Tuesday, March 21, 2006

THE END JUSTIFIES THE MEANS

In Carmel-by-the-Sea, informed residents are forced to consider and/or pursue legal action against their city because of its "the ends justify the means" policy. Examples include:

1. The City Council's "end" of selling a National Register of Historic Places city asset has led Flanders Foundation to file a lawsuit against the City alleging failures to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), California Government Codes and Carmel Municipal Code.

2. The City Administrator's appeal of the Historic Resources Board's decision that the Scout House is a historic resource and his subsequent withdrawal citing the historic determination was premature; after 4 architectural historians and the Historic Resources Board independently concluded that the Scout House is a city historic resource. Still, City Administrator Guillen vowed to place his appeal on a future 2006 City Council agenda.

3. The Mayor's 10 June 2005 letter to 300 "historic resource" property owners informing them that these determinations would "be filed with the County Recorder" prompted many of them to consult attorneys about possible infringements of their private property rights.

4. The Historic Resources Board's decision to "temporarily remove" 45 historic resources from the Inventory of Historic Resources based on the erroneous analysis of Principal Planner Brian Roseth led many residents to recognize a pattern of corrupting the means for a pre-determined political end.

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