, they walked.  Having 0 down makes walking away easier cause of little equity.  Then the lender gets stuck writing down the mortgage, paying prop taxes, hoa fees and real estate commission.

The scenario of people taking out second mortgages and then exceeding the market’s value is much smaller, at least here.

Home prices in both the County and Coast were still up for the first half over last year.  Volume, a good indicator of demand, has been declining since 2004 with this year being the lowest level since 1990’s.

And yes, a small percent of my annual dues goes to NAR with the bulk going to SAMCAR.

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