Castaways Park plan sounds right at home...

Castaways Park plan sounds right at home

The Castaways Park plan, which includes a meadow planted with

California native plants and a grassy area created by mowed native

groundcover sounds like a winner.

When we add more than $100,000 in grants and the fact that a

resident’s committee and Newport Beach planning staff members

collaborated to make a “community-friendly” park, we find the plan

impossible to pass up.

On top of all that, we welcome the native birds and insects, which

look for a place to call home.

We didn’t even mention the fact that the city will save future

money by reducing water use and lawn mowing. What a win, win, win

proposal.

We look forward to visiting a unique and interesting collection of

plants, birds and insects that truly belong to our beautiful coastal

community.

CARRIE and PAUL SLAYBACK

Newport Beach

Recall election isn’t a right-wing conspiracy

In regards to Joseph N. Bell’s Thursday column critiquing the

California recall election process, I find I must once again take

offense to the always “learned,” but perennially misinformed,

professor Bell (“No way to argue with this craziness”).

Bell would have us buy into the new Democratic mantra that

“Republicans are just trying to steal another election.” Hogwash,

professor. Republicans won it fair and square in Florida and everyone

knows it; and the California recall is every Californian’s right by

law.

As to Bell’s contention that the recall is just a bunch of

sore-loser Republicans trying to reverse elections in which

Republicans lost (and poor Gray Davis did nothing wrong to get

recalled), I again have to say for the lack of a better

descriptive-noun, “hogwash!”

Davis got recalled because he lied his rear-end off to the

California electorate about the looming deficit during the election

campaign; and then only 10 days after the election, in true

Clintonian style, proclaimed with amazement, “Shazzam, the deficit

has now somehow miraculously ballooned to $38 billion.”

Gray Davis is a liar just like Bell’s hero, Clinton. Davis lied to

every Californian: Republican, Democrat and independent alike. And

just for your information, 41% of the recall signers were Democrats.

So much for your, “the Republicans stole another election” line. The

recall happens to be a part of the California State Constitution, and

when people lie they can, among other things, be recalled (or

impeached).

So now we’ll all wait around for Bell’s tired, whining retort, “I

usually don’t respond to readers’ letters, I get my shot, they get

theirs, (but when Williams responds) blah, blah, blah, blah ...”

TOM WILLIAMS

Newport Beach

Two wrongs won’t make a right in Costa Mesa

I agree with Allan Mansoor “condo project” community commentary

(“Condo project is about what residents want,” Thursday). The general

plan has to be the guiding document regarding how decisions should be

made for development projects and related density. If the residents

of Costa Mesa need to change such a document and they have the right

to do so, then the changes should be made through the normal process

of public input to the plan. The general plan should serves all the

people interest via the democratic process and not the special

interest of the developers nor income to city through collection of

fees.

What I find amazing is how the condo project was and is currently

managed. Let’s take a moment and go back to the original application

and the associated staff report. What did the city staff originally

recommend? The project as was designed for higher density and should

not pass the original step. Because, the project plan density was in

excess of what is allowed in the general plan. The end.

If the developer did not agree, then the project rehearing should

be made on appeal basis. All actions should be made in relation to

the general plan, and the City Council members should vote like a

municipal judge to verify if the project meet or exceed the general

plan.

It appears, at least to me, that the city staffs like to approve

the merits of project on several fronts. Let me say why?

A few years back, the city got involved with the Triangle Square

development. They used eminent domain to acquire the properties and

later sold it to the developer. Now years later, the Triangle Square

center is failing.

So it appears, the wisdom of the staff, if there is high density

near by, the Triangle Square center may have more people, more

traffic and hopefully re-energizes the whole downtown area, which

supposedly is the future entertainment area of Costa Mesa?

Two wrongs do not make a right. The city failed the first time and

should not fail again by using the wrong assumption all over again.

We need to restudy history, Let’s revaluate past performance. Then

hopefully our City Council -- not the staff -- will make the right

choice, which is what is best for Costa Mesa.

AL MORELLI

Costa Mesa

Not being welcomed in Costa Mesa quite a shock

If I were aware that my property rights would be affected, I would

never have moved to Newport. Time and again at civic meetings and in

the editorial section of the Daily Pilot, Westside industrial

property owners who do not live in Costa Mesa are informed that they

should be swept out and replaced with high-end housing.

The fact that I lived in Costa Mesa for 20 years or that my

business has been in Costa Mesa for 34 years is irrelevant to a

portion of the group known as the “improvers.”

Had I only known when we bought a house in Newport Beach, one

block south of the Costa Mesa border, that my business and I would be

cast as unwanted in Costa Mesa.

JOHN T. HAWLEY

Newport Beach