Yet another glossy Measure L [1] brochure today. The Truth about Traffic can actually be found in the 2002 Caltrans Devil's Slide Tunnel Environmental Impact Review [2] which found no substantial increase in traffic on Highway One between 1998 and 2020.

Mr. Peebles' traffic brochure is unfair and misleading in many ways. The most unfair example is the revenue projections towards helping Pacifica schools [3]. Pacifica schools truly need money for operating costs such as hiring teachers and purchasing supplies, but the Quarry revenues will only go towards capital projects. Pacifica schools will only get more operating expense funds from a parcel tax and not from the Quarry project. The Truth About Traffic should be that the two upcoming housing projects off of Fassler Avenue and the Quarry project together will mean almost 500 new homes in Pacifica in the next few years.

Of course, Mr. Peebles is spending $1 million [4] on Measure L. He stands to make hundreds of millions of dollars - and his best return on investment is from the sale of homes - not from the hotel or shops. If he isn't promising Pacifica the maximum benefits [5] then he is threatening the worst outcome [6].

If Mr. Peebles truly cared for the environment and the scenic small town character of Pacifica he would have planned a small to moderate scale development that fit in with the environmentally sensitive site he purchased for the paltry sum of $7.5 million [7] for 88 acres of coastal California property. He refused to go through the normal protective process [8] of environmental impact review. Any open space he "proposes" is what is already required [9] and he isn't giving up any more. His lack of concern for the environment was also clear when he proudly stated that his searches for endangered species [10] have yielded few finds. Does he know that the S.F. Garter snake is the most endangered reptile [11] in North America. These reasons are why every environmental organization [12] says No on Measure L.

Celeste Langille
Linda Mar

The above was printed as a Letter to the Editor in the October 18th, 2006 Pacifica Tribune, and is republished here with the author's permission.