Comments by Steven Hyman
June 06, 2008
I agree that the City would make the most money if they sold each lot privately. The more lots they can pack in that area, the more profitable the project becomes because some fixed costs will be amortized over a bigger base. There are many more costs that haven't been anticipated like surveys, reports and most importantly the 6% real estate commission! But dealing with this is a potential nightmare. I wonder how many people would want to take this on considering its colorful past. Personally if…
June 06, 2008
Anytime you want something done poorly, let the government do it. Whether its federal, state or local, its not an impressive record. The City shouldn't try and play Donald Trump. Can you imagine every single sale having to be approved by City staff, Council with the lawyer's approval. And considering how long it takes to sell lots, how long will this take. 2,3,4,5 years? Its always best to know your limitations. The City should stick to what it does best. I'm sure many of the posters here have different…
May 29, 2008
The truth is AB 1991 is on to the Senate with a commanding victory. And that's no Mis-Speak.
May 28, 2008
You guys are using the wrong terminology. The PC phrase for libs is "mis-speak". Never thought I'd say this but the Slickster's lawyer did an awesome job, understood the competition and knew how to divide them. I guess it takes one to beat one. Now there's a creditability issue with the CCC and the eco groups from the far reaches of the state. The legislators are going to take what they say with a grain of salt now. And if they try and flip flop they'll just dig a deeper hole for themselves and Lanny…
May 27, 2008
I want to hedge my estimate of Beachwood's value by seeing how many water and paid sewer connections there are. Water connections are going for over $40,000 now and the surplus unused hookups are worth some serious money to other land owners.
May 27, 2008
If Beachwood was sold to one person, my guess is that its worth $4,5,6 million. Then to maximize the value of this parcel, it needs to be subdivided into as many parcels as possible. With the wetlands on this property, who knows how many lots you can get, how much money will need to be spent on reports, maps made and streets with utilities built. And of course, how many more years of fighting. Todays land prices go for around $250,000 to maybe $350,000. So if you get 20 lots that's max $7 million…
May 27, 2008
We are trying to make the best of a horrible situation. All the solutions are bad but paying $18 million for something worth 5 is not acceptable to me. I don't see the scenic beauty of this site. I could see if someone (and this is just an example I haven't researched) wanted to build 129 Spyglass size homes on Martin's Beach. That's another story. That being said its also my favorite beach and I've fantasized about living there in a nice home. Anyway, this place needs to come together. We can't…
May 27, 2008
Ken, I don't know that I agree with you that the anti-environment groups are a small minority. I think what you've seen over the years is a very committed well oiled minority getting there way. As I've said many times, Beachwood isn't worth the fuss and MONEY. What a mess for most people (except the lawyers). And I'm sorry that I can't appreciate this wetland wonder, I still see it as just a field of weeds near McDonalds and the sewer plant. In hindsight, this was the wrong battle. And AB 1991 will…
May 25, 2008
Carl, You really need to look in the mirror. Its you who's begging all your green buddies at the 4 corners of the state to bail you out from the mess you made for HMB. That makes you the shill, lakey, flunky or whatever. I sense the desperation in your writing. If AB 1991 is passed (which is looking better by the week), its you and your obstructionist cohorts who will be blamed for the consequences. All your eco friends may not want you at their wetland parties. They may even be so angry at you that…
May 25, 2008
Maybe so but these people are the real bogus grass root supporters and shills that Kevin and Carl object to.
I guess they only want to slam people who don't see it their way. Luckily, HMB's slick lawyer anticipated these transparent moves and has neutralized them.
May 25, 2008
Got to admit. You guys are the masters of speaking of out of both sides of your mouth.
Kevin blasts local for supporting the City and Carl calls us shills.
But its OK to have obscure groups that don't even know where HMB is or heard of AB 1991 to come out against it. Talk about SHILLS. What do you think these guys are???
Your moves are so fake and transparent. That's why your efforts will fail. And this isn't lost on Slick Willie's lawyer. He's used to Dem BS.
May 24, 2008
This "grass roots local realtor" and 25 year resident sent in a letter of support. I wasn't inspired ( or contacted) by the slick lawyering of Lanny Davis. It was Kevin's earlier post that motivated me to action.
Considering this is turning into such a circus, maybe we should sent our letters to the other Leno.
May 23, 2008
And that makes us different from the people who own gas stations, shops, restaurants, etc. All the Realtors I know think this is a great place to work, live and raise a family. As far as George Mozingo goes, he does a great job in protecting property owners rights from bad legislation. We are lucky to have him. The Coast is a small part of SAMCAR but he spends a disproportionate amount of his time dealing with all our issues. I doubt I'll make any money off of Beachwood, which is years away from…
May 23, 2008
And what's wrong with LOCAL REALTORS. Many of us have lived here and worked here for decades trying to make this a better place for everybody. There probably isn't an organization or charity on the Coast that hasn't benefited a lot from our hard work, support and donations. I know I support a handful of organizations and events. And on top of that I've been writing for your favorite paper for over 12 years now educating the public on a variety of real estate topics. I don't want to see this place…
May 23, 2008
Francis,
To your first point, I'd say too little too late and its just talk.
And to your second point, you forgot to mention that the Democrats are beholden to the environmental groups.
May 23, 2008
You also have to tip your hat to the slick lawyering and lobbying of Bill and Hillary's man. But would you expect anything less. He did learn from the master. HMB is lucky to have such a talented high priced man on our side.
Its interesting to hear all the concessions being offered now as this bill looks like it will sail through the Assembly. Too bad these weren't offered many years ago. Maybe we wouldn't be wasting all our time and money on this infill parcel.
May 22, 2008
I'm sure I know where you like it signed.
May 22, 2008
Somehow this hasn't made it to my top 10 stack for night time reading. If AB 1991 doesn't pass, maybe we should make some eco-friendly flyers on Chapter 9 that we can put in a newcomer's welcome basket.
I still don't think the HMB cartoon should be included yet. But if Ken and I keep being such good pen pals this summer, I'll be glad to give him a framed version for a Christmas present.
May 21, 2008
I don't understand why settling is such a bad thing. Obviously the stone walling litigious approach has been a financial disaster for everybody, except the lawyers.
Anyway, don't knock it till you've tried it. Maybe we could get something done here for a change.
And I did attend a special meeting with the City prior to the public meeting in January, however, selling City land didn't come up then.
May 21, 2008
I'll be the first to admit that I'm not familiar with how municipal bankruptcies work. That being said, the City would still have to sell-off many assets to satisfy its obligations.
That would be devastating to the community.
All the options are bad, appealing is worse. I'm glad our elected officials did the right thing. That took a lot of courage.
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