Help save our launch at Cabrillo Beach!

[cbknap]

Windsurfers, Kitesurfers, Picnickers and all friends of Cabrillo Beach:

Once again, your help is needed to not have toilets installed on or near our grass area. Unfortunately the vote was 6 to 5 to install toilets adjacent to the grass area at the October 1, 2008 meeting organized by Councilwoman Janice Hahn’s office. Only 4 people who windsurf showed up to the meeting.

The Councilwoman’s representative, Ana Dragin, who requested and ran the meeting ignored the petition signed by 60 windsurfers and also ignored the numerous emails sent to her office by many of you. The reason she gave for ignoring all of our efforts was that she said had spoken with a couple of windsurfers who said they were okay with the new location, even though in these conversations she didn’t show any maps locating any of the possible different locations.
The Port engineers came in with three options (Options.jpg):
• Place the restroom on the lawn adjacent to the access road,
• Place the restroom adjacent to the lawn where the containers currently sit and
• Don’t install the restrooms at all since there will be several new restrooms nearby.

The option they selected is Option #2, placing the new restrooms right near the grass area and the new drop off area. Next summer, people who have wanted and waited for a drop off zone will find that they will be competing for parking spaces with people who need to pee.

IT’S STILL NOT TOO LATE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS.
If you want to try and move or remove this restroom, please write to Councilwoman Hahn (Councilmember.hahn@lacity.org) and tell her you want the petition and emails to not be ignored. The petition and the emails are clear; we don’t want a toilet right next to the grass area. Placing them anywhere near the grass area is not acceptable
Also, question the wisdom of placing toilet facilities across an access road (that can be quite busy at times) designed to serve a population on the growing inside beach. It’ll only be a matter of time before some kid gets injured or killed trying to cross the access road to reach the toilets.
If you do write, please copy these folks also.
Port of Los Angeles Engineers in charge of the project Sal Zambrano
szambrano@portla.org

Port of Los Angeles Chief Harbor Engineer Antonio (Tony) Gioiello
TGioiello@portla.org

Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Dr. Geraldine Knatz
knatz@portla.org

Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council President June Burlingame-Smith
Burling102@sanpedro.org

Summary of October 1, 2008 meeting
Three guys, Alan Johnson, Gary Dwight, and John Stinson argued that the restrooms were needed for the seniors even though two new restrooms would be built, one west of the Bathhouse and one at the fishing pier (Restrooms.jpg). Their arguments were anecdotal; they produced no petition and Ms. Dragin spoke of no emails sent to the Councilwoman’s office from seniors specifically requesting this restroom be installed. Dwight and Johnson are Cabrillo Beach Boosters’ representatives who fund the Enduro. They do not windsurf and clearly aren’t in tune with what the windsurfing community wants.
The Port Engineers argued that this restroom was needed for children and to the serve the growing inside beach population. If this is the case then it is a terrible idea. Consider this; it would require the public, specifically children, to cross the busy access road to use the bathroom. If the restroom is to serve the inside beach, maybe they should put it on the inside beach.


This issue is not exclusive to windsurfers. Please ask friends and family to write in.

Thank you,

Amin Damji
Chris Knap

[cbknap]

Here are the spots the county and the port are considering for the new bathrooms....our preference is that they simply delete #4 as it is not needed. All of the proposed locations for this bathroom would negatively impair the view, the picnic area, the traffic, and the surf/kite launch.[/img]

[cbknap]

Are Amin and I out to lunch? Do you WANT a giant smelly toilet in the rigging area at Cabrillo?

Please take the time to copy/paste some of the info from the above into an email and send to Councilwoman Hahn's office. (A real letter would be even better.)

And do sound off about this right here in this forum. Let's not be doormats for a bunch of puffed up bureaucrats that never go out on the water.

[MalibuGuru]

Dear Ms. Hahn, Please put the pooper down-wind, not up-wind. The aroma of tacos and poop wafting down the beach would just be horrible. Can you imagine a crapper on the beach, obstructing views of Catalina, dolphins, whales, and the ocean? Who is your consultant? A dog is not allowed to poop on the beach, why should we?

[capetonian]

Imagine that, our elected officials spending our tax dollars while a) ignoring our real needs, and b) not figuring out if it is the best use of our tax dollars.

Sorry for the sarcasm, having a bad day. I am sure they are good people at heart.

[LHDR]

Done.
-lhdr

[geohaye]

I sent the following email to the following email list. I hope it helps!

EMAIL LIST:
Councilmember.hahn@lacity.org, szambrano@portla.org, TGioiello@portla.org, knatz@portla.org, Burling102@sanpedro.org

EMAIL SUBJECT:
Public Comment: Location of the restroom facilities at Cabrillo Beach

EMAIL CONTENT:
Councilmember Hahn, Ana Dragin, Sal Zambrano, Antonio Gioiello, Geraldine Knatz, June Burlingame-Smith,

Regarding the location of the restroom facilities at Cabrillo Beach:

I appeal to you to remove proposed restroom location #4 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.

Instead, the new restroom facilities should be centrally located along the stretch of the inside beach that is adjacent to the parking area.

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.

Please know that it is not possible for all interested parties to attend public meetings due to work and family obligations. Thus, please fully consider our public comment sent in via petition and email.

Furthermore, on the point of safety, I believe that it would be a bad idea to place the new toilet facilities across an access road (that can be quite busy at times) designed to serve a growing day-use population on the inside beach.

Thank you for your time.

[rlshirey]

I emailed Hahn and got this repley that indicates the bathroom will not be located near the windsurf launch:

Richard: Thank you very much for your email to Councilwoman Janice Hahn. I am the San Pedro community advocate and was asked to respond to your concern.To address the windsurfers' concern, the Port generously agreed to relocate the proposed bathroom away from the grass area. The windsurfers will therefore not be affected. Please be assured that petitions and emails sent to this office are never ignored. The meeting that took place Oct. 1st had a great representation of various groups and organizations. The consensus was that there is a need for an additional bathroom to better serve the community at large.Thanks again for your email and for taking the time to voice your opinion. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any further comments or concerns. Sincerely, Ana Dragin, MPACommunity AdvocateCouncilwoman Janice Hahn

[MalibuGuru]

Steven:

Thank you for your email to Councilwoman Janice Hahn. I am the San Pedro community advocate and was asked to respond to your email. Would you please give me a call so we can discuss your concern?

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

>>> "Steven Bard" 10/21/2008 3:07 PM >>>
Dear Ms. Hahn, Please put the pooper down-wind, not up-wind. The aroma of tacos and poop wafting down the beach would just be horrible. Can you imagine a crapper on the beach, obstructing views of Catalina, dolphins, whales, and the ocean? Who is your consultant? A dog is not allowed to poop on the beach, why should we?

[geohaye]

I rec'd a reply very similar to the one Richard pasted into his post just above.
That's good news!