"Fulfill the Promise!" the City urges. But it's a promise to Ocean Colony Partners, not to the voters of Half Moon Bay.
It promises to seize 492 irreplaceable oceanfront acres through eminent domain -- and give it to the developer at $2 a square foot.
It promises a 35-acre park -- which won't be built until the 12th year of the project (but might have been built years ago if the City hadn't squandered $1-million-plus on redevelopment consultants).
It promises a "gift" of a 22-acre school site to accommodate the additional children of North Wavecrest's 750 homes. In fact, the school district must pay for the "gift" from its meager share in revenues that the project may -- or may not -- generate.
It promises $8-million in school financing -- which, again, will only dribble in over time. If the project proves profitable.
It promises, courtesy of an unnamed "independent economics firm," that the overall plan will generate $55.7 million for the city. But Keyser & Marston, Ocean Colony Partners' official financial analyst, characterizes the project as "slow to mature . . . marginal" at best.
The fact is that no irrevocable law says development must occur in North Wavecrest. The notion that a court has "mandated" city approval of a redevelopment plan is nonsense. If that were true, what's the vote for?
What redevelopment really promises is debt. It's a growth machine that will use our tax dollars to subsidize coastal development for Ocean Colony Partners' private profit.
Vote No on Measure I.
/s/ Carol L. Cupp
/s/ David Spears
/s/ Deborah Ruddock
/s/ Valerie R. Kruger