More on the Witch Hunt..."This is not a NIMBY issue" WITH KHUM UPDATES

In a message dated 5/2/2007 salzman@inreach.com writes:
To: Humboldt neighbors re 17-unit subdivision in Manila...
"...This is NOT just a Manila issue - and NOT a NIMBY issue. it's about what kinds of development the residents of Humboldt Bay wish to allow in our communities in the future, and how these critical decisions should be made...."
"...This is not a NIMBY issue. No developer should be allowed to place a densely packed subdivision of large homes on top of a wild dune ecosystem adjacent to a healthy willow wetland in a rural neighborhood on a narrow road...

Uh huh.


It does happen elsewhere, and it looks kinda nice.

UPDATE:
Letters to the North Coast Journal, from Fennel, his tenant, and a guy from Trinidad - and a correction noted, But the facts still stand. Michael Fennel asserts, and Hank agrees, that Fennel did not BUILD three houses. One existed, One was built and another is planned. Nevertheless, Sims points out, the point of his comments last week was that Fennel wants to hold Riley to a half acre minimum standard that he himself did not - or was not allowed to - follow.

ANOTHER UPDATE:
Calling out all the stops and using the media - today, (Thursday) Michael Fennel is on KHUM decrying Scott Riley's project, saying it is not a "green development" - STILL says this project plans to bulldoze the dunes - says people should be honest - says they are trying to impose a dense new neighborhood - still upset about the scrub pines which were cut, wants to ask for a measuring of the stumps, says he has already measured the stumps - (isn't that trespassing?) Says he doesn't see cutting a new road into the dunes is fair to the protected environment, says the new development must fit in with the character of the existing homes (-?-), and that these 3 story homes just won't fit in with the existing character, in part becasue they have to be built to withstand a tsunami. Says, essentially that John Ash, the architect is lying. (Spin, he says, to call using recycled products and installing solar "green.") No mention of the trail access, nor the fact that Riley offered to donate land to the Community... Like I said, there's no appeasing these guys.

UPDATE to UPDATE (1:31):
Scott Riley called in to KHUM to set the record straight... Wow what a story! Basically, I'll stick to the order in which he spoke:

First he talked about the trees. He said it is illegal to cut anything over a foot in diameter. Then he talked about the trees he cut, He said, first of all, that he planted 150 native trees on the property (turns out he owns a tree farm), and said they had gotten to be about 15 to 20 feet tall. He said when trees grow to a certain height in the sand, they often get blown over, and that that had happened here. So he went in to clean up the dead and dying trees, cut them up for firewood.

Then the harassment begins...The next day, he said, he came to work on them and found a Stop Work' order posted. The County sent out a code enforcement unit to inspect his property, they told him they had gotten complaints from a couple of neighbors. He showed them the trees, explained what was going on. The code enforcement officers found that there was no violation.

A couple of weeks later he cut the trees up and stacked them up. Then another agency came to inspect, this time the Coastal Commission, again because of complaints from Fennel and company. The Coastal Commission representative also sees that this is not a violation.

Then another Federal agency showed up, because Fennel and his friends had complained about an illegal timber harvest.

All three agencies found that no violation had occurred. And, Riley said, he got three cords of wood finally.

Next, the radio host, Mike Dronkers, asked him about the three story houses that Fennel had complained so loudly about.

Riley said first that the house Fennel built was 6 feet from his own property line and that it is taller than any of the houses Riley plans to build, and that across the street Fennel had another 30 foot building. Riley said that his tallest house will be 35 feet in height, and that they will have underground garages.

Giving a background on the dispute, he said that in 1992 he talked to the property's then owners, the Shires, and asked if they would sell the property. they said the property was not for sale, but mentioned that Fennel and Aryay Kalaki had gotten the property appraised and made an offer to the Shires.

Noting that the property was not for sale, they then said that if someone offered them twice what Kalaki had offered, they would sell it. So Riley bought it, and made a lifelong enemy apparently. He said he himself had put the property up for sale, that for 15 years Kalaki and Fennel could have purchased the property and turned it into a dune sanctuary if they wanted to, but they did not.

Regarding the houses, he said he has posted the plans on a bulletin board and that people can see them at the Planning Dept. When he decided to develop it, the County suggested that he do a planned unit development, where you cluster the houses and leave the rest for natural habitat, the new wave of the future.

He said most of Manila is zoned for 5,000 sq. ft lots which is 8 houses to an acre, and some allow 16 per acre, and he pointed out that his property is 8.5 acres, and he is only building 17 homes, much better than the rest of Manila.

He said his homes will be set well back from the wetlands, while Fennel's house is only 7 feet from the wetlands, and that one of Fennel's buildings is in the wetland, something Fennel had requested a variance to hbe allowed to do so.

In fact, he said, Fennel has requested a variance each time he has done something, while he, Riley had not asked for any zoning variances.

The homes he is proposing have sod roofs, passive solar, solar panels, thermal mass, with recycled and organic materials. The building cost is substantially more than a "normal" house. They'll cost $400,000 to $500,000 to build, but they represent a new wave in sustainable development. Riley said he is willing to take the risk, but that it is a gamble, whether or not he will be able to sell them. "Green" housing is more expensive. Like organic produce. But worth it.

It's an ambitious project, and one people should be excited about, especially the so-called enviros.

To Mike Dronkers - like Hank Sims - you deserve thanks for allowing both sides to be told. Very interesting.

It is quite a story. Not a pretty story, though.

Footnote and disclaimer: I was scribbling as fast as I could as the two men were talking. I believe I got all the points correctly. But, given the interest this is generating, and given the fact that Fennel's side looks like they are the nitpicky ones who are probably looking for any little thing I might have gotten wrong that they can use against Riley, I am very thankful to have been given an mp3 copy of both appearances. I'm trying to figure out how to upload the file if I can't link to it at the station, so you can all hear it verbatim for yourselves. So, if I got any number wrong - my apologies.

MORE:
Though Fennel derided Riley's architect, John Ash, Ash is no lightweight. John Ash Group Architects received the Los Angeles Conservancy’s prestigious Preservation Award for 2005. John Ash Group Architects, with offices in both Eureka and Los Angeles, worked as the historic preservation architect on the winning Infomart-Los Angeles Terminal Annex project.

He also writes a column on building design for the Eureka Reporter:
(A new column: Design for Life)
Creating spaces, building fences
The life style brand: Bringing meaning to your life
The lighted path on the search for enlightenment
Doors — our humble guardians should give us more
The continuing story of the door
Defining your home's character
Imagining a better space
My Space, Chapter 2: Building the perfect shower
A brief plan for the 'me space'
A Deck For All Seasons Part 2
Clients come first, real or not