Wednesday, February 11, 2015

two pm draft of PV Housing element presentatoin


RESPONSES TO AGENDA REPORT 2/11/15  PACIFIC VIEW ACTIVATION PLAN

My statement (made twice and on  public website) that only PV was not only appropriate, but the only site for meeting smart growth concepts of development was never reported.  There was no rebuttal or discussion of this assertion, nor was this included in any communication by the Sub-Committee members or the newsletters of "SavePacificViewOrg which is the organization that promoted the purchase.

Statement by attendee of second meeting who identified himself as a professor at a local university (sitting directly behind me).  During the second meeting he criticized the current plan based on the expense and requirements of a meaningful museum--  curator, exhibits etc. He also stated that based on his professional expertise,  what is being proposed would fall considerably short of achieving the status of a meaningful museum. .

Statement by Lisa Shaffer to the effect, "Parking is problematic because the parking lots at city hall and moonlight beach are too far"  No explanation has been presented of  the source of her comment, nor was her statement reported

The various due diligence reports were described as "partial" and the original presentation for city approval described them as "subject to future instructions  from the council."  There was no claim by the engineering department that they were sufficient to rely on for the purchase and use of the PV property.  Notably absent were was any study or report from the Traffic Department of the city to evaluate this parcel for a public space that is inconsistent with it's current special use zoning or that of the surrounding residential area.  

Item 5:  Transfer of funds from 2014 Lease Revenue Bond dept service to the Pacific View Master Project (CP 15C) in the amount of $480,000. 

The promotion of purchase of Pacific View has made numerous statements of the availability of contributed funds by those who propose the use as an "art facility."  A budget allocation in this case is a provision that the project would be continued in the event of a short term increase in interest rates or other unforeseen fiscal events.  It has never been suggested during the approval of the sale that financing would be required for interim usage, nor that this entry is inherently appropriated for this use.  These are now general funds which usage should be evaluated with all other fiscal demands on this city. 

Bulking of report to make it unreadable by public including pages of items such as these: pg136 of 248pp

INDIAN UST R9: Underground Storage Tanks on Indian Land
The Indian Underground Storage Tank (UST) database provides information about underground storage tanks on Indian
land in EPA Region 9 (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, the Pacific Islands, and Tribal Nations).
Date of Government Version: 08/14/2014
Date Data Arrived at EDR: 08/15/2014
Date Made Active in Reports: 08/22/2014
Number of Days to Update: 7
Source: EPA Region 9
Telephone: 415-972-3368
Last EDR Contact: 10/27/2014
Next Scheduled EDR Contact: 02/09/2015
Data Release Frequency: Quarterly

INDIAN UST R7: Underground Storage Tanks on Indian Land
The Indian Underground Storage Tank (UST) database provides information about underground storage tanks on Indian
land in EPA Region 7 (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and 9 Tribal Nations).
Date of Government Version: 08/20/2014
Date Data Arrived at EDR: 08/22/2014
Date Made Active in Reports: 09/18/2014
Number of Days to Update: 27
Source: EPA Region 7
Telephone: 913-551-7003
Last EDR Contact: 10/27/2014
Next Scheduled EDR Contact: 02/
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extranious material

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"Zoogeist" is neologism, a word that builds on Zeitgeist, literally "spirit of the times" a concept that was first used by the early 8th century German philosopher Georg Hegel to describe the ebb and flow of history being intertwined with changes in the way people think, what they value, their pleasures and taboos.  Zoos, the display of wild animals in captivity, and what people think about them is one of the array of these values that make up a zeitgeist, always changing and reflective of larger issues in a given society.
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cribe the ebb and flow of history being intertwined with changes in the w"Zoogeist" is a neologism, a word that builds on Zeitgeist, literally "spirit of the times" a concept that was first used by the early i8th century German philosopher Georg Hegel to desay people think, what they value, their accepted pleasures and cultural taboos.

How societies have viewed Zoos, the display of wild animals in captivity, is one of the array of these values that define a given time and place in the flow of history. This website will explore this from from the serious to the whimsical, from scholarly studies to first person stories.

It's goal is to be both enlightening and edifying -- which reflects one of the values of our own zeitgeist.
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Draft of PV relating to Housing Element


Challenge of documenting second sub committee meeting on interim use of Pacific View

My statement (made twice and on public website) that only PV was not onlyappropriate, but the only site for meeting smart growth concepts of development was never reported.  There was no rebuttal or discussion of this assertion, nor was this included in any communication by the Sub-Committee members or the newsletters of "SavePacificViewOrg which is the organization that promoted the purchase.

Statement by man who identified himself as a professor at a local university (sitting directly behind me).  During the second meeting he criticized the current plan based on the expense and requirements of a meaningful museum--  curator, exhibits etc. He also stated that based on his professional experience what is being proposed would fall considerably short of achieving the status of a meaningful museum. .

Statement by Lisa Shaffer to the effect, "Parking is problematic because the parking lots at city hall and moonlight beach are too far"  No explanation of the source of her comment, nor was her statement reported.   

Suitability of PV site for both interim and ultimate use.

Background of purchase

The availability of what is known as the Pacific View site began when the School District (Encinitas Unified) decided to sell the three acre coastal property several years ago.  At the time, there was the belief that this would allow Encinitas (City) to purchase the property for a fraction of the market value under a State Law which after investigation was determined not to be applicable.  When the School District said it would auction the property for commercial development, the City made a pre-emptive bid above the minimum bid amount, and entered negotiations where they acceded to every opening proposal of the seller.  The legal advice for the bond issue was contracted with no bids;  and by all evidence their legal opinions were adopted as being in the interest of the city, ignoring their specific caveat that terms of the contract negates this assumption.

Methods of Save Pacific View, Org in promoting this purchase

This organization was initiated in March of 2014 by Scott Chatfield a local resident who is a professor of journalism, with this opening comment on a local TV news broadcast, reported by an on line paper the patch (1)  "it is basically a "death sentence" to sell the property."   Various methods of group motivation were effectively employed so that a powerful drama was created that individuals were invited to participate in.  Primarily it was conveyed as this living entity, Pacific View, was in danger of being defiled by those who are evil, "profit seeking developers."  and those who joined this organization can "save" it. 

While commentary was allowed in its website, there was never any editorial acknowledgement of a a valid opposing viewpoint; quite the contrary those who opposed this, I being specifically named,  were tacitly defined as "sabotaging" this quest for "salvation."  Any opposing position was so effectively depicted as allowing the virtual desecration of this property that the emotional-personal cost of publicly pursuing this position was eliminated.  One specific activist, Peter Kohl, who was chair of a major volunteer commission  publicly criticized the depletion of funds for this purchase, as it would reduce available spending on safety issues, yet, he refused to back a motion to request in his committee that the city council endeavor to find savings in the purchase price. 

Aberration of legal principles, and values of democratic system of government

In a constitutional democracy such as the United States, law merges with politics in ambiguous complex ways. Legal Scholars spend careers on this, yet law is continuously made by the process of affirmation or challenge, by sharpening processes that are then incorporated into future law. One bedrock principle of constitutional democracy is participation, such as is available at this city council meeting. One relevant body of law that applies is "Substantive Due Process" (2) 

Democracy should be viewed on both a Procedural and a Substantive level.  Procedural is easy, refering to the laws and traditions that elaborately define public elections, methods of passing laws, hierarchies of different levels of government, and methods of adjudication.  Substantive gets to the underlying issues, whether following every rule and filling out every form results in some level of adherence to a society's evolving  principles.  This is achieved in two locations.  One is in the Supreme Court building and the other is in every city council meeting such as this one in Encinitas.  In previous times it was also at heated, but civil discussions among interested people, but this is becoming ever more rare.  

The purchase of Pacific View and the procedure of The Housing Element are following procedural due process.   They are legal, but I contend are violating the principles of Substantive Due Process, how values of democracy are translated into official action. 

A bedrock principle of democracy is one person one vote - which legitimizes our representatives and their actions in cities, counties, states and the National Capital.  While the general rule is that those who voluntarily opt out, do not follow issues or even vote, do not invalidate an election, in our city it is a bit more complex.  This city has previously done outreach in all five communities on the Housing Element, although presenting in my view a somewhat incomplete picture.  Yet, the majority in power chose not to make this same effort to reach the less active sections of the city, specifically the are called "New Encinitas."   Mayor Gaspar even commented in the last city council meeting how from her personal experience  few in this section knew that something called the "Housing Element" even existed.  

Since I am making the case that the Housing Element is inherently enmeshed with Pacific View, it is important to note that not only was there no outreach by the city to engage New Encinitas in the long process to purchase PV,  there was an intentional decision not to use facilities that were prepaid to get feedback.  This is a classic example of when Substantive Due Process must be enforced not in the courts but in venues such as a city council meeting, where the oral presentation and the written background are by law available for the record. 

Elected representatives, in this case council members, have legal authority to cast their vote and to define obligations and direction of a city.  An elected representative, by dint of achieving office, has more impact in addressing other bodies such as state legislatures that have imposed irrational law, such as The Housing Element.  

It is up to citizens, both of this time and the future,  to decide whether they are meeting the underlying values and obligations that provide them with this authority.     


Notes:


2- Substantive Due Process survey Wikipedia with 40 references

3: text page 526 of this 69 page Florida Law Review article 


It describes the principle that the writer argues should provide judicial relief for laws that are arbitrary and capricious (AR- such as the Housing Element")   He acknowledges that "The plaintiff has an obligation to prove that the legislature acted in a capricious and irrational way.  Yet the burden of proof should be on the complainant since other avenues are available.  AR:  Such avenues begin at the lowest levels such as a city council 
--------12:01 PM Wednesday
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