LINDA MAR WOODS

community survey

planning documents

Real Linda Mar Woods Conservation Plan Map

Comments

[John Kontrabecki]

The monument sign at Linda Mar Woods was vandalized again. Two letters (d and s) were removed from the sign. We have not reported this to the police yet. If the letters are returned by noon this Sunday 12/19, we will not pursue the vandals and their parents. If the letters are not returned by then, we will find them and will hold them and their parents accountable. (See security camera photo on the blog.)

[JOHN MAYBURY]

Okay, John, fair enough. Let the debate rage on. But I need to clarify that any so-called disinformation/misinformation campaign on Riptide is not of my doing. I am just the moderator, trying to keep things as civil as possible. I ask all contributors to keep their comments factual: as stated in our terms of service, no name calling, no personal attacks. Just stick to the main issues. Thanks to everyone for playing by the rules here.

[John Kontrabecki]

John Maybury:

I am happy to continue the online public conversation about Linda Mar Woods. It gives me the opportunity to correct false impressions about the project. Hopefully, we will end up with an informed citizenry whose opinions are based on facts. Perhaps the project's opponents will realize that our interests are aligned and I am pursuing the same goals they are. A person who allows open space to deteriorate and become overrun by non-native plants is not an environmentalist. It is better to act as a steward of the land and take care to preserve and enhance and facilitate public access to open space lands.

I posted an email address and invited anyone who wished to contact me to arrange a Zoom call to discuss the project. I had no takers. On our website (www.lindamarwoods.com) I have invited people to leave their email addresses. Soon I will be reaching out to ask people if they would like to participate in town hall meetings on Zoom with me.

My impression is people like making snarky comments but are less motivated to engage in an actual dialogue on a topic. This is my universal opinion that is not limited to Linda Mar Woods.

The important point is this. I welcome the criticism and respect the right of people to disagree with the project I am proposing, provided their views are based on facts. I listen to their comments and make changes to the project in response to valid criticism. This makes the projects better. But I must respond when people use social media to spread misinformation and poison the conversation through propaganda about any of the projects I am pursuing. Unfortunately, there has been an organized misinformation campaign on Riptide, Instagram, Facebook, and NextDoor against Linda Mar Woods.

[John Kontrabecki]

Jay Bird:

Your link is to the propaganda my posting is intended to overcome with an accurate map showing the actual project.

The map you posted in the link is inaccurate in many ways that misrepresent what we are proposing. It also attempts to lump together two unrelated projects. The Linda Mar Woods project is a subdivision designed for outdoor recreation by linking the home sites to the recreational amenities found on the property. In Linda Mar Woods, homeowners will step out their door and go hiking or mountain biking without having to drive to travel to another location to pursue their activities.

Hillside Meadows is the other project. It is a duplex townhouse property designed specifically for multigenerational living. Each home has an attached Accessory Dwelling Unit. This means parents can have their parents (grandparents) live with them in their own private space. They can also have their adult children who return home live with them in their own private space. They can also have a caregiver live with them. By current count 777,000 people have died from COVID-19. About 30% were elderly people living in retirement communities and nursing homes. That is more than 230,000 elderly people who died needlessly. If they had been living with their family in a home designed for multigenerational living, this would not have happened.

I know the idea of lumping the two projects together is a legal strategy whose purpose is to tie up both properties in litigation. Let us be transparent here and stop playing games.

[John Kontrabecki]

Carl May:

We have been working for more than a year with an open space and trail design consultant called Hilride. This map was created by Hilride and it reflects our vision of how we plan to conserve and enhance this property as open space, ecological preservation, and outside recreational use. Our consultant has worked all over the country on projects like this, advising communities on how to preserve and protect open spaces and develop outdoor recreational amenities like hiking and off-road biking trails.

This is not greenwashing. It is expert planning.

[JOHN MAYBURY]

Well, I tried to end this endless thread on Riptide, but our readers continue to comment on Linda Mar Woods and the developer John Kontrabecki obliges, so let's have at it. BTW, whatever happened to my suggestion of a live or online public forum on this topic? Did that go anywhere or are we back to whack-a-mole on Riptide?

[Jay Bird]

Here's a picture of it. The proposed 100+ dwellings on top of the hill and more in a "meadow."
https://www.protectsanpedromountain.org/

[Carl May]

So, back to the question: Was a greenwashing consultant used for the map's color? Clearly, I wasn't asking about general greenwashing aspects of a consultant's services. It was a specific question, not a request to have you attempt to pat yourself on the back for how you pursue the agenda in the developer's playbook.

[John Kontrabecki]

Carl May:

We hired a consultant with 20/20 vision and an obsession with accuracy. They cost a little more, but they're worth it. It is more civilized to discuss based upon factually accurate information. You can now see we are NOT paving paradise to put up a parking lot. (cf. Joni Mitchell)

[Carl May]

Was a greenwashing consultant used for the color in this map?

[John Kontrabecki]

Jay Bird:

This property is not on San Pedro Mountain. This is misinformation created and promoted by the Protect San Pedro Mountain Group. The mountain is about a half-mile to the west of the property.

[Jay Bird]

Shouldn't this thread be titled "Linda Mar Woods on San Pedro Mountain"? Just looking at it, people wouldn't know it's on top of San Pedro Mountain.

[John Kontrabecki]

We are studying putting a single-lane parking lot with 30 spaces next to the Montessori School to provide the mountain bikers with a safe place to park, unload their bikes, and gather as a group before they ride into Linda Mar Woods. Currently they park on Higgins Way, which turns the street into a one-lane road. Our plan will be safer and more convenient for both mountain bikers and the residents of Higgins Way. The parking lot can also be used as a turnaround for delivery trucks and emergency vehicles.

[JOHN MAYBURY]

The correct map is now posted at the top of this thread.

[Nancy Hall]

https://youtu.be/Ci_-kTvDTbs

[John Kontrabecki]

John Maybury-

I am going to post a correct map shortly.

[Ms. Led Public]

"This has misled the public by featuring a map that does not fully represent the project." It's YOUR map that you submitted in your application. If anyone misled the public, it's you.

[JOHN MAYBURY]

If the map is wrong, then post a correct map.

[John Kontrabecki]

What's wrong with this picture?

The only part of the map that was submitted to the Planning Department that is not complete is the parking lot mentioned in item 5. All the other information was included in the application submitted and was not shown on the map posted on this website. Look at the list of seven items and you will see they are not shown on the map. This has misled the public by featuring a map that does not fully represent the project.

[What's wrong with this picture?]

"The application for this project is not complete and the map is a work in progress. This map is inaccurate and misleading because it is incomplete." So a revised application and map will be submitted to the Planning Department. That's very different from saying, "The blog has featured an incorrect map of the project since the beginning." The blog has featured the map that you submitted with your application. That's on you, not on the blog.

[John Kontrabecki]

What's wrong with this picture:

1. It creates the false impression that we are going to develop the entire site, and we are not.
2. The map does not identify the dedicated open space areas that represent the majority of the property.
3. It does not show the 40-foot conservation easement at the back of each lot to separate the lots from the conservation easement areas.
4. It does not show the easement running the length of the development that creates a buffer and a hiking trail between the lots in the center of the project.
5. It does not show the parking lot we are planning near the entrance to the property for the mountain hikers who are now parking on Higgins Way.
6. It does not say that there will be a prohibition against interior fencing to maintain the open forest feeling in the project.
7. It does not say the only trees that will be removed are those that are in the path of the road we intend to construct, within the foundation of the homes we will build, and are either diseased or dead. The idea is to preserve the forest.
8. It does not say that we are going to expand and enhance the hiking and mountain biking trails on the property.

The application for this project is not complete and the map is a work in progress. This map is inaccurate and misleading because it is incomplete.

[What's wrong with this picture?]

The developer said, "The blog has featured an incorrect map of the project since the beginning." The site plan at the top of this thread is the one submitted in the application to the City of Pacifica Planning Department. Is this site plan incorrect?

[John Kontrabecki]

John Maybury:

I also want to take up your suggestion for live conversation. I am fully vaccinated and wear a mask. I am happy to do live Zoom calls. If anyone is interested, email me at [email protected]. No noms de plume, please.

[JOHN MAYBURY]

Will do. No problem. And thanks to everyone for agreeing to wrap up this discussion and take it live. I think it deserves a wider audience than what Riptide can provide. Maybe a public forum or the Pacifica Tribune website.

[John Kontrabecki]

John Maybury:

I agree that this has become tiresome. But the blog has featured an incorrect map of the project since the beginning. I am having a correct map prepared and would like you to post it when it is ready. This will be very soon.