No time to forget about El Toro...

No time to forget about El Toro fight

The Coastline Pilot did the community a great service with its

cautionary report “El Toro fight rolls on.”

The El Toro Info site www.eltoroairport.org has been covering the

airport debate and El Toro news since 1996. We have grown

increasingly concerned over Los Angeles’ push to convert El Toro to a

giant satellite of LAX. Such a plan would give L.A. control over

future land use, road traffic, and noise and air pollution in Orange

County. L.A. politicians would decide who gets the jobs, what

property values are hurt, and whether sections of our county become

like the neighborhoods around Los Angeles International.

The Navy is scheduled to begin auctioning the land on Jan. 5. A

Los Angeles high bid in the auction, or a subsequent purchase from

the successful bidders, likely would be coupled with state

legislation to override Measure W and the will of Orange County

voters regarding reuse of the property. Everyone in the media,

elected officials throughout the county, and the general public must

stay alert to this threat to our way of life.

LEONARD KRANSER

Editor, El Toro Info Site

Dana Point

Completed airport would change minds

The “coffin” of the El Toro international airport may have lots of

nails in it, but it is a trick coffin, and there are many reasons why

the airport exists, (“El Toro fight rolls on,” Coastline Pilot, Dec.

17). It is a natural site for an airport away from the coast in a

calm fog-free valley, with energy-efficient cross runways pointing to

where airplanes need to go.

El Toro has two 10,000-foot runways and two 8,000-foot runways,

and it does not have to be built. It can handle 30 million annual

passengers, and, unlike other airports, nobody is in its noise zone.

When the flights begin at El Toro, we will all breath a sigh of

relief, and we will all use El Toro instead of John Wayne and LAX.

Opposition to the airport will disappear when citizens find their

quality of life is enhanced. I love Fullerton, I love Los Angeles, I

love the Department of Transportation and the Navy, and I love the

businessmen who make this economy work, as opposed to the handful of

housing developers that are running roughshod over the land. It is

time to turn on the lights at El Toro.

DONALD NYRE

Newport Beach

Friendship Shelter is venue to be proud of

All Lagunans should be proud that we have an organization like the

Friendship Shelter in our town. Join me in supporting the Friendship

Shelter. Following the old admonition that to teach a person to fish

is better than to give them a fish, the Friendship Shelter has been

instrumental in turning lives around.

Those less fortunate, serious about making a change, can obtain

food, housing, and most importantly support and guidance to make a

fresh start.

Learn more about their important work by calling Janet Larkly or

writing Friendship Shelter P.O. Box 4252 Laguna Beach CA 92652.

The Friendship Shelter staff and volunteers do the important and

difficult work. It’s not too much to ask others of us to help them

financially.

They would appreciate any donation however modest.

I am writing this letter to bring this program to the attention of

your readers in the hope we can get more help for these wonderful

people.

GENE FELDER

Laguna Beach

We need leaders who listen to residents

After the election, everyone at City Hall promised to listen more

often to the citizens. Well, that didn’t even last a month as our

Planning Commission, as reported in the story, (“Shack plans in

motion,” Coastline Pilot, Dec. 17), approved the proposed

alternations to the Pottery Shack “despite almost unanimous

opposition by neighbors.”

I guess this commission, as well as the Design Review Board and

City Council, will continue to think they know better what’s best for

Laguna as opposed to the residents who have to live with their poor

decisions.

When are we going to get people on these committees and council

who will listen for a change?

JOHN SELECKY

Laguna Beach

Commission needs

to rethink Beach

Why on earth would the Planning Commission vote against something

beneficial to the community? What is the quandary in fairness when it

is what residents of that community want for their neighborhood?

Aren’t they the ones that are going to have to live there?

Treasure Island Beach is public on paper but private in use.

Exclusive use of that beach is a priority for Montage. They have to

keep their employees parking up our neighborhoods in order to

adequately limit the public’s accessibility. Montage has 640

employees, 350 overnight guest accommodations and two banquet rooms

that will seat 550 people and they have a total of 460 parking

spaces. This does not even include those that might need to park

because they will be gathering to use some of the 20,000-square-feet

of meeting space.

Does the number of parking spaces available come close to or

remotely resemble the needs that might be anticipated? DEBBIE HERTZ

Laguna Beach

Pottery Shack

tip of the iceberg

The rubber-stamped, fast-tracked Pottery Shack Shopping Center

once again came before the Laguna Beach Planning Commission. To no

one’s surprise, even though admittedly 8 1/2 % bigger at the second

hearing and growing by the minute, it was unanimously and

enthusiastically endorsed by this body. And so what if the most

contentious part, that ever-expanding proposed restaurant

occupancy/square footage grew by 25%? The projected occupancy is up

from 87 to 113 for this section of the renovation alone. Oh, and by

the way, they want approval to expand the food and alcohol court

hours from 7 a.m. to midnight. This microcosm proves the expanding

universe theory as posited by theoretical physicists.

None of the commissioners live within the ground zero perimeter of

this site We also look forward to the restaurant patrons getting

tipsy, then urinating or barfing in our yards after yelling us awake

at midnight. The ruse of tramming or encouraging car-pooling and

bicycle riders on a multi-use, randomly scheduled hodgepodge of

businesses is hysterical.

The California Environmental Quality Act mandates that if the

negative impacts, either individually or cumulatively, cannot be

mitigated then a full-blown Environmental Impact Report must be

drafted. The report requires more general, accumulative

consideration, mandates in-depth analysis of a broad spectrum of

issues and allows for more weighted response regarding input by

affected parties. It is paid for by the applicant, not the taxpayers.

It is also a tacit admission that there are serious problems and

concerns which demand addressing and will not disappear by a waiver.

Almost 500 Laguna Beach residents signed a petition circulated by

the Village Flatlanders Neighborhood Assn. demanding that the quality

act document be drafted by the lead agency, the city of Laguna Beach.

It has been presented and referred to continually at public hearings.

Its existence has never been acknowledged by either the commission or

council. It’s as if the people most impacted don’t matter, that a

wealthy developer’s investments are more important.

The Pottery Shack is just the tip of the ongoing environmental

quality act violation by this city, other municipalities and the

county. The environmental quality act forbids “sequential proposals,”

sometimes known as “piece-mealing.” By breaking large-scale

development or redevelopment into small pieces the lead agencies use

the less demanding “negative declaration” format, insisting that

there are no significant impacts or that if there are they can be

neutralized via trade-offs. If you live within two blocks of Coast

Highway, you’ve got one there already or coming, conveniently close

to you thanks to your “cashmere and silk, business friendly” City

Council and Chamber of Commerce. It’s no longer a locally sensitive,

funky beach community. Color Laguna an out-of-control,

air-conditioned urban nightmare: Paint it black, the hue of mourning.

ROGER VON BUTOW

Environmental Officer Village

Flatlanders Neighborhood Assn.

Laguna Beach

* The Coastline Pilot is eager to run your letters. If you would

like to submit a letter, write to us at P.O. Box 248, Laguna Beach,

CA 92652; fax us at (949) 494-8979; or send e-mail to

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