Yes On A Giveaway

No On A Tax Increase!

Concerned resident and letter
writer Jeff Chambers incorrectly
defines the hotly debated Playa
Del Norte project as:
"This is not a land grab."
When what it is - is: "a city owned,
beach-land giveaway."
City-owned means, "public owned."
We the residents of SC, own the
North Beach acreage, some in
city-gov are ready to "give away."
It's that simple.
Beach-front property in SoCal
is the most expensive "land"
anywhere. Everyone knows it.
North Beach's city-owned beach
front property (ours) is valued at
$9-million, and or $6-million after
infrastructure improvements
(before a structure could be
built there). It's worth repeating:
SC's citizenry own NB's $9-million
hunk of precious beach-front
acreage. If "Leased," a proper
return to the city would be about
$700,000 annually.
But, in the NB-deal (carrot) our
city is offering the LAB (developer),
is a 55-year lease, at $1-dollar a year,
for 3-years! One dollar?
Then - $10,000 annually for 4-years.
Then - $40,000 annually, plus a
percentage of sales for the next
48-years (to 2066). Wow.
No wonder LAB Corp wants this deal.
In the "too good to refuse" deal, if the
LAB's retail business there, was to
perform (as they predict it would) -
after the first 5-years, LAB Corp could
buy "our" beach front property for
$1-million, but not more than $1.8-mill.
Fast-forward to NB's beach-front
acreage 55-years from today - 2066.
Imagine it's $$$-value then.
In 1910 SoCal beach-front lots sold
for $300. In 1970: the $30,000 range.
Today: for multi-millions-$$$.
So in 2066? Unimaginable. Making
our city-give-away of North Beach
pure gold for the developer, and
long term fool's gold for us.
San Clemente beach-front for $1?
Or even $1.8-mill, in 5 years?
For SC, this is a seriously bad
real estate deal. Let's not make it.
Be a savvy landowner - No on A.

jerry collamer
San Clemente
Ca - 92672