Op-Ed: Whom Should You Trust?

I got an email from my councilman over the weekend advocating Measure G, a zoning change that encompasses the old Heart of the City area—the harbor, the power plant site and the east side of Catalina.

He said not to be distracted by "sound bites" from those against Measure G.

At least that is kinder than the words thrown out at the "Yes on G" press conference. There, opponents of Measure G were called "hippies" and their statements were called "blatant lies." 

My councilman did not go into the details of what Measure G does for residents in his email. He basically said constituents should either trust him or don't.

The "trust us" card is an odd card to play for those who support Measure G.

The council voted to keep G off the ballot trying to use a loophole to avoid the vote required by the city charter. It took a resident-funded lawsuit and a judge's order to force the city to put Measure G on the ballot. The council voted to appeal the judge's order of the zoning.

In fact references to what the zoning actually does could be said of any zoning change—establishes limits, defines floor area ratios, etc.  What are those limits? Why don't they want us to vote on zoning that is so good for us?

Pro Measure G websites and literature never refer residents to the actual zoning documents or the impact analysis required by the city charter. You would think they'd be flooding us with the zoning details to prove their points. Doesn't that sound fishy?

Exactly where does the harbor zoning define what a view corridor actually is? References to view protection are so vague that the Council can define anything as a view corridor. A 15-foot sliver between three-story time shares could be a view corridor. Where are the view protection elements in the zoning for the power plant site or the Catalina Corridor area? You won't find any.

You find out more about Measure G zoning and its impact from the opponents of G than from its proponents. Measure G opponent statements cite details from the zoning and the city analysis required by Measure DD and then they point you to the document, sometimes with the page number or table.

The chairman of Redondo's Chamber of Commerce called my statements about Measure G traffic impacts "inaccurate." He failed to respond when I  supported my statements with a direct quote from the source of my data, the city's own analysis.  It would appear Measure G's biggest advocates do not even understand the details of what they are supporting.

So whom do you trust? Those who tried to keep you from voting in the first place? Or those who inform you about what is actually in the zoning and what its impact is?