Comments by Kevin J. Lansing

CUSD will put $175 parcel tax on June ballot

The $30 assessment for undeveloped parcels is way too low--and reflects the CUSD Board's continued deference to the pro-development lobby on the Coastside. Below is a letter I sent to the Board prior to yersterday's meeting: March 4, 2006 Members of the CUSD Governing Board 498 Kelly Avenue Half Moon Bay CA 94019 Re: Comment on Agenda Item VIII: Discussion Concerning a Proposed Parcel Tax for the June 2006 Ballot Dear President Schreurs and Members of the CUSD Governing Board: I appreciate the opportunity…

Memorial: Shirley Brey

I served with Shirley on the Board of Directors for the Half Moon Bay Open Space Trust. Her vibrant spirit was an inspiration to all her knew her. I will always remember her determination to stand up for her beliefs. She truly appreciated the natural beauty of the Coastside and she worked hard to help preserve it for future generations. Her graceful and dignified approach to her final months was in keeping with her honesty and integrity.

Video: HMB City Council’s “Tuesday Night Meltdown”

I first applied for a position on the Planning Commission in late 2001. At that time, there were no openings, but an "At-large" position did become available some time later. The City Council scheduled a noticed special meeting to interview all of the candidates (there were many) at 20 minute intervals. The interviews were videotaped and later broadcast on MCTV. The "Willing to Serve" forms of all candidates (a sort of resume) were included in a binder that was available for the public to inspect…

How good a neighbor is Mavericks?

I stood out on the bluffs north of the radar station from about 8:30am to 9:30 am. Even at that time, it was crowded and the coyote bush etc. was getting trampled. When I walked back to my car to go to work, there was a continuous stream of people headed in. There is a tension here because the California Coastal Act requires local governments to protect natural resources but also facilitate coastal access for visitors. The beach and the public roads that lead to it belong to everyone. That is why…

Capital Weekly profiles Coastal Commission director

Funny how some people would use the word "extremist" to describe a person who has devoted most of his life to carrying out his sworn duty as a public servant. Another excerpt from that same article: "In 1977, Douglas was appointed deputy director of the Coastal Commission and held that position until 1985 when he was appointed as the government agency's third executive director by a 7-5 commission vote. He has remained in power ever since, but not because nobody has ever tried to remove him. Douglas…

Review incorrectly blames “environmental litigation” for Wavecrest delays

For those who would like a bit more background on the Wavecrest project, below is a link to an extremely well-researched article by Jim Welte that appeared in the Half Moon Bay Review on Wednesday, March 20, 2002. (Mr. Welte is no longer with the Review). http://www.hmbreview.com/articles/2002/03/20/export22668.txt

Debate heats up on proposal to restructure HMB Planning Commission

I have a several comments. 1. In response to some calm and reasoned criticisms of their positions on this issue, we have Council member Patridge responding "For you to sit there...really makes me angry." We also we have Council member McClung responding "I take offense..." This is a standard tactic to deflect opponents in a debate. Instead of defending one's position with logic and reason, you respond as if you are being attacked personally (e.g., "How dare you question my integrity...") and then…

Coastal Commission unpopular with mansion family

A enlightening description of how the Coastal Commission voted on this project can be found in the May 2005 issue of California Coastwatcher (Scroll down to the bottom of the issue to Item #3) http://www.coastwatcher.com/C41503799/E1523686470/index.html

HMB City Council pushes ahead with HMB Planning Commission restructuring

I would just like to set the record straight regarding Chris Mickelsen's statement above, which is not true, but nonetheless self-serving. The planning commission provides regulatory oversight of CCWD's development activities. The planning commission reviews CCWD's proposed pipeline projects to ensure that they comply with the California Coastal Act. The law requires pipelines to be properly-sized to avoid growth-inducing impacts and the project should be financed so that current residents are not…

Half Moon Bay recount begins Monday morning; and a lesson about headline-writing

Did you say "possible" bias??? For many of us, this is not something that has ever been in doubt. http://www.hmbreview.com/articles/2005/02/23/news/letter_to_the_editor/story07.txt

Coastal Commission staff spanks Midcoast LCP update

Barry Parr wrote: "This raises the bigger question of whether the residents of the Midcoast can control our own communities unless we have local government." The latest set of Supervisors' recommendations should be a wake-up call for the residents of the Midcoast. Their objective is to make it easier for the County to meet its housing objectives, not to address the problems of overdevelopment, traffic, and loss of coastal resources that we all know are getting worse every day (see link below to earlier…

Supervisors’  vision for the Midcoast: double the number of houses (and cars)

It is true that the County Planning Commission recommended a lower (1% percent) residential growth limit, but they also recommended not counting affordable housing, second units, and caretaker's quarters. The latter is a bad idea and goes directly against the Coastal Commission staff recommendations. The County Planning Commission also endorsed the idea of the Midcoast being able to handle an additional 3000-3400 houses. The Midcoast infrastructure cannot support that. Just think of the impact those…

Supervisors’  vision for the Midcoast: double the number of houses (and cars)

Lorraine Feather writes: "Since they don’t care, what can we do? This isn’t a rhetorical question. I’d love to know if anyone has an idea." Well, I would say that they do care, but mostly for protecting the interests of their friends and contributors in the developer/realtor/contractor/property-rights communities. A small group of people are going to make a lot of money in the building, selling, and repeated re-selling of 3400 more houses. One thing that can be done is to provide written and…

McClung leads Ferreira by 15 votes and McKimmie leads King by 5; totals may still be incomplete

I agree w/ Ken. It seems that Mr. Reed may be generating some bad Karma of his own.

What do you want to tell Assemblyman Leland Yee?

Barry: This is a great opportunity. Thanks for giving readers a chance to weigh in. I would be interested to hear how Mr. Yee would take steps to ensure proper funding and staffing of the California Coastal Commission so that there are sufficient resources for project analysis, as well as enforcement actions. I would also like to hear how Mr. Yee feels about some recent legislative proposals to help ensure proper ethical behavior of the appointed Coastal Commissioners with regard to their interaction…

Two crucial meetings on Midcoast development are coming up

Not sure I can make it to the meeting, so below are a couple of comments on "Key Issue #3, Infrastructure Demand at Buildout" which is discussed starting on page 2 of the staff report. 1. The discussion here conveniently omits a paragraph titled "Alignment With Principles," unlike the discussion of the subsequent Key Issues. Maybe this is due to the fact that the subcommitee's recommendations are not consistent with their own principles approved back in June. The principles stated that "Infrastructure…

Patridge, Grady, and Ferreira elected to HMB City Council

bginna writes: "Do they really want to see it built? I do not, for one, think so. I fear it is simply a pawn." Wait a minute. I thought we were talking about the park? Why are you dragging the CUSD board and the middle-school fiasco into this? (vbg)

Survey shows school parcel tax has strong support, but not enough to pass…yet

The response to questions #14 and #15 are probably worth keeping in mind as we wait for the CUSD Board to finally make a decision (or not) about the middle school at the upcoming school board meeting on November 9. "Whether you have children in school or not, please rate each of the following as excellent, good, only fair or poor in the Cabrillo Unified School District" 14. The Governing Board of the Cabrillo Unified School District; Excellect 2% Good 22% Fair 35% Poor 19% Don't Know 22% 15. The…

What do you think about the Review and County Times endorsements?

Coastsider endorsed: Grady, Ferreira, Skinner SMC Times endorsed: Grady, Ferreira, McClung HMB Review endorsed: Grady, Skinner, Patridge Final Tally of Media Endorsements: Grady 3 Ferreira 2 Skinner 2 McClung 1 Patridge 1 Muteff 0

Lawsuits were a big theme at Tuesday’s debate

I agree that the City's Fiscal Analysis makes some simplfying assumptions, as does any model. That does not render the conclusions invalid. HMB Ranger points out some assumptions that, if changed in the direction he (or she) believes, could reduce the net fiscal burden per new house. But I can think of other assumptions that, if changed, could push the conclusion in the opposite direction. Example: The study does not take into account the lost City tax revenue from tourism when overconstruction of…

Page 23 of 24 pages ‹ First  < 21 22 23 24 >