One NIMBY’s ceiling
Dear ER:
The Redondo Beach City Council deserves a round of applause for declining to second a motion opposing Hermosa’s Measure “O” on oil drilling. This is Hermosa’s issue and not Redondo’s. There are already many non-Hermosa Beach residents weighing in on this issue and if I were a resident, I would be more than a little suspicious of all this “help” in opposing a measure which could provide significant funding to Hermosa at very little risk or inconvenience.
Richard Finken
Redondo Beach
It’s legit
Dear ER:
For the first time in the history of our great city the residents of Redondo Beach have a legitimate chance to decide whether to remove the power plant from our waterfront. Why is it legitimate, because for the first time since the plant was built over 100 years ago the property owner is in favor of and in support of removing the power plant.
Property rights are paramount in the United States of America and a foundation of our Judeo-Christian heritage upon which our country was founded. Think about it, a home in Southern California one mile from the beach is worth $1 million while a similar house on the beach in northern Mexico is worth $50,000. Why the huge discrepancy? Our country’s property rights.
There is a small group of vocal residents who seem to have little regard for property rights. They somehow believe the 50 acres of privately owned property upon which the power plant sits is theirs to do with as they please. And even though they have never made a legitimate offer to purchase the property, which is the normal course of business if you want to build something on someone else’s private property, they continue to find ways to push their selfish, narrow agenda.
Don’t listen to the small group of naysayers. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity Redondo Beach, let’s not pass it up. Vote “Yes” on B.
JB “Bud” Mirassou
(Former Redondo Beach City Councilman)
Redondo Beach
Don’t Believe The F.E.A.R
Dear ER:
I heard a great quote from one of our distinguished council members recently, F.E.A.R. = False Evaluation of Actual Reality. Right now the small, but vocal, group opposing Measure B is trying to scare us with F.E.A.R. of traffic jams, crowded schools and “net money loser” development.
Please, don’t fall into their trap of F.E.A.R. Educate yourself. Find the truth. Learn the actual traffic counts, talk with the RBUSD, talk with the city about projected taxes and income. Or simply speak with Mayor Steve Aspel, former Mayor Mike Gin, the current council members with no predetermined, biased positions, past council members, the many planning, harbor and other city commissioners, the Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce, the RB Police Officers Association and RB Firefighters Association along with the multitude of other individuals, groups and agencies who have endorsed Measure B.
My bet is you will come to the same conclusion I have. Measure B is an historic moment in our city. Don’t pass up this opportunity to rid our city of the power plant and transform our waterfront into a world class location. Vote Yes On Measure B.
Steve Goldstein
Redondo Beach
Is there a “B” in history?
Dear ER:
March 3 we get to decide on Measure B (rezoning of AES land.) For the first time Redondo Beach can have a clean waterfront that is unobstructed by a giant concrete wall and smokestacks. While it is true that the Plant has to be decommissioned by 2020, it is not certain AES will not get a new contract to rebuild. As part of the condition imposed by City Council, AES withdrew its previous application to be on the March ballot. No matter which way we vote, there is no guarantee that AES will not submit a new application in the future. A YES vote on Measure B would dramatically increase the chances though. Any development on the property still has to go through multiple levels of approval. The next chance to vote on that will be June 2016!
I attended meetings on both sides of this debate and was surprised at the amount of misinformation being spread (traffic impacts, land values, the ability of our area to support any new development for schools, infrastructure, etc.) The thing that won me over was the fact that our city leaders, including businesses, council, chamber, police, fire, and even RBUSD are all in support and favor Measure B. The only ones opposing are the typical people we hear from every time a change to our city comes up. I encourage everyone to do the homework in order to make a choice. For me, that is an obvious YES on Measure B!
Chris Voisey
Redondo Beach
See the sea, Yes on B
Dear ER:
For the first time in the history of the city of Redondo Beach, the property owner wants to tear down the power plant and go away, never to be seen again. If you do not want a huge, ugly, view-blocking, industrial power plant on our waterfront then vote yes on Measure B. It is that easy.
It just shocks me that the No Power Plant.com people were so adamant about getting rid of the power plant, but now they are against Measure B. They claim a power plant won’t be built regardless of Measure B, but I would really like to see their credentials to make such a statement. I mean really; what do these people know about power generation, the Public Utilities Commission, or the complex electrical grid, etc., etc., etc. You got it, about as much as you or I!
This is an historic moment for our city, not only for today’s residents but for generations to come. Measure B changes the zoning and will eliminate industrial use on our waterfront, with the property owner’s blessing, “FOREVER.” See the Sea. Yes On Measure B.
Jack Earle
Redondo Beach
We have been at this for 17 years, yet we still do not have the most basic of land planning tools finished in Redondo Beach, a holistic waterfront masterplan that fairly allocates market-supportable density between AES, CenterCal and the other leaseholders. Citizens are being prematurely asked to vote for a self-serving zoning package crafted in the AES corporate boardroom without community input.
Density does not cure all ills. If you do not believe that, please take the time to actually look at some of the latest additions of lifestyle retail in Southern California that are significantly under-performing: The Pike in Long Beach, the Simi Valley lifestyle mall, Riverpark lifestyle mall in Oxnard and the slow progress of the LA waterfront revitalization. If just building density were as easy as current Redondo leadership seems to think it is, all these projects would be fully occupied by now. Oh, also note that all these projects are located adjacent to freeways with mega-traffic capacity, something that our relatively isolated corner of the Southbay does not have.
Voting No on Measure B will not stop necessary waterfront planning, but it will stop the process of putting the cart before the horse. It will give us time to actually evaluate the best plan for the overall waterfront based on market, fiscal, and traffic impact analyses that should have been completed years ago. Someone is choosing to keep you in the dark. Why should you be asked to vote for specific zoning that has not even been properly evaluated yet?
What we do have here is an opportunity to vote for new thinking on the City Council so we can change directions and finally begin to apply appropriate land planning discipline that has been sorely lacking to date. Please do some homework on this, think past the slick, big money brochures, and consider voting NO on Measure B and voting YES for effective leadership by supporting Candice Nafissi for District 3 as the best path forward to break the spin doctoring cycle and actually get something built on a solid, professionally-planned foundation.
Gary Ohst
(310) 941-8978
