Looks like the political hyperbole is heating up in anticipation of the June primary election. We received the slick four-page Yes on Measure I brochure in the mail this morning.
Savings our parks should be a no-brainer. Everyone wants to save our parks, right?
However, this is really a land-grab of the former Pine Meadow golf course. For the proponents of the Measure I initiative to say otherwise is disingenuous.
The one question I have is – who is going to pay for the Pine Meadows property if Martinez voters pass Measure I and defeat Measure F?
From what I can tell DeNova Homes owns the majority of the 27 acres at the site. DeNova Homes did not get to be one of the largest developers in California by shying away from a bunch of NIMBY activists. Somebody will have to pay DeNova Homes and I predict it will be us, the Martinez taxpayers. We will pay for this land grab by being forced to pay for the land or to pay for the Eminent Domain lawsuit that will surely follow.
Interesting that the Yes on Measure I flyer arrived the same day as the East Bay Times review of the newly released movie, Little Pink House. For those unfamiliar with Little Pink House, it is the true story of the city of New London, Connecticut using Eminent Domain to seize the private property of several homeowners for public use, in this case for pharma giant Pfizer to build a manufacturing facility.
If you feel that Measure I is a land grab, I urge you to send a note to Michael Brune, the Executive Director of the Sierra Club, asking him to stay out of Martinez politics. Michael.brune@sierraclub.org.
If you want more information about Eminent Domain, you can contact the folks at the Institute for Justice, a non-profit that has a wealth of experience dealing with Eminent Domain issues in California and the rest of the country – http://ij.org/issues/private-property/ .
The competing propositions are confusing, that’s for sure. This is how I remember the difference: “I” is for illegal. Vote No on I, the Illegal land grab of the private property formerly know as the Pine Meadow golf course.
“F” is for fair. Vote Yes on F for the fair and ethical treatment of private property in Martinez.
Finally, I live a couple blocks from Pine Meadows. I don’t want the land developed with the accompanying two years of increased traffic and noise and dust. But I don’t want to pay several million dollars for a park within walking distance of two of the finest parks in Contra Costa County.
– Bob Poirier
That’s interesting, but this not about Pine Meadow. It is about a pattern of city councils changing open space to increase dense housing projects and to ignore condition of approval on other parcels with building aggreements 3 in the last 5 years. Keeping existing zoning does not require a purchase by the city. But there are uses in keeping with the existing zoning as well as conditions of approval. We should not have to appeal every zoning change from open space to other uses, because an out of touch council.