Opinion: Accountability

Federal Judge Vaughn Walker’s Findings of Fact in the $45Million Yamagiwa (Beachwood) lawsuit clearly identify the rationale for his decision:  On March 21, 2000, the City Council voted to deny Beachwood a CDP; took six weeks trying to justify their actions, and on May 2, 2000, adopted Resolution No. C-26-00, formally denying the CDP.  The ‘new’ wetlands, that the City created, were at the heart of the denial. Council member Toni Taylor made that motion and Debbie Ruddock seconded it.

In order to understand how that happened, we need to ask ourselves a few questions; some of those questions might include:

1) Who were the Council members that made that decision?

2) How did each one vote?

3) What political faction had the majority on the Council?

4) Who was on the Planning Commission at that time?

5) Which Council member appointed each of the Planning Commissioners?

6) How much influence did members of the Planning Commission have in the decision?

7) Who sat on, and controlled, the Water Board (CCWD)?

8) What political faction controlled the City?

Here are the answers:

1) Jerry Donovan, Debbie Ruddock (Vice Mayor), Dennis Coleman (Mayor), Toni Taylor, Naomi Patridge

2) It was a unanimous vote. Review story link; http://www.hmbreview.com/articles/2000/05/11/news/export17405.txt

3) The majority were League for Coastside Protection (LCP) members or supporters

4) Sitting Commissioners at that time were; Hanson, Sullivan, Benjamin, Ream, King, Heinz, and Ferreira

5)  Donovan selected Hanson (PC)
    Ruddock selected Sullivan (PC)
    Coleman selected Benjamin (PC)
    Taylor selected Ream (PC)
    Patridge selected King (PC)
Heinz & Ferreira (PC Chairman) were ‘at large’ appointees
(There were seven Commissioners then; 4 LCP)

6) A bunch; we’ll dig into this answer more, shortly.

7) Eve Coleman, Carol Cupp (President), Eleanor Witrop (VP), Major Gates, Ken Coverdale; 3 LCP

8) The current version’s name is ‘The League for Coastside Protection’ (LCP). The origins of this group go back to the mid 90’s, starting as the Neighborhood Alliance, then cross-membering with the Committee For Green Foothills, then morphing into the LCP, as the current umbrella.

How does all this tie together? Let’s look at the Council first; Coleman (Mayor), Ruddock (Vice Mayor), and Taylor were members of the morphed LCP.  From the Planning Commission; Jimmy Benjamin, Lani Ream, Don Heinz, and Mike Ferreira (Chair) were also members of the LCP.  From the Water Board (CCWD), Eve Coleman was (is) Dennis Coleman’s wife, he was Mayor at the time. Add Carol Cupp, and Eleanor Witrop who was (is) the wife of George Carmen, the most vociferous opponent of Beachwood, who lived on Terrace Avenue at the time, and one starts to get the picture.

So, what do we have here?  We have a City that essentially created the wetlands which resulted in the $36,795,000 Awarded Judgment, and legal fees and interest, totaling between $45 & $50 Million dollars (11/28/07).  It all started in the mid 1980’s, probably simply out of ignorance, due to lack of attention and accountability.

We had a sewer moratorium that was to last four months, which was extended eleven times, and lasted seven years into the late 1990’s; used as grounds for denial of Beachwood’s CDP to start their approved project at that time.  Judge Walker referred to this as a "bureaucratic loop", because the City claimed it could not issue a CDP without sewer connection reservations - and would not issue sewer connections without a CDP - thereby creating a self-contradicting paradox.  Both of these conditions were imposed and controlled by the City Council.  To add ‘insult to injury’, Beachwood was assessed, and paid into the sewer assessment; approximately $1 Million (1/12 of the entire cost to the City) yet never enjoyed the benefit of even one connection.

We had, in 2000, a City that was entirely locked up by LCPers: three on the Council (a majority), four on the Planning Commission (a majority), and three on the Water Board (a majority). How much influence did the group, identified as ‘the League for Coastside Protection’, have?  ALL IT NEEDED!

What happened after that decision?  Mr. Ferreira went on to get elected to the City Council in 2001 and served as Mayor in 2003. In addition, he spearheaded, along with Toni Taylor, the ‘negotiations’ with both Beachwood and Pacific Ridge which resulted in three lawsuits, reduction of the project by roughly 75%, and movement of the project to place it squarely on the projected Foothill Boulevard corridor.  Could it be that Ferreira did that in an attempt to shut down Foothill forever?

Starting in 2001 Council, and appointed Planning Commissioners, performed such services for our community as creating the 1800+ ‘substandard lots’ that still plague us today. They stopped the Boys & Girls Club from being built near the sewer treatment plant near Planning Commissioner Jimmy Benjamin’s house. They implemented the illegal and unfair ‘Net/Gross lot’ rule, which retroactively restricted the use of property (and was wisely rescinded by our current Planning Commission, with the support of the current Council).  They stopped maintenance of City ditches, like the Kehoe Ditch for example, and labeled them either ‘wetlands’ or ‘Riparian Corridors’ and ‘habitats’, further jeopardizing our residents and property. They even tried to rewrite our LCP, implementing all their ‘lockdowns’ as Policy, to send off to the Coastal Commission for certification. It was close, but we managed to stop that (08/05). And, of course, they hired the Meyers Nave legal firm to support them in their nefarious adventures.

Almost everyone was hurt by the regime in place from the late 1990’s through the early 2000 years which, under the guise of protecting our environment, imposed their selective will on our City. The over $4,000.00 per man, woman, and child now owed Beachwood by all of us in HMB is only the latest, and most glaring cost. The price we have paid, and will continue to pay in terms of money, time, aggravation, frustration, infrastructure, taking of our property rights and our dignity, have yet to be totaled up. Needless to say, the cost is high; almost unbearable.

The questions asked, and answered here are precious few. They only lead to more questions, and perhaps some long overdue and justified anger.  Many have expressed a need for the ‘accountability’ addressed above.

Maybe this is a new start for - or is it the end of - HMB?

George Muteff
Half Moon Bay