Last week the county”s Board Of Supervisors, acting as the Redevelopment Agency board, said no on a 3-2 vote for more input and information before we allow the Lucerne clubhouse building and land to be transferred into the hands of redevelopment out of the hands of Lake County Parks And Recreation.
As a citizen of Lucerne I see our clubhouse standing as a symbol. I feel like I am taking a risk, literally, in writing this letter but it must be done. Someone needs to call a spade a spade.
This town looks like hell.
The individuals to date who have been involved in redevelopment buying up properties, etc. quite frankly do not have our best interests in mind! Powerful and rich players, Dominick Affinito with a sordid (and that”s kind) past history has entered this little town of Lucerne buying up the lands wanted by redevelopment, along with Bob Gardner, and whoever else I might have missed out there!
These building now sit ugly and empty with “for sale” or “for lease” or “for rent” signs. The prices asked for these buildings is why they are empty, awaiting the hand of redevelopment funds to come their way. If they are not empty they house, illegally, our “throwaway” citizens that the county does not really want to financially deal with! The buildings that house human life are deplorable!
It is quite obvious just looking at Lucerne that redevelopment is entrenched in special interest. It thrives on lack of awareness from the citizens of Lucerne. The citizens have no voice in the operations and policy, i.e., who, what, where and why. All of our property taxes continue to go up as the debts mount. The people who have benefited from redevelopment in this town to date, I suspect, are the lawyers, bond brokers and consultants.
Now, on to the solution.
First, hold those who presently own property accountable for their land. The law governing community redevelopment resides in the Health and Safety section of the California Constitution. At its roots, then, redevelopment is about improving the health and safety conditions. We need to remember this.
Next, I would request that the Board of Supervisors, acting as the Redevelopment Board, extend an opportunity of uncommon sharing of the responsibility for shaping redevelopment in the Northshore project area. Under California Redevelopment Law the board has the ultimate responsibility for the success of the project; however, the board can direct the formation of an oversight committee elected by the citizens of the Northshore to provide direct citizen input to the various projects and program approval, giving this committee veto authority over any proposal. Thus, the committee will share responsibility with the board, which will not be able to approve projects without committee approval.
And folks, that is a democratic process, no longer a shadow government. That is a process that puts the community interest first before large developers and special interests take this town and all of the Northshore forever.
Lenny Matthews
Lucerne
