Email us and tell us why you voted “NO” on Measure A: MBStrong2021@gmail.com
Highrose appeals meeting this Wednesday
Wednesday, June 8, 2022, at 3:00 p.m, the Manhattan Beach Planning Commission will meet to discuss the four appeals of the Highrose building permit approval and hear public comments.
Attend and/or make a public comment at this meeting via:
Zoom: [click here]. (Meeting ID: 841 4168 1338, Passcode: 231669).
or in person at City Council Chambers
1400 Highland Avenue, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Meetings are also broadcast live through Manhattan Beach Local Community Cable, Channel 8 (Spectrum), Channel 35 (Frontier),
You can also email your opinion to planningcommission@manhattanbeach.gov
On March 27, 2022, Community Development Director Carrie Tai issued the "Permit Approving the Precise Development Plan and Related Entitlements" of the Highrose application.
In her decision, Tai cited that the project is consistent with the State density bonus provisions and that the project will help meet our density and low-income goals as outlined in the State-mandated Housing Element that Manhattan Beach Community Development Department adopted, making our crowded beach town even more dense. Link to Director Tai's decision: [click here].
While many will say residents and City Council cannot fight Sacramento's overreach of usurping local control of zoning, there are many others who strongly disagree. You may remember our previous newsletters on Highrose addressing this very issue. Link to our last edition on Highrose [click here to the article].
We encourage you to attend the planning commission meeting to voice your concerns. The commission can repeal Director Tai's approval. While a repeal will likely result in a lawsuit against our city (as the project meets the State requirements that bypass our local zoning laws), the very nature of our beach town is at stake and many believe it is worth the fight.
What say you? Email us: MBStrong2021@gmail.com
Link to a timeline and details of the Highrose project: [click here].
A Word About Confidentiality
Over the last year and a half, some far-leftists in town have attacked the concept that residents have a legal right to voice their opinion with the protection of keeping their names confidential. Their attacks are about the confidentiality of the resident and never the facts presented by the resident.
Their frustration and anger behind their comments on social media and during School Board and City Council meetings reveals a sinister desire to either “flush out” the names of residents or drive residents underground who oppose the bad policies of the far left.
But there are good reasons for residents and resident groups to remain confidential. Just on the issue of Measure A alone, those who have openly opposed the parcel tax have been harassed on Facebook groups, threatened with publishing their personal information and private communications on Nextdoor (which would be a legal problem for Nextdoor), others have had their businesses threatened with a boycott unless signs opposing Measure A were taken down in their windows, and yet others have had their employers tell them to stay quiet lest their company becomes a target of the local media.
But the author of Measure A, Hollywood attorney and less than two-year MB resident Michael Sinclair, went full Castro last week when he started an inquisition from a government agency by sending to the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) “a list of names” of residents who publicly opposed the Measure. The Easy Reader (no fan of newsletters by confidential groups and no fan of MBStrong) published a recent article hailing Mr. Sinclair as a hero. No surprise there.
Despite all this effort of trying to intimidate MB residents, it has backfired. More people are paying attention to local issues than ever before and part of that is due to learning about the tactics hurled upon their neighbors for speaking out. MB may be a laid-back beach city, but residents know what they don’t like, and they don’t like bullies.
MBStrong isn’t going anywhere. We will continue to report about MB issues and we will continue to be an outlet for residents to voice their opinion, confidentially of course.
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