Dear Friends and Members of Santa Monica Mid City Neighbors,

Our Board with the support of our members has voted to oppose the ill-conceived East Village Project and to support the residents of Village Trailer Park. Their fate will be decided this Tuesday, July 24th, by our City Council. I want to share some thoughts with you, but first I should share some links to help prepare you for this meeting:
• The agenda:
• The 546-page Staff Report:
• The 73-page Project Plans:
• The Final Environmental Report:
• The Front-Page Article in the L.A. Weekly that lays out the background on this issue: http://www.laweekly.com/2012-07-12/news/santa-monica-village-trailer-park?utm_source=Newsletters&utm_medium=email>

Here are some personal comments:
1) Size matters–The number of people who respond to an issue makes a difference.
2) Authenticity matters–Tourists want to visit authentic cities–cities that recognize the importance of their residents and their history; they do not respect towns taken over by tourists and developers.
3) Process matters – Accepting this project before deciding on the Bergamot Area Plan in which it plays a part is counter-productive.
4) Residents matter–Kicking people out of their homes to build a project that everyone predicts will increase traffic in an already gridlocked city shows no respect to the concerns of those of us who live here.

Please write to City Council, , or show up and speak on behalf of your neighbors. The meeting is being held in City Hall and parking at the 4th Street & Olympic garage is validated. The public portion of the meeting begins at 6:30 and promises to go on for some time. Show up when you can. Your presence matters but so do your emails.

Thank you for being involved in your neighborhood,

Gregg Heacock
President of Santa Monica Mid City Neighbors
=