PeteS in CA
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posted on 12-5-2007 at 04:25 AM
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Still grappling with $37 million lawsuit
Still grappling with $37 million lawsuit
By Aaron Kinney / MediaNews
Sunday Dec 2
| Quote: | Half Moon Bay city officials are still struggling to come to grips with what Council Member John Muller called "the biggest
crisis to hit Half Moon Bay in its history."
City Manager Marcia Raines said no decisions were made at Thursday's emergency council meeting, which was closed to the public because it dealt with
litigation - the $37 million ruling handed down against the city Wednesday by a federal judge.
Raines said the council did not formally debate any strategies for dealing with the ruling, which could sap the city's finances for years, because
Council Member Jim Grady was unable to attend.
The city will hold a second closed-door meeting at 6 p.m. Monday. The public will be able to speak out on the subject at the council's regularly
scheduled meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday. |
This is a "local" situation here in the SF Bay Area that Brian Sussman has been following on KSFO. Though local, it illustrates the kind of
shenanigans governments and the enviros pull to block development. This vacant land was zoned for resident housing. A government agency built
facilities on adjacent land. With city approval, that agency took dirt from the property in question for use as fill. This created depressions on the
property, which allowed water to collect. Voila! The City of Half Moon Bay declared the property a protected coastal wetland and blocked development
of the land. The developer sued; Half Moon Bay spent some 20% of their city budget last year defending this and similar suits. They lost. This
judgment plus the plaintiff's legal fees and interest (both awarded on top of the ~$37M) is 3X-5X the annual budget of the city of Half Moon Bay. I
have a feeling the enviros who pushed Half Moon Bay to do this aren't going to chip in to pay part of what they urged Half Moon Bay to do.
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RevMac
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posted on 12-5-2007 at 04:44 AM
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I have a feeling you are correct, Pete. And I am glad to hear the judgment that was made. (Not that I can imagine an Appellate court upholding the
judgment--especially in California.)
Rev
"The secret to happiness is freedom, and the secret to freedom is courage."
Thucydides
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PeteS in CA
Administrator/Theologius
Posts: 26064
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posted on 12-5-2007 at 03:18 PM
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Half Moon Bay would have a tough row to hoe if they appeal. The zoning was residential to begin with. The "wetland" was human caused, not natural.
The humans who created the "wetland" were working for a government agency.  Note that I've acknowledged that the species of bureaucrats is human.
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PeteS in CA
Administrator/Theologius
Posts: 26064
Registered: 3-11-2005
Location: San Jose, CA, Unsure of Planet
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Mood: Sitting on a cornflake ...
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posted on 9-5-2010 at 01:17 PM
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I noticed that the Palo Alto Daily News article linked in the initial post is no longer available. Here is the SF Comical's
equivalent article.
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millwright
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posted on 9-5-2010 at 11:23 PM
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i guess the 'Watermelons' thought they could get a 'twofer'.....reclaim boggy land they had at the expense of another's, then get the "no net
loss" offset by declaring the victim guilty...... >MW
The deterioration of every government begins with the decay of the principles on which it was founded. Montesquieu
Personal to MT: Your were right !
Via Con Dios Jake......
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The Annoyed Man
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posted on 9-6-2010 at 01:24 AM
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Feckin' liberals. If they were actually interested in justice, they would have never found themselves in this pickle. I hope the town dies off, and
some other entity run by grownups arises in its place - but not before the developer gets some justice.
The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left. ~~ Ecclesiastes
'How a politician stands on the Second Amendment tells you how he or she views you as an individual... as a trustworthy and productive citizen,
or as part of an unruly crowd that needs to be lorded over, controlled, supervised, and taken care of.' ~~ Former Rep. Suzanna Gratia Hupp
(TX)
"When it stops hurtin', it'll feel a whole lot better." ~~ Cowboy Wisdom
"Gandhi's quote is one we understand: 'First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win.'" ~~
Judy Pepenella, a co-coordinator for the New York State Tea Party
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