Unfortunately, the settlement is no joke. These council members gave away the store to wealthy developer Charles “Chop” Keenan and, in so doing, betrayed the Half Moon Bay citizens they are supposed to represent.
Here is a summary of the deal:
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2. The council agreed that houses can be built not just on top of man-made wetlands (which prompted the original lawsuit) but also on top of natural wetlands that have always existed there.
3. The council waived all requirements for providing affordable housing and traffic mitigation fees.
4. The council promised to call in political favors from state Assemblyman Gene Mullin to exempt the project from statewide environmental laws.
5. The council agreed to withdraw its appeal of the legal judgment after having spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for a top-notch lawyer to prepare and submit that appeal, and after the lawyer himself told citizens at a public meeting that the city’s case for overturning the judgment on appeal was “very strong.”
6. To top it off, the council promised to pay Keenan $18 million in cash if, for any reason, it cannot deliver on the above promises.
People should be outraged that these four council members have granted the developer a windfall, while throwing away the city’s chance to overturn the unfair legal judgment on appeal. Fraser, Muller, McClung and Patridge should be ashamed of themselves.
Kevin J. Lansing
Half Moon Bay
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