Comments by Joel McKinnon

Letter: House exceeds height limit in Montara

October 12, 2007
I applaud Mr. Carey for doing the hard work of researching the details of what he perceives to be unfair and illegal actions by the developer in constructing this house and by the county officials who appear to have sided with the developer against the weight of Mr. Carey's detailed evidence. My only regret in reviewing the original letter and the subsequent comment thread is in speculating as to the developer's motives regarding the reasons for the apparently anomalous height and how this derailed…

When did the minimum become sufficient?

June 13, 2007
Good academic points Carl. My own, admittedly gut feel about this is that if there are people like me out here in the hinterlands who have reason to care about whether or not a new park is developed in HMB, then that makes us a part of the HMB community with regard to this decision, and our viewpoint should be considered as much as is feasible.

When did the minimum become sufficient?

June 12, 2007
There seems to be some vigorous back and forth here as to what defines community. I think some people should realize there is not a single definition shared by all. For ten years I lived in Moss Beach and my local community consisted of a few neighboring households and a few that were stretched out a bit further through carpool connections, etc. The real community for me was on a much larger scale through my interest in national and world issues. I've often felt a longing for a more substantial connection…

Album: Touring the Devil’s Slide Tunnel construction site with Congressman Lantos

June 01, 2007
Great pictures Cheri! I've been fascinated by the brief glimpses of the north portal bridge construction I've been able to see while driving by, wishing I could get a better view of the progress. Now I can see they're even farther along than I thought.

Letter: House exceeds height limit in Montara

May 29, 2007
Stephen, I assume you'll be hearing from Rob. He's pretty thorough and I'm fairly sure he'll be on top of this aspect of the issue. Check his informational site first: http://1050Acacia.info/select. It strikes me that this- the drainage issue- might be the best line of attack. The height problem is a serious concern to neighbors whose privacy is impacted and to the general aesthetic of the neighborhood, but it can be passed off as people griping about someone else having a better view. What's more…

Darin’s Monday Photo: Erosion

May 09, 2007
Great shot Darin! Well worth the wait. Where did you snap this?

Coastside fights global warming with a Montara beach party

May 07, 2007
I just moved in to my lovely new home in Montara this past weekend and, appropo to the weather, had an interesting chat with a neighbor regarding this thread on Coastsider.com. He pointed out that the essay by Cockburn is available without requirement to register at Counterpunch: http://tinyurl.com/278jss I read the essay and wasn't quite as impressed by Cockburn's argument as my neighbor was. The gist of it is that, according to one climatologist the author spoke with- a Dr. Martin Hertzberg, the…

Coastside fights global warming with a Montara beach party

May 04, 2007
Mary, I confess I did not read the whole article for the same reason you didn't. I didn't want to pay for access. One reason I lost interest in the rest of the article, however, is that the teaser didn't impress me a whole lot. I don't have anything against Mr. Cockburn, but I do have issues with those who try to minimize the threat of global warming on the grounds of there being some smidgen of doubt that the measurable phenomenon is not caused by humans or Americans in particular and that it's…

Coastside fights global warming with a Montara beach party

May 02, 2007
Those who like to belittle the global warming activists as doomsayers and chicken littles seem to overlook a rather significant point. Usually, the thrust of their argument is that the measurable increase in global temperature is a naturally occurring cycle and man has nothing to do with it. Since there is no slam dunk 100% evidence that we're to blame, why should we do anything to fix it? I think it's very likely that mankind's pumping of gigantic amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere is contributing…

Video:  Design Review Committee rejects two houses on Birch Street in Montara

April 25, 2007
And here I thought we'd bought in Montana. I was going to ask directions to Glacier Nat'l Park... Would you believe I have a wierd keyboard where the "n" and the "r" are right next to each other? Didn't think so. We're in the A-frame two houses from the end of Acacia as of May 4th. I look forward to getting to know the neighbors; particularly if one of them came up with this web site. Great job!

Coastside fights global warming with a Montara beach party

April 24, 2007
I'm really sorry I missed the Step It Up party. As a new Montaran (moving in two weeks) I look forward to meeting members of my new community; especially those with deep concern for the future both locally and globally. Joel

Video:  Design Review Committee rejects two houses on Birch Street in Montara

April 24, 2007
Kevin, The house we just bought on Acacia is our first. After renting for ten years in Moss Beach, we're looking forward to being homeowners for the first time and becoming permanent members of a very special community. You can count on us to get involved and help out in any way we can. The project at Farallone View seems even less justified than the one on Birch as far as fitting in with the community. It just appalls me that the developer refers to a beautiful living creek as a ditch and plans…

Video:  Design Review Committee rejects two houses on Birch Street in Montara

April 21, 2007
Hi folks, My family is moving to Montara (all the way from Moss Beach) in two weeks and I am very proud of the community as represented in this video. We'll be over on the northernmost block of Acacia so will be fairly nearby Mr. Menasco's next monstrosity, the 7 lot subdivision he's planning just below Farallone View. I also watched Darrin's video of the pre-planning meeting for that and was equally impressed with the fighting spirit shown there. I know from personal experience that it takes a lot…