Carl Hancock / The San Diego Reader / April 26, 2012
In what looks like a fairly effective way of discouraging public comment, the California Coastal Commission recently sent notices to Shelter Island-area residents, informing them that the next hearing on the proposed Point Loma Townhomes development would be held in Marin County.
According to SDNews.com:
“The Point Loma Townhomes project site would be bounded by Carleton Street to the north, Dickens Street to the south and Scott Street to the west. It lies adjacent to the old Kettenburg Boatyard next to America’s Cup Harbor.”
The commission’s most recent hearing, held last March, took place in San Diego. The telephone number for the commission has a voicemail that no one answers, so a reason for this barrier to public participation may not be forthcoming.
The notices, sent April 20, 2012, inform Point Loma residents of the meeting at 9:00 a.m. on May 9, 2012, at the Marin County Civic Center, located at 3501 Civic Center Dr., Room 330, San Rafael, CA. If you want to leave a voicemail, call 415-407-3211. Doubtful many Marin County residents will be attending to this issue, so seating should be plentiful.
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The Coastal Commission rotates their meetings throughout the state on purpose, and over the long run this actually provides the public will with MORE access to them. (Would you rather have all meetings held in Sacramento, like the majority of our state government?)
I understand that it may seem odd to adjudicate a San Diego issue in Marin County. But if you examine the commission’s agenda for this meeting (http://www.coastal.ca.gov/mtgcurr.html) you will see that there are over 40 agenda items spread out over two days, and that those items are for projects across the state. So there would be no way to please everyone here.
However, if you have concerns about this project, you need not attend a meeting to be heard. The commission accepts written comments as well, and I believe they are legally obligated to weigh those comments just as heavily as in-person speakers. In addition, all of their meetings are broadcast live from their website.
So I think this criticism is a bit misplaced. Stories like these, which seem like they were written intentionally to stir up irrational anger at government, do nothing to help public discourse.