Letters to the Editor 1-27-22
A locals call
Dear ER:
For over 80 years, Manhattan Beach has had a 30-foot height limit for residential construction in the beach area and a 26 foot limit in the rest of Manhattan Beach. This has kept high rise buildings from being built along the coast, as has happened in other local cities. A new large new apartment building is being proposed on Rosecrans that will be 50 feet high. That can now happen legally because our California State Legislature has passed laws, which Governor Newsom has signed, that take zoning rights and height limit controls away from cities. This also happened with Senate Bills 9 and 10, which basically ended single family zoning in the state. Elections have consequences. Thanks go to Redondo Beach Mayor Bill Brand, who is working on an initiative to be on this year’s ballot to restore local zoning control to cities. For many years the philosophy was that local governments knew best what the needs of their own community are. This is clearly changing now. The California State Government is taking away the rights of the locally elected officials to make decisions, and the Federal government is trying to take away the rights of the state governments to make decisions as to how to run their states. Isn’t the concept of “Central Planning” what they have in countries like China and Russia?
Russ Lesser
Manhattan Beach
Time’s up
Dear ER:
Regardless of our beliefs, most Manhattan Beach parents want to raise well educated, responsible adults. Two weeks ago, a sitting Manhattan Beach council member, and a small handful of online agitators divided us with a spectacle of political theater, distracting all involved from much more productive pursuits. Council Member Suzanne Hadley acted in poor judgment when she read aloud from an explicit passage at a public school board meeting, and asked leadership for an unconstitutional act of censorship. By her own argument, she harmed a child who was present for the debacle. When she overran her time, audience members shouted “Time’s Up!” Parents have a right to set their children’s limits. Students have the freedom to learn. Both oversight and choice are protected in MBUSD’s current system. By refusing Hadley the legitimacy she craves, let’s reclaim our community from the toxic attempts to provoke us with amplified lies and performative outrage. Time’s up indeed.
Jo Jenkins Dohner
Manhattan Beach
Ombudsman, not spin doc
Dear ER:
I would like to express my utter dismay that the City of Hermosa Beach would invest nearly $100,000 per year on a public relations firm to spin the city’s programs, such as outdoor dining, lane closures on Pier Avenue, special events that clog residential streets, and for which many residents have no interest. What was driving the need for more tax dollars to be spent on a public relations firm reporting to the city manager? What Hermosa Beach needs is an ombudsman reporting to the mayor, charged with helping residents get truthful, direct and timely answers from our city bureaucracy, not a public relations firm to help the city spin its story. For years the Parks & Recreation Commission has been promising to conduct an impartial survey (not written by the Chamber of Commerce or its cronys in City Hall) on what special events city residents, especially those who live in the most impacted neighborhoods, really want. It’s time for the residents to have their say. We don’t need more spin. We need a voice.
Anthony Higgins
Hermosa Beach
Reparations, not race relations
Dear ER:
Hmm? I don’t think Manhattan Beach is divided on matters of race or social justice. In fact, I think we are united in being a welcoming ,and caring community. Every day, residents of our city give their time and money to support social justice causes, more than residents in most other cities. And, we are united in agreeing eminent domain was an egregious wrong suffered by the Bruce family. So, what’s really causing the divisiveness? I think it’s reparations, not race.
Any discussion about the legal merits of reparations triggers the divisive partisanship that has seeped into our community, and even our local government. And, that’s not good.
Two wrongs don’t make a right. If the State and County politicians wanted lasting and legal reparations, the right path would have been to amend the State Constitution’s ban on gifts of public funds to create an exception for reparations in instances where the eminent domain process was motivated by a discriminatory intent. That would have made reparations “bullet proof” to attack. However, such an amendment would have had to be placed on the ballot for California voter approval, a nonstarter for partisan politicians.
Instead, these politicians chose a path that is most likely wrong with several possible legal infirmities. For instance, the City’s deed to the State still contains the deed restrictions regarding public or beach use. The recently adopted State legislation did not address those deed restrictions that may run with the land and be legally binding.
Mark Burton
Manhattan Beach
Tentpole
Dear ER:
I have lived in Southern California for 35 years. I have heard all the arguments people have about the cost of living and the high tax rates, and I always had many reasons to refute those arguments. Well, I had visitors from out of the country this past Christmas, and I was embarrassed to show them the neighboring cities I truly loved (Hollywood, Downtown Los Angeles, Santa Monica). Sadly, now these cities are dirty, unsafe, the roads are destroyed and the homeless are everywhere. I live in Redondo Beach, and I still think our city is worth the price. I am concerned about a tent citizen I have been seeing in front of a closed restaurant since last December. I thought she would be asked to leave but that did not happen. Now, a couple of weeks have passed, and I see trash and clothes around the tent, and it also smells like a dirty bathroom. I contacted the city and they said this person does not want to move. There are a lot of things I don’t want to do but I have to. One of them is paying taxes. I pay taxes so my city is clean and safe for the citizens. Please don’t let Redondo Beach become another tent city.
Claudia Castaneda
Redondo Beach
Local health
Dear ER
As nearly everyone knows by now, BCHD has been spending much of its time and efforts outside the three beach cities that pay its bills. Over 8) percent of covid tests done by BCHD were for non-residents. Over 80 percent of the Healthy Campus residents for the $12,000/month senior housing will be Beach City non-residents. Over the PACE adult care participants will be non-residents. BCHD needs to help those who pay BCHD bills, and not non-residents of the three beach cities.
Mark Nelson
Easyreadernews.com
Everyone is local
Dear ER:
Denying anyone services, regardless of who is paying the taxes, is a recipe for disaster. As a taxpayer I am more than happy to pay into a system where non-residents receive services that help quell this pandemic. To block non-residents from vax and testing services is counter-productive. We’re all in this together.
Paul Modiano
Easyreadernews.com
Flawed housing fix
Dear ER:
The new Redondo Beach council majority failed at their attempt to cram all new housing in North Redondo (“State rejects Redondo Affordable Housing Plan,” ER Jan. 20, 2022). The State rejected their unfair Housing Element. North Redondo residents sidestepped the City Council and took their opposition directly to the State and that made the difference (for now.)
Paul Moses
Redondo Beach
Voice for Redondo
Dear ER:
Restore this beautiful piece of rich local history (“Redondo seeks new ideas for old library,” ER Jan. 20, 2022). Turn the space into a museum or an art gallery that shares local stories through interactive and tactile experiences that resonate with multiple age groups and all walks of life. Give this venue the voice it deserves.
David Kenneth
Easyreadernews.com