MAILBAG - Nov. 25, 1999

NO ROOM FOR RVs ON PCH

This mad search for money by the city is threatening to ruin our quality

of life if we don’t do something to stop the council.

As a resident of Huntington Beach for 20 years, I pay taxes to be close

to the ocean. The city is preparing to park enormous recreational

vehicles between residents and the ocean. Their plan is to park 38-foot

RVs on the service road below Pacific Coast Highway from 11th Street to

Goldenwest. This is ridiculous. Why are they trying to do this? For the

parking fees, even though there’s no space for these RVs? Call City Hall

and tell them we don’t need RVs on that road, which is a service road and

not wide enough for this grandiose plan.

EILEEN MURPHY

Huntington Beach

WIDENING PCH IS A GOOD IDEA

Opponents of the bluff-bottom parking plan create a Web site called Save

Huntington Beach. That’s funny. Shouldn’t it be Save the People Who

Bought Homes Next to a State Highway and in Front of an Eroding Bluff

Top?

Or perhaps, Save Me, I Moved to the Busiest Beach in Southern California

But Now I Don’t Want Anyone Else to Use It.

Is putting parking below the bluffs anyone’s, even the city’s, ideal

situation? Of course not, but Pacific Coast Highway is way over its

traffic capacity and needs to be widened through Huntington Beach. The

bluff that affords great ocean views is eroding at the rate of 4 inches a

year, and the park atop it is in a state of disrepair. In an effort we

ought to applaud, the city has put together a proposal that fixes the

park, fixes the bluff, addresses a public safety problem, and increases

access to the beach, all without raising taxes.

Instead, our council and staff have to spend time getting beat up by

residents who should have known better. Pacific Coast Highway and the

bluff have been there longer than the project’s opponents.

JACK MORROW

Huntington Beach

NO BEACH BOULEVARD REVAMP

I disapprove of the median repairs on Beach, or reconstruction, very

much. I think there are a lot of other things that could be done with the

money, especially on Shorewood and Mediterranean drives, where sidewalks

and sewers are getting clogged.

NORMAN K. JONES

Huntington Beach

CITY SHOULD CONSIDER REDISTRICTING

As a matter of principle, if something is good for a district it is

probably good for the city at large, and conversely, if it is not good

for the district it is probably not good for the city.

Districts provide a truer test of what is good for the city because each

council member has roots in a district, and that council member’s vision

likely reflects the vision of residents in that district. Making the

redistricting of council elections an advisory issue on the March ballot

would be a service to the community.

JOHN F. SCOTT

Huntington Beach

ASK NRA TO FUND GUN RANGE

I assume that most of the people clamoring for a public-access gun range

are members of the National Rifle Assn., so I have an excellent

suggestion: Why don’t they ask the NRA to finance the project from their

political lobbying funds?

The NRA would hardly miss such a small amount out of such a large kitty.

But do build it far away from Huntington Beach, please, at least far

enough so children visiting the library don’t have to get bangs with

their books.

BETTE BALLIET

Huntington Beach

HBTV-3 SHOULD COVER BOTH SIDES

I watched a few of the city’s shows on HBTV-3 when I first moved here

three and a half years ago. It did not take long, -- about a month -- for

me to realize what was going on. I do, however, watch or attend all

Planning Commission hearings and the dog and pony show that is called the

council meeting.

I would like to see more discussion on the $10,000-and-rising city

employees’ party, and the appropriation of money for musical instruments,

since the council is always crying about the city’s financial problems. I

think it would be great to have programs discussing both sides of the

issue.

Of course, if that ever went through, the first five council members to

the right of Tom Harman at the council table would come up with some

Mickey Mouse reasons why it would not work.

JIM BARRY

Huntington Beach

Ron Davis’ suggestion that HBTV-3 be used to bring the topic of the Crest

View fiasco to the public has merit. One cannot disagree if both sides of

the issue is expounded upon by proponents in a moderated forum.

BOB POLKOW

Huntington Beach

AIRPORT AT EL TORO AFFECTS US ALL

As a community, we must move beyond the idea of whether El Toro will

affect Huntington Beach. The real issue is that it will negatively affect

thousands of people, our South County neighbors.

If we concern ourselves only with issues that affect “me,” then we soon

become bankrupt as a society. Isn’t it time we all begin looking at the

greater good for our entire community?

There is no doubt that the airport will be an environmental disaster for

South County, and that looks like a disaster for all of us.

IRENE BRIGGS

Huntington Beach