Sirs:

Another development project — unnecessary and unwanted, unreasonable and ill-conceived — for the already struggling Pico Neighborhood? Are you serious? Overcrowding, traffic, environmental and humanistic concerns all shout out against this project. Safety and health notions dictate against it, and yet in all likelihood, as with nearly every development project that comes across your tables, the Council will hem and haw, make a sham of debate in a show hearing, and then rubber stamp the monster.

Are you truly intent upon creating a strangle-hold of big business and big developers on the so-called democratic process in the City of Santa Monica? Are you so beholden to these developers and big business interest for your positions on the Council that almost nothing will deter you from approving yet another foolish and shortsighted development that will inevitably lead to the further decline in the quality of life in Santa Monica?

Have you — any of you — attempted to traverse the City at or near a rush hour that is quickly coming to encompass all the daylight hours? Have any of you dodged ever-increasing vehicular traffic on your bikes in the so-called bike lanes? Do any of you have to deal with the many deleterious effects of overcrowding derived from over-development, or are you so removed from real life that you have no notion of what you do, in the end? Do you, at last, have no shame?

I urge you to disapprove the Project.

William N. Fordes
Sunset Park
Santa Monica, CA