Comments by Mike Ferreira
September 01, 2008
The "fix" for bad judicial decisions is in the appeals process, which, unfortunately in this case, has been thrown away as part of the ill-advised settlement gamble on AB1991.
September 01, 2008
It was exceedingly unwise for a variety of reasons for the City government of the early 1980s to put drainpipes into a wetland because there was a variety of foreseeable negative consequences. But, I think we can forgive them if they didn't foresee that an ideological judge would buy into the fairy tale that they created the wetland they were draining.
August 28, 2008
It might be wiser to read the bill before popping off. It's for "acguisition and associated park and trail development" for the the two parcels. The Senator, it seems, has wisely anticipated that there might be appraisal issues and has provided language that would allow grants for park construction in case the two appraisals don't reach the full amount.
I'm sure, however, that there will those who will find a reason to be snotty about that foresight.
August 15, 2008
Bravo to Senator Yee and to his staff. Both the Settlement and its AB1991 subset were a bizarre result of an unwise capitulation to an upside-down court decision that should have been appealed. But Senator Yee knew that the people of Half Moon Bay were not the cause of the fiasco and so he found a way to substantially reduce the burden on them. Good for him.
As I understand it the schedule is still tight for this new bill is to get through on time. Let's hope it makes it.
August 15, 2008
It's wondrous to read about yet another very positive thing POST is doing for the Coastside community. When I look at the sum and total of all of the contributions POST has made to us and to future generations it's just amazing. Thanks, again, to a dedicated board of directors and their equally dedicated staff.
August 01, 2008
I second Sofia's commendation of Scott and Ric for getting the ball rolling on recycled water. Northern California's water future looks worse every time a new study comes out. The diminished snow pack is melting sooner, the Delta ecology is in collapse, the Colorado doesn't reach the sea, the salmon fishing fleet is grounded, and farmers are concerned about their future. We're well past the stage where "pipes" from elsewhere are a solution or that deeper wells equate to "production" of water. If…
August 01, 2008
The dual travesty of the Walker Decision and the ensuing Settlement are better discussed on a different thread.
Here, we're discussing the Sewer Authority Midcoastside. It's a Joint Powers Authority supported by sewer fees and assessments from three sewer districts, Half Moon Bay being one of them. If you are curious as to potential funding methodologies for tertiary treatment why don't you pose some articulate questions?
August 01, 2008
It's debateable that we should move ahead with recycled water on a fast track as we enter a drought cycle? Are you somehow immunized from news reports?
As to lawsuits, why don't you tell us all about the millions of dollars of land use lawsuits against the Sewer Authority Midcoastside since that's the governmental entity under discussion here.
June 20, 2008
Putting George's personalized obsession to the side, this case should present the Council with an opportunity to clarify with staff the issues that should be brought to the Council, especially if there's a possibility that a lawsuit might result.
June 20, 2008
With George it's all about smear.
June 20, 2008
When the finalization of the purchase of the Hippoli parcel on Oak Street came before the Council (late 2004, I think) we were all congratulatory to staff, the state, and the selling party - the Hippoli family. I commented to staff that they should talk to the neighboring condominium owners about purchasing the parcel to the west of the Hippoli parcel because it was my understanding that they would be quite reasonable about it. Months later, I heard from the Homeowners that the City was asserting…
June 13, 2008
When she voted for denial in 2000 she clarified that she did so "only because of the wetlands".
June 12, 2008
There was only one City Council motion voted on for the Settlement.
It was not unanimous.
It was a 4 to 1 vote.
For clarity's sake, we should state City Council Majority, not City Council, when we talk about who is supporting this sleaze.
June 10, 2008
Here's a paragraph from the article that gives a strong clue as to how the Ninth Circuit would have treated Walker's damage award if the City had appealed. "As a further boon to the city, the Ninth Circuit also found the lower court's award of compensatory damages flawed. The Ninth Circuit held that there was no actual injury as there was no reduction in value attributable to the challenged condition because development could not go forward until NP obtained a development permit from the Coastal…
May 25, 2008
You seem to be suffering from a misconception of history, Steve. Judge Walker did not, indeed could not, find that the 2000 Council (Patridge, Donovan, Taylor, Ruddock, and Coleman) misapplied the law regarding wetlands. Instead, he rather insidiously found that the 1984 City government created the wetlands by botching a drainage project.
And whose gang was in charge in 1984, Steve?
April 29, 2008
In the year 2000, a Council that was split between 3 slow-growth members (Taylor, Ruddock & Coleman) and 2 pro-growth members (Donovan & Patridge) voted 5 to 0 – that’s 5 to 0 or unanimous - in support of the denial recommendation presented to them by their generally pro-growth staff - the City Manager (King), the City Attorney (Truxaw), and the Planning Director (Curtis). Why? Because: 1.) both the staff and the Council believed the Law required them to do so when the developer refused…
April 25, 2008
It was very deceptive for Orrick's press release to promote Rusty Areias' credentials for the conference as "Former Chairman of the Coastal Commission" when his actual function was as a paid lobbyist employed by the City. It was worse than deceptive for Areias to claim that the Coastal Commission opposed AB1991 without seeing the text. Areias knows that the actual text has been sandbagged until this week and he should also know that the Commission based its opposition on the written Settlement's…
April 21, 2008
Change the word "probity" to "merit" in the preceding post.
April 21, 2008
Mr. Gossett's citation of appraisal work conducted in response to specific judicial instructions regarding a pending judgment is disingenuous to the conversation as to the probity of the judgment itself.
April 20, 2008
Save the $50 million bogeyman for your grandkids' slumber party, Steve. The $41 million Walker judgment was 4 times higher than even the plaintiff expected on his most hopeful days. Excessive awards are always reduced substantially.
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