City ideology gone too far, hurts our environment and econony

 Pacifica Tribune Letters-to-the-Editor, 5/15/12.  "Our environment is our economy?" by Gil Anda

"Editor:  Actually, it's the other way around. This is a response to Sue Digre's "Our Enviroment is our Economy" column.

10 years after the ideological storm, fix that. 

"A decade ago Sue Digre coined the local phrase, "Our environment is our economy." After a decade I have the following observations to make: A failing sewage infrastructure pollutes. It is not good for our environment and is a result of our failed economy. We've avoided fines temporarily by enacting point of sale lateral inspections. However, until the time comes when all the leaking laterals are replaced, this city will continue to pollute. Putting solar panels over dilapidated civic buildings does not make them "green" buildings. Most likely they are energy inefficient and, due to aging plumbing, could likely be polluters as well.

One comment she makes is, "What we don't do is market ourselves well enough to get money into our local cash registers." After a decade of implementing  this policy we could either ask why this hasn't happened or just face the fact that it simply isn't working.

At the Financing City Services Open House, the one thing that stood out was the graph of the projected downward trajectory of our city reserves. The case was being made to support a half cent increase in sales taxes, but I think a bigger case should be made for realistic, longer-term solutions to our economic growth.  
 
A classic example of this failed paradigm is the push by local activists to take a 5-acre parcel on Pedro Point to convert it into a park. This is privately owned land that should otherwise be considered for housing. Housing would bring additional property tax revenue and sales tax revenue, since it would provide customers for the businesses on Pedro Point. Another bewildering example is the stalled development of the Assisted Living Center by the Park Mall Shopping Center. In spite of addressing all the requirements of an Environmental Impact Report, the project continues to be stalled. And finally, whether anyone likes it or not, whether it's in a redevelopment area or not, the most comprehensive answer to our economic development challenges remains the most controversial, the quarry.

We all need to wake up to the fact that having a blind ideology can be damaging, both to our economy and to our environment."

Posted by Kathy Meeh