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Publication Date: Wednesday, August 24, 2005 LETTERS
LETTERS
(August 24, 2005)
Key facts missing in letter on Fergusson
Editor:
Key facts were missing from last week's letter titled "Letter passing at the Planning Commission."
Readers deserve more complete information regarding actions of Mayor MickieWinkler and City Council member Kelly Fergusson.
On April 25, after hearing numerous speakers oppose elimination of discretionary review, the commission unanimously decided to recommend administrative review as an alternative to the current use permit process. The decision was reasonable given the public input: administrative review would both shorten the approval process and retain meaningful neighbor notification and input when nearby properties might be affected by a project.
Why did the commission reverse itself? It wasn't due to public input. Neither of the public notices for the subsequent meetings even included residential zoning as a public hearing topic.
At the May 9 Planning Commission meeting a member requested reconsideration of that decision, stating that administrative review was "not really the intent of the council." This is an astounding statement since the council had not yet met to discuss the commission's recommendations.
Mayor Winkler's May 19 letter, delivered only to the commissioners and not publicly available at the May 23 commission meeting, praised a no-review approach. During the May 23 commission meeting, several members reiterated that administrative review was inconsistent with the council's goals. With virtually no public discussion of this aspect of their recommendation, the commission unanimously reversed itself and recommended total elimination of discretionary review.
Ms. Fergusson's concerns about behind-the-scenes influence have merit.
Patti Fry
Former chair, Menlo Park
Planning Commission
Numerous errors in letter on planning
Shame on you, Almanac, for publishing a letter full of inaccuracies last
week. Hank Lawrence's letter contains numerous factual errors.
Mr. Lawrence infers Mayor Mickie Winkler's and City Council member Kelly
Fergusson's letters were somehow equivalent, and by fabricating history
he almost convinces us.
In fact, on April 25, Ms. Fergusson responded to the city's broad solicitation
for public comment on the environmental report for the residential zoning
proposal. Her letter was received by the planning director, per city protocol,
within the widely-published deadline for comment. These written comments
are in the public record, copies of which were available at the April
25 public hearing.
In the public eye that night, the Planning Commission extensively discussed
the concerns raised by those testifying, including myself, about single-story
projects and came to a compromise solution -- administrative review. Despite
what Mr. Lawrence would have us believe, Ms. Fergusson did not speak at
that meeting.
In contrast, Mayor Winkler's letter pressing for a reversal of the April
25 decision was never part of a public hearing proceeding. It was never
available to the public at a Planning Commission meeting, and so the public,
including myself, never had a chance for rebuttal. It was given only to
the Planning Commissioners on May 19, who then reversed their compromise
position in favor of Mayor Winkler's position on May 23. This is disturbingly
deceitful.
Judy Morley
Santa Cruz Avenue, Menlo Park
Promoting conflict on Menlo council
Editor:
Anyone who wonders why residential zoning engenders so much conflict on the Menlo Park City Council need only read the letter from Council member Kelly Fergusson in the August 10 Almanac to understand why.
Once again, she can't present her position on the subject without also including an attack on the ethics and listening skills of her council colleagues. She also misrepresents her "compromise" alternative; the
one that was rejected by the council in its recent zoning streamlining ordinance.
Ms. Fergusson fails to mention that her alternative would have added a new level of neighborhood review for low impact, single story projects on lots that don't currently require such review. This would have created a powerful incentive on those lots for two-story construction.
This poorly conceived idea suggests that she wasn't listening to the many residents who have asked for zoning incentives for single story development.
Ms. Fergusson made residential zoning a cornerstone of her City Council campaign last year, and one might expect that she entered office prepared with well-thought- out ideas on the subject. It is unfortunate that she uses this issue to continually create conflict instead.
Frank Tucker
Politzer Drive, Menlo Park
Zoning discussions are hardly whining
Editor:
In the spring of 2004, over 2,500 Menlo Park residents signed a petition to repeal Ordinance 926. Later that year, Kelly Fergusson and Andy Cohen were elected to City Council with 6,382 and 5,616 votes respectively.
Residential zoning was a major issue in the campaign. In electing Ms. Fergusson and Mr. Cohen, the voters rejected the position that zoning rules should be eased.
Yet we have letter-writers like Pat White who continue to insist that those of us who oppose the new, less-restrictive zoning ordinance are a "small, vocal cadre of no-growth ..." whiners.
Mr. White needs to look at the numbers and realize where the majority of Menlo Park residents stand on this issue. I also hope that in the future, Mr. White's letters will be more substantive, with less name-calling and gratuitous, council-member bashing.
Heyward Robinson
White Oak Drive, Menlo Park
Explanation on Councilman's party found wanting
Editor:
We are very concerned about several inaccuracies in your August 17 article, "New rules, old rules?"
The current ordinance for special events clearly states that those putting on events in Atherton such as fundraisers must, at least two months in advance of the event, 1) apply for a permit and, 2) notify all property owners within a 500-foot radius of the event site and details of the event.
For a recent charity concert in our neighborhood, the event coordinator, Vice Mayor Charles Marsala, applied for his permit less than seven days prior to his event, and failed to notify most of his neighbors. In fact, I know of none but ourselves who were notified by him. The morning of the event we received a notice from Mr. Marsala with a letter addressed to my husband and myself stating "Or if you would prefer to get away, I would be happy to buy you dinner (up to $75)."
In addition, Mr. Marsala was cited in your article as saying that there were only nine homes within 500 feet of his property. This is contradicted by the assessor's official record of 33 properties, not nine.
In Mr. Marsala's years on the Town Council, he must have been aware of the current ordinance. In fact, he voted for a second reading (passage) on revisions to this ordinance just last month. How he could have thought, as he stated in your article, that the new changes were in effect is pure subterfuge.
Marguerette Paponis
MacBain Avenue, Atherton
An old friend remembers Carol Ivie
Editor:
News recently reached me about the June 5 passing of Carol Ivie, our photographer extraordinaire on the Almanac.
For years, I was privileged to work with her, Almanac founder Hedy Boissevain, Jane Knoerle, Marion Softky, Marjorie Mader and Elaine Levine on the editorial side.
Reporters were required to become photographers, too, come hell or high water. Carol was our mentor along the way, developing each of our two, black-and white rolls of film once a week in a stifling room in the Woodside office. Patient, helpful, instructive toward our efforts, she could perform magic to doctor up flaws in the prints.
When the red darkroom light went off, we'd all rush to see who could be first to have Carol give us analysis and feedback, "reading our negatives." At the time, Hedy never allowed "proof sheets," but encouraged us to take plenty of "step-up" or "step-down f-stops shots as "film cost little compared with sending a reporter out again to re-take photos."
Carol was gifted, unpretentious, and always thoughtful with her co-workers and family and the community. The only photo missing from your June 29 issue is one of those she took at the Albuquerque Balloon festival in the 1980's -- she had so much fun.
Barbara Noble
Manchester, VT
City needs to enforce skateboard park rules
Editor:
Thanks for mentioning enforcement of helmet/pad rules at the new skateboard park.
I was thrilled that Menlo Park provided a place for our skateboard enthusiasts to meet, practice, and have fun.
But I'm afraid one lesson that is being reinforced is that the park is just one more place where rules and regulations can be routinely ignored.
I walk by the skateboard park several times a week. There has not been one single occasion on which I have seen all skateboarders wearing helmets/pads, and in fact on most occasions only the youngest, accompanied by parents, are compliant.
Let's either abandon the hypocrisy and take down the sign posting the rules, or let's enforce them. Each time I pass by, I experience the morbid thought that only when a 12-year-old has been paralyzed in an accident will we decide those rules are important enough to enforce.
Alice Kleeman
Ringwood Avenue, Menlo Park
An excellent job at Sand Hill intersection
Editor:
I have been meaning to write for several months to point out the excellent job that Stanford University has done revising this complex intersection at Sand Hill Road, and at no expense to the taxpayers.
Trees have been retained or moved wherever possible and the bridge on Sand Hill quickly widened. Also, PG&E took this opportunity to underground the 60-kilovolt line that serves Portola Valley, which cleared the view. Already my trips through that area have been more pleasant.
The complete closure of the short stretch of Alpine Road is of course inconvenient for now, but it is necessitated not only by moving the northern retaining wall, but the addition of a lateral bridge structure out over the golf course to the south. The benefit of all this being that we will have improved traffic lanes, collector lanes for turns, and room for bicycles to safely share the right of way.
Gordon Harper
Joaquin Road, Portola Valley
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