Thanks to all involved in the...

Thanks to all involved in the council race

Congratulations to all those who participated in the democratic

process on Nov. 5. Congratulations to Cathy Green, Jill Hardy, Dave

Sullivan and Gil Coerper for running successful campaigns for the

City Council. I wish them, along with Pam Julian Houchen, Debbie Cook

and Connie Boardman, lots of luck and success as they work together

to make the increasingly difficult public policy decisions as they

strive to maintain excellent city services in a struggling economy.

Many heartfelt thanks for the leadership and 40-plus years of

public service from outgoing council members Ralph Bauer, Shirley

Dettloff, Peter Green and Grace Winchell, who have given to our city.

Best wishes to them in their post-council ventures.

I salute the other 13 candidates who took the time, energy and

effort to throw their hats into the ring, putting their names on the

line in an effort to offer their services to represent their fellow

Huntington Beach residents.

I want to express my appreciation to all the organizations and

individuals that made extraordinary efforts to get to know the

candidates by developing candidate questionnaires, holding candidate

forums and actually voting (45% is not impressive for the greatest

democracy in the world, but as the margins of victory demonstrated

once again, your vote does count.).

Lastly, on a more personal note, a giant thank you to all the

groups and individuals that supported my campaign. We are proud of

the positive campaign we conducted and enjoyed getting to make the

new acquaintance of so many fellow Huntington Beach residents. We

came up just short but could not have done so without the support of

so many. I look forward to continuing to provide service to my

community in many capacities.

KEITH BOHR

Huntington Beach

Parkside does not allow enough mitigation

Parkside Estates environmental impact report does not provide for

adequate mitigation measures to assure existing homes to the north

along Kenilworth Drive and elsewhere are protected from subsidence

and ground movement as a result of the extensive over-excavation and

dewatering of the subject property.

With the many examples in Huntington Beach of construction-caused

ground movement and subsidence, Huntington Beach staff report phrases

like “successfully implemented” elsewhere and “time-tested” do not

provide homeowner protection against any likely damaging impact.

Homeowners get little comfort when phrases such as “no significant

impact” are also used.

What may not be significant to the city staff may be extremely

significant to an affected homeowner. Existing homeowners need

indemnification from construction-caused damages by the developer

during construction and a reasonable period thereafter. If Shea Homes

and the city staff are so confident that their construction methods

will cause no impact, then indemnification should have no

consequence.

DAVID E. HAMILTON

Huntington Beach

Repealing the banner law was good move

Kudos for the editorial on the “Banner Battle Lost.” I never

thought the ordinance was good because it gave everything to the

city. I have talked to the Federal Aviation Administration

representative, and they are easy to talk to.

The city could negotiate with them regarding the routes those

noisy airplanes take. There is a way to assist the citizens to

prevent the onslaught of noise we are going through. I hope the city

tries to speak to the FAA.

GILBERT E. FIGUEROA

Huntington Beach

The new City Council members should address the following --

fiscal responsibility, roads, sewers, beaches, preservation of

wetlands and open space, Debbie Cook’s supercilious attitude, and

Connie Boardman’s mouth. Imagine saying that “it was just killing me”

to repeal an ordinance that was illegal to pass in the first place.

Who blew it -- the council or the city attorney?

I hope the new council will minimize the petty items that appear

on the agenda and work for the majority of its constituents instead

of just their chosen few.

Kudos to Pam, and to Ralph, you will be missed.

ELINOR MATTSON

Huntington Beach