Miami Beach comes to Pacifica

The SF Bay Guardian has an interesting article on R. Donahue Peeble’s plan to develop Pacifica’s quarry site.  There’s plenty of background in people on both sides of the campaign over Measure L, and an interesting description of how Peebles has marshaled his forces to get the measure passed.

Loeb served on Pacifica’s City Council for eight years in the 1980s and has lived in the same home near the quarry for three decades. He helped formulate the land use plan for the property, which was designated a redevelopment area in 1986. The plan calls for mixed-use residential and commercial spaces, preservation of the walk and bikeway system, and "high-quality design in both public and private developments including buildings, landscaping, signing and street lighting."

Joined by a stay-at-home dad named Ken Restivo, Loeb is now organizing the opposition to Peebles — and it hasn’t been an easy task. Peebles has already poured several hundred thousand dollars into a campaign to overturn a 1983 city law that requires voter approval of a housing element in the redevelopment zone. This in a town where the typical council candidate spends less than $10,000 running for office.

My favorite quote: "‘It’s the windiest spot in Pacifica,’ Loeb says. ‘It’s the coldest, windiest spot in the whole city.’"