Comments by Carl May
May 16, 2008
Ray, Let's pretend you are as confused about the basics of ecological matters as your latest try at fiction indicates. Part of the pretending will be that you are sincere. One way you can begin to clear the fog away is to drop into a beginning environmental science course. One at any of the nearby JCs will do fine. Perhaps you can find one online. Such courses give the rudiments of ecology and related natural sciences with an applied slant toward the big environmental issues that concern us all.…
May 16, 2008
It doesn't hold true in all cases, but damage to natural features and values in an area is often roughly proportional to the amount of money spent on developing the area. Artificial development for such warm fuzzies as "recreation" and "access" do not excuse damage to an area or overdevelopment. Like the inappropriate LCP update being engineered by county politicians, the comprehensive "new" (there were prior ones that covered the same ground) parks and recreation plan for the midcoast is an urbanizing…
May 16, 2008
Ray, You are flailing. Of course I have seen these definitions. I have even written critiques of some of the variety of wetland definitions, comparing them with common, textbook-level understanding in ecology, limnology, and aquatic biology. You may wish to go back to my message of yesterday to learn that the variety of politically influenced definitions was already accounted for. So, take the Fisheries and Wildlife version, which has its limitations when it comes to ecology but will serve. You don't…
May 15, 2008
Still looking for that definition that "literally" makes "all land" in the coastal zone a wetland. Coastal Act Section 30121 doesn't come close to that, even with the additional latitude linked by Francis. (One of the many huge problems with the Coastal Act is that it largely fails to recognize the ecological interdependence between certain kinds of areas, such as wetlands and surrounding upland areas. This has been the subject of confusion and debate in some of the famous southern California coastal…
May 15, 2008
"And we all know that you if take the 'wetland' definition very literally it would mean that all land on the california coast, probably for several miles inland is considered a wetland." What wetland definition would that be? "Wetland" is defined several ways in our society, and the legal definitions are often less than scientifically supportable because the wordings have been politically influenced. (Sorta like the Bush Administration rewriting reports by government scientists to make them say what…
May 15, 2008
The fact that all use of the property was not removed--19 residences were allowed--makes Beachwood ineligible as a taking. Look up the Supreme Court decisions on what constitutes a "taking." That alone should have been enough to clobber Walker's decision on appeal. Francis has it exactly right. The rest of us have no duty to HMB because of the city's botched settlement agreement. The citizens of the state should not have to suffer a new model for weakening environmental protections almost across…
May 13, 2008
"And BTW, its insulting to refer to people who buy and sell real estate on the Coast as MARKS. Several of the posters who share your views here are my clients/friends and I can’t imagine they would take kindly to your poor choice of words."
And you, of course, would never dream of insulting natural scientists and those who apply their findings?
Carl May
May 06, 2008
Part II: In spite of the increasing global misery to come, few experts on the factors involved envision a sudden die-off and environmental Armageddon. (None believe religious myth or cornucopian magic will rescue us, either.) Localities and governments with long-term views have a much better chance of providing livability through it all, no matter the details and timing. Where there is local control, there is greater chance for survival and success, as people with their living situation in common…
May 06, 2008
As bad a mess as Beachwood is, and as bad a precedent for the state as AB 1991 is, in context this is just an example of destructive urban sprawl proceding in mindless fashion in only one of the many growth-addled cities in the state. We will see a lot more of this in the rest of HMB and on the unincorporated midcoast, especially if legislative chicanery like AB 1991 is successful in helping to clear the way around obstacles. No one needs to punish the wrongdoers in places like HMB. In the not so…
May 06, 2008
"For example, if the existing fire department has enough apparatus and staffing to cover these new homes, it would benefit from around $200,000 more a year to cover existing expenses and salaries." Net result in such a case, current taxpayers in the now-combined fire district would subsidize the developer. Gee, thanks, former Point Montara directors for possibly consolidating us MMBers into yet another bad deal. But don't worry about us citizens, we're used to having our interests thrown away without…
May 05, 2008
I've decided I really don't care what sanctity of life, including the necessary life support systems provided by nature, means to other people. Who are they to decide what is vital to them, to have their representatives vote protections for those things into law (or to vote the laws into being directly in initiatives), and then to impose that law on me? Their self-serving laws are just their opinion of what they want. In other words, debatable. What brings on this outburst is my decision to investigate…
May 05, 2008
The Beachwood mess began 25 years ago, not ten years ago. Whatever it costs now that the millions are piling up quickly, the current City Council bought into it. Now the myopic fools want to extend the negative effects of their missteps far beyond the city limits and have even been so crass in their arguments as to suggest outsiders who object to AB 1991 should help pay for the alternative. The piss-ant city is boring to me. I happily forget the place when it is not forcing itself into my business.…
May 05, 2008
"I have observed over the years how well organized these groups are in championing their positions. Whether or not they have tons of money, they do seem to have the ears of many legislators." This so soon after you said they were "well funded"? Of course they are organized. What citizens have in opposition to wealthy special interests are votes. What their groups have in addition to staff paid for with piddling (in most cases) budgets are volunteers. So this is how the battle over AB 1991 in Sacramento…
May 04, 2008
Beachwood is part of the ongoing urban sprawl process set into motion in the City of HMB many decades ago. As such, it and all future sprawl activities will make the city less sustainable and less liveable. Nothing about sprawl improves liveability. It is probably too late for HMB and its classic leapfrog sprawl to redesign itself into anything better. Who is going to tear down those outlying subdivisions? But the same is not true for the several unincorporated communities if they can figure out…
May 04, 2008
"I realize this land is not overlooking the bluff on Fitzgerald Reserve (truly the type of parcels that the CCC/Act were designed for). It’s pretty much farm land, with converted farm land on each side, on the east side of a major arterial." A reading of Proposition 20 and the weaker Coastal Act of 1976 it spawned will show the above quote to be grossly false on a number of fronts. All kinds of coastal property and enterprise in the coastal zone are involved. Trying to create revisionist history…
May 04, 2008
"But its too early to start popping the champagne cork yet because the opposition is so well funded and organized." Most of the opposition to AB 1991 is not even allowed to spend more than a small amount on trying to influence legislation. The opposition to AB 1991, as shown in the listed groups for and against the bill, is very poorly funded compared to the rich interests in favor of it. A person simply cannot make such a statement and know anything about the groups and constituencies involved.…
May 02, 2008
Will you Democrats be asking them how they stand on AB 1991, and why? Do they understand the nature of the precedent for the rest of us who do not live in HMB? Will you be asking them how they stand on consolidation of special districts on the coastside,and why? Do they believe communities of all kinds should be sustainable? If so, how would the unincorporated communities that would result from the revised LCP (which Hill has had a part in creating) be sustained in terms of basic resources and the…
May 02, 2008
"I don’t think I was directing at you, given I have no clue whom you are." Ken Johnson, Pardon me for asking about something that may be nothing more than a construct of a bad memory, but weren't you involved in some of the first attempts to create an LCP for HMB? Can you offer a bit of perspective on the time and the several attempts to draft an LCP that were rejected? It's a leading question, but was the city government of HMB of the time anxious to fulfill its obligations under the new…
May 01, 2008
“'Why did the HMB City Council agree to such a large expenditure of $18 million without seeking voter consent?' Probably because the arrogant HMB City Council believed they could avoid paying $18 million by trampling over every state environmental law on the books." Wouldn't the more simple answer be, "Because they could"? I thought Pete Price and Sarah Christie were particularly concise and well-spoken--clear on the matter of precedent for all of California. Christie was especially impressive…
April 29, 2008
"If this bill passes, we will know there is some serious corruption going on in Sacramento. AB 1991 is simply nuts." Kevin, Allow me to remind you this is California. Anything can happen, and does. Best to express oneself vigorously and not be too certain of any outcome before it happens. Anyone who objects to the destructive potential of AB1991 should e-mail or phone the members of the Assembly committee to weigh in. You can be sure the other side is doing so to the best of its ability. We already…
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