Help save our launch at Cabrillo Beach!

[erik]

They are going to put it "across the way"? See response below. Do they mean on the north side of the road?

Erik:

Thank you for your email to Councilwoman Janice Hahn. I am the San Pedro community advocate and was asked to respond to your email.
The restroom will NOT be built next to the grassy, windsurfer launch area. Instead, it will be built across the way. The original proposal was to have it built next to the grassy area, but as a result of the windsurfers' concerns, the Port has generously agreed to change that location.
Thanks again for your email and for taking the time to write us again. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any further comments or concerns.

Sincerely,

Ana Dragin, MPA
Community Advocate
Councilwoman Janice Hahn
15th District, City of Los Angeles
638 S. Beacon Street, Suite 552
San Pedro, CA 90731
(310) 732-4515
(310) 732-4500 fax
E-mail: ana.dragin@lacity.org

[dabull1]

Good work Cabrillo [and Leo] guys and gals! Now what we really need to do is hook up with the Los Angeles Archdiosese[sp?] and get them to sponsor a campaign to teach or little brown friends that beer cans and used daipers belong in a trash can and not in the parking lot or on the beach... howzabout a nice poster of the Virgin of Gaudalupe on the side of each can with the caption "tienes tu basura, mijo?" Just a thought, mi amigos! Hasta, Bull

[cbknap]

Sailors, surfers, paddlers, riders, and picknickers:

Thanks very much for your participation and input!

I have to tell you that I am not yet convinced that the port's plans have been changed. These same "representatives" have misstated and/or ignored our concerns in the past, while pretending to "generously" hear what we say.

Amin and I will be contacting Councilwoman Hahn's office personally this week and asking for a copy of the new plan (if there actually is one). In the meantime, please keep those letters and emails coming!

Finally, PLEASE BE POLITE! Any rude and/or crass communications harm us more than they help us.

Thanks again to all who have joined in this effort.

Chris Knap

[cbknap]

Watermen and women........

Attention! I just spoke with Amin. The plan to put the bathroom next to the rigging area is still there! Here is the response Amin received from Ana Dragin. It goes without saying that Ms. Dragin is giving very contradictory answers to people:

Amin:

Thank you for your email to Councilwoman Hahn. I have been asked to respond
to your email.
You and I have discussed this several times. The windsurfers are the only
group that has opposed the proposed restroom. As you witnessed at the
October 1st meeting, every other group/organization in the room favored the
idea. Would it be fair not to build the restrooms because one group doesn't
like the idea and many others do?
I scheduled the Oct. 1st meeting because the Cabrillo Beach Coordinating
Council could not come to an agreement on whether or not the restrooms
should be built. Additionally, I did not want one group, the Cabrillo Beach
Coordinating Council, to be making a decision that will affect many other
people. I thought a much better idea was to have a larger meeting with
various groups present giving their input.
While I respect your hard work in circulating the petition, please note that
this decision was not based on a petition. If it were so, I am sure I would
have received hundreds of signatures favoring the additional restroom.
That's not what this is about.
I am of the belief that the agreement that was reached was a fair one. To
address the windsurfers' concerns, the Port has generously agreed not to
touch the grass area you use for rigging your equipment and getting ready.
If you would like, we can sit down once again and discuss this.

Sincerely,

Ana Dragin, MPA
Community Advocate
Councilwoman Janice Hahn
15th District, City of Los Angeles
638 S. Beacon Street, Suite 552
San Pedro, CA 90731
(310) 732-4515
(310) 732-4500 fax
E-mail: ana.dragin@lacity.org

[cbknap]

This was Amin's very polite reply to Ana Dragin, the aide to Councilwoman Hahn. (We all owe Amin a debt of gratitude for continuing to battle these bureaucrats, some of whom refuse to see reason.) I also talked to some other sailors Sunday who have contacted either the Councilwoman, her aide, or the port engineers. We are all pushing to have the restroom either deleted or moved down by the parking lot, where it will do something more than just block the view (and launch).

Thanks to all for adding your voices....chris

Ana,

I would like to respond to several of your points because many of your
statements are in conflict with my observations of the events we are
discussing.

First and foremost, you did not respond to the most important issue that I
raised - the safety concerns in placing a restroom to serve a population on
the opposite side of a busy access road. The information that this restroom was intended to serve the growing inside beach population was new.
The existing parking spaces across from the County Lifeguard station are being removed specifically so that a wider emergency lane can be installed
allowing the lifeguards to get in and out more quickly. The lifeguards
claim they need this emergency lane because the road is often congested.
Giving people a reason to stop along this access road increases congestion
contradicting the Port's efforts to relieve congestion on the access road
and allow emergency vehicles to move without hindrance. I think that this
concern warrants addressing and that you, as the councilwoman's
representative should be encouraging discussion of such a serious matter.

Second, what you're telling me is that anecdotal arguments made by a handful of people and your presumption that hundreds would sign this non existing petition in favor of the restroom carries more weight with the Councilwoman than an actual petition and numerous emails sent to her by people who oppose this restroom. I can't imagine that the Councilwoman endorses this type of prioritization.

Third, you stated that windsurfers are the only group that opposes the
restroom location. You do us all a tremendous disservice to lump the people who have taken an interest in their community and diligently made their voices heard on this issue and isolate them as the "windsurfer group."

These people come from all walks of life, backgrounds, ages and many of them happen to windsurf. They happen to be the ones who use that area the most on a consistent, year round basis. If you go down to the area adjacent to the County Lifeguard station you'll see a sea of windsurfers not a sea of senior citizens. Sailors, surfers, paddlers, kiteboarders as well as picnickers have all emailed the Councilwoman. I would think that the Councilwoman would appreciate the fact that so many have taken interest in their community and written in with their concerns.

Fourth, I disagree with your presumption as to what I witnessed at the
October 1, 2008 meeting. I witnessed a long discussion among the attendees that the Port's proposed restroom locations were less than ideal. There was agreement that a better location for the restroom would have been close to the east parking lot entrance and that this location would better serve beach goers and water sports enthusiasts. The Port would not consider this option. I also witnessed for the first time Mr. Cuevas make the statement that the purpose of this restroom was to serve the growing inside beach. To my knowledge, no discussion as to the safety implications of this location has ever taken place.

Fifth, you state in your email that we've discussed this issue several
times. The fact is on two occasions, September 18, 2008 and October 1, 2008, you and I were in the same room while a discussion regarding this restroom was taking place. A face to face discussion between us has never taken place.

Sixth, you offered to schedule a meeting to further discuss this matter. I
don't think a meeting is necessary at this time.

Finally, Ana, quite a few people who care about this issue read your e-mail. Several of them commented to me that there was a perceptible edge in the tone of your e-mail. I know we both care about San Pedro and Cabrillo Beach and are both working to keep them great. I hope that we can keep it edge-free as we continue to tackle issues that we both care about.

Sincerely,

Amin Damji

[leonardgale]

WE ALL WANT TO AVOID CONTAMINATION OF OUR WINDSURF AREA. RESPONSIBLE LETTERS TO MS DRAGON CAN ONLY HELP. RACIAL ALLUSIONS ARE NOT PRODUCTIVE IN THIS CONTEXT.

[benspikey]

Ben:

Thank you for your email and for taking the time to voice your
concerns.
The decision to build the restroom at Cabrillo Beach has been made and
it is my understanding the Port is moving forward with their plans. I
have cc'd the Port's project manager for this project, Jaime Munoz, on
this email. In addition, I have cc'd the City's Recreation and Parks
supervisor, Juan Benitez, on this email if he wishes to comment on the
Cabrillo Beach maintenance issue.
Thanks again for your email and feel free to contact me with any
further questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Ana Dragin, MPA
Community Advocate
Councilwoman Janice Hahn
15th District, City of Los Angeles
638 S. Beacon Street, Suite 552
San Pedro, CA 90731
(310) 732-4515
(310) 732-4500 fax
E-mail: ana.dragin@lacity.org

>>> Ben <benspikey@yahoo.com> 11/14/2008 3:08 PM >>>
To whom it may concern;

Specifically Council Women Janice Hahn and Community Advocate Ana
Dragin,

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter. I personally am not
very active in local government processes but I do believe that this is
an issue worth speaking up about.

Regarding the location of the new restroom facilities at Cabrillo
Beach,

I have been a long time Cabrillo Beach user and have grown to cherish
the beauty and serenity of this place. I have also found Cabrillo Beach
to have very accessible facilities, which I have never had to wait or
been bothered by the short walk to reach.

The development of a restroom adjacent to the lifeguard station is a
bad concept for multiple reasons.

First and foremost it ruins the natural beauty that makes Cabrillo
Beach so great for use. By enclosing the area in building people will
forget to respect the natural surroundings.

Secondly I fail to see the benefit of building an additional bathroom
at this location when public facilities exist less than 500 feet away.
Could not the existing facilities be enlarged to handle the additional
capacity if this is the requirement that is mandating the development of
the *new* restrooms.

Finally, if the city is really interested in cleaning up Cabrillo Beach
a strict littering policy should be enforced and people should be cited
rigidly for violations. Violators who decide to relieve themselves in
places other than the restroom will still violate the law.

The current issue in my eyes with Cabrillo Beach is far from a lack of
restroom facilities especially in the proposed building area but
disrespect for nature, our ocean, and fellow citizens. On most days it
is difficult to walk a short distance in Cabrillo without encountering
bottles or trash that has been discarded.

I have too often seen groups of people complete a great day on the
beach only to leave all trash and unwanted belongs for someone else to
deal with. The lifeguards are either powerless to deal with such issues
or choose to look the other way. I have also seen children cut
themselves on broken glass that has found its way onto the beach instead
of into a recycling bin. By the way this area has no recycling bins for
plastic and glass bottles which should be essential in raising public
awareness of this precious vital resource.

If we are really concerned with over-use/pollution then I would
recommend allowing a smaller number of citizen*s vehicles entrance to
the facilities on a weekend basis. This would not only eliminate trash
and wear on the park, but would also reduce the need for additional
bathroom facilities.

I appeal to you to remove proposed restroom location from consideration
from the Port of Los Angeles - Cabrillo Beach Landscape / Construction
Project. All of the proposed specific location options for this
particular bathroom would negatively impact the picnic area, the flow of
traffic and pedestrians, the windsurf/kitesurf launch, as well as the
view at this very special location.

I respectfully request that the decision makers fully consider the
petition and the emails that have been sent in this year, specifically:


The petition and the emails are clear: a large number of regular
Cabrillo Beach users do not want a toilet facility right next to the
grassy area which is located adjacent to the ocean-side beach. Placing
the restrooms anywhere near that particular premium-use grassy area is
not acceptable to this large group of beach users. This public comment
from multiple beach users was respectfully submitted but does not appear
to have been considered by the decision makers as of yet.

Thanks you for your time as I know you are very busy individuals.

Sincerely,

Benjamin Pirih
ben@bpirih.com
A Concerned Citizen and user of Cabrillo Beach

[nealpar]

Could it be that the developer "greased more palms" than "all y'all" (to quote Britney Spears) Cabrillo windsurfers?

Or could it be that since Janice Hahn's own brother died in a boating accident just off the coast down there a couple of months ago, that offensive letters to Ms. Hahn about pooping and tacos just has low priority for her in the greater scheme of things?

Cabrillo's main crowd (as opposed to the small minority windsurfing crowd) has only one purpose when they are at the beach. TO EAT! From the moment they arrive, until the moment they leave, they are stimulating their digestive tracts with food combinations which produce the highest level of fermentation and enzymatic challenge to the human body. As such, the city is wise to build more and more bathrooms. I'm surprised they didn't just tear down the old bathhouse to create a COSTCO size bathroom facility.

[benspikey]

No one here disagress that more bathrooms would be benifical. We just want them in location that doesn't disturb the site. Plenty of existing room exists near the main parking lot and musem for these addiional facilities. This is also closer to the main picnic area of which you speak so fondly of.

[jp5]