Comments by Francis Drouillard
January 07, 2010
Regarding coastal properties, we have a decent policy for new development, i.e., require developers to consider bluff erosion in their designs and proscribe future bluff armoring to protect those properties. In other words, make the developers aware of the risk and make sure that they assume all that risk. As for existing properties in which the current policy cannot be imposed, mother nature will eventually have the final say. We don't need to impose new constraints on those property owners. Eventually,…
August 30, 2009
Anneliese -- Use permits are required all throughout the US. Seems to me a lot of folks accept that permits are required to develop their private land. They may not like it, but they accept the law.
August 25, 2009
SINS OF COMMISSION makes it abundantly clear that some film makers are willing to distort the truth for financial gain. Except that in this case, there may not be any financial gain. Too bad, Mr. Oshen. You could have made a good film about the CCC had you not been swayed by the predicament of your friends and their attorney that sees everything through the lens of Nollan v. CCC. Perhaps you still can. By the way, AB226 and AB291 are long overdue. AB226 allows the Commission to assess fines, just…
August 07, 2009
Rick Nelson -- No offense taken, and no ridicule intended in my previous post. I don't know why HMB handled the wetlands or the lawsuit the way that they did, or why they gave up their right to appeal a flawed decision by Judge Walker. Those are questions you should ask the city council. You should note, however, you that both the AG and the CCC were willing to join the city in an appeal of that decision. You can't blame the definition of wetlands used within the Coastal Zone for the numerous blunders…
August 06, 2009
Rick Nelson -- You're making absurd assumptions and misreading the Coastal Act in order to make the case that the CCC will seize control of your property because they will determine that your garden is a wetland. If HMB tries to develop the Beachwood parcel in a manner consistent with the Coastal Act, they won't have to worry about Mark Massara or the Sierra Club. Also, you keep referring to topo maps. Although they might provide some guidance for determining if some areas might be wetlands, they…
August 06, 2009
Rick Nelson -- If HMB wants to dig holes on open land, they'll first need to apply for a CDP. The presence of wetlands is established before those holes are dug. If any are found, the permit to dig the holes will be conditioned to protect those wetlands. Unless the purpose of digging holes around town is to build constructed wetlands, filling the holes with water after the CDP is issued doesn't make them a wetland under the CCC's jurisdiction. The key is to determine the existence of wetlands BEFORE…
August 06, 2009
It's important to recognize that the Coastal Commission protects all wetlands, even those that are degraded or created by development activity. It's also important to recognize that wetlands within the Coastal Zone are defined differently than those elsewhere in the state. Although the Army Corps of Engineers requires the presence of hydrophytic plants, hydric soils and wet conditions to establish a jurisdictional wetland, the presence of only one of those 3 indicators is adequate to establish a…
August 03, 2009
The incident Barry Parr calls a "coup" really wasn't a coup. Lanny Davis is representing those that impeached, convicted and properly removed Zelaya. They then replaced him with a member of the same political party. Nothing like what one normally thinks of as a [military] coup, and least not in the sense of Argentina's "dirty war."
Now Barry, stop making me defend Lanny Davis!
July 01, 2009
Steven -- Beachwood dragged on because of numerous politically expedient decisions by HMB. So, if you're upset about the duration and ultimate cost of the Beachwood fiasco, you might want to reconsider your support for those politically expedient decisions.
July 01, 2009
Steven -- Stay focused on Beachwood. Most people can distinguish between politically expedient decisions and the results of such decisions. Why can't you?
July 01, 2009
Steven -- Political expediency isn't always the best solution. In fact, it rarely is. That is another lesson that should be learned from the Beachwood case.
June 30, 2009
That $40 million cannot be attributed to the property alone. It includes interest as well as some pretty bad decisions by your own elected city officials.
Hindsight should tell you that it would have been better had the city been unwavering in its support for environmental laws instead of dropping that support in the face of a bad legal decision that favored the developer.
June 30, 2009
Funny, after all the haggling and some very costly lessons, some folks still don't see the environmental value of wetlands.
September 06, 2008
Joel -- Nice spin, but I was referring to the current city council. Yes, they were dealt a bad hand, but then they proceeded to play that hand in the most contemptuous, hostile and incompetent way possible.
There's a phrase commonly heard in casinos that applies to HMB, namely "woulda, shoulda, coulda."
September 06, 2008
People that ask for help are usually more humble and less contemptuous of those "outsiders" they need to obtain help. The councilwoman (in canopy blue) to the right of the mayor was particularly goofy. What makes her think AB 1991 opponents have any financial responsibility for their stupid mistakes? I hope the citizens of HMB realize they need a new city council that respects state environmental laws and the opinions of those from whom they seek help. That's not a gamble at all. It's merely the…
September 05, 2008
Steven -- First, a special interest law, then a $10 million handout, and now an Afghan sweater. Seems to me that you HMB residents always have your hand out. When did self-reliance and accountability go out of fashion on the peninsula?
August 18, 2008
Hopefully, the HMB city council will recognize that this is the best deal they will ever get.
For a mere $3 million, HMB gets more park space and buries some really bad decisions by city government under the rug.
The citizens of HMB can repay Californian by voting their current city council out of office as soon as possible. I hope they do.
August 04, 2008
Steven, The question is what portion of government should be cut. Surely you realize that not all government agencies are wasteful, or that some are more wasteful than others. The smart thing to do is to trim the wasteful agencies first. It's pretty clear to me that Caltrans' is one of our state's most wasteful agencies. They waste precious transportation resources by the hundreds of millions of dollars, enough to fully fund the Commission for decades. We also need to recognize that taxes and government…
August 01, 2008
You seem to lump all state employees into the same group without any deference to the services they provide. I prefer to look at the effectiveness of the state's employees, and weed out those with poor performance first. I place Caltrans at the top of my list because I don't think we get much bang for the buck with them. On the other hand, Coastal Commission staff do a lot to protect natural resources and significantly increase the value of property within the Coastal Zone. Those same efforts also…
August 01, 2008
Caltrans has about 11,000 engineers, which is far more than necessary for the work they do. I would much rather see that unresponsive state agency take the additional cuts needed to provide adequate funding for the Coastal Commission so they can have sufficient staff to meet their legislative mandates. In my view, the Coastal Commission is an excellent model of small efficient government that is responsive to the citizens of California. Caltrans is a bloated state agency that wastes taxpayer dollars…
Page 1 of 5 pages 1 2 3 > Last ›
Facebook
Twitter
RSS