A key environmental attorney has cautiioned Long Beach planners that the proposed Second- PCH project needs to have a thorough environmental review.
Attorney Douglas P. Carstens, who successfully challenged a proposed Home Depot design center near Los Cerritos wetlands, said the environmental impact review requires public input -- hitting at complaint raised at a hearing that the review process had been ignored.
"We especially want to highlight the need for an adequate project description, opportunity for public comment, analysis of significant of adverse impacts and reasonable alternatives to the proposed project in the EIR."
Carstens asserts that the developer has submitted a formal application for planning permits, but no permits or entitlements have been filed.
The project description in the Notice of Preparation fails to "meet the legal requirements for an EIR," Carstens emphasized in his Oct. 29 letter.
Carstens sharpens his aim at an Oct. 7 city staff session, called a scoping meeting, as being inadequate:
"At the meeting, no effort was made to describe the project's elements, no testimony was taken, no recordings ere made and the city staff said nothing about the nature or purpose of the scoping process. Instead, the meeting consisted of responses to questions and statments from audience members, most of which merely indicated support or opposition to what they perceived the proposed project to be."
Environmentalists at the meeting also complained to a Press-Telegram reporter about the meeting being ended before many speakers could make statements.
The attorney advises the city staff to improve its format in future meetings.
Joe Segura, a mild-mannered reporter for a major metropolitan newspaper, has covered Gotham City, er Long Beach, for 34 years. During his very, very long -- endless -- tenure, he's covered almost every beat, and he was the main writer for BeachWeek, which focused on life and lifestyles of the shoreline communities from downtown Long Beach to the Huntington Beach pier.
It is obvious there are a number of those who
have a vested interest in the canyon of Las Vegas
codos-reaching for the skies De Long so champions.
Yet it is equally clear the majority of residents
want to adhere to the Sea Dip three story limit.
With that in mind:since the City last week exercised
its power of eminent domain to acquire property at
the NW corner of 2nd and PCH it should now acquire
the existing hotel property and a developer to
build and attractive,non Las Vegas style three story hotel.
My understanding is the individual that will be
the new Council person for the 3RD District in April stronglt supports the mandate of Sea Dip with its three story height limits.
I suspect this will be another blunder by City Staff just like what happened on the Home Depot EIR.
Craig Beck is in charge of the Development Services Department that is wasting taxpayers money while blundering along on this EIR scoping. However, he has good reason to do so considering his predecessor Suzanne Frick was promoted to Assistant City Manager after throwing away millions of dollars of city staff time on the failed Home Depot EIR.
Bottom line, city staff is rewarded with raises and promotions when they screw up and flush millions of taxpayer dollars down the toilets. Just ask Suzanne Frick and the city staff members who lost $21 million on the Lehman Brother's deal.