Interesting looking back at Larry Glass' involvement and statements about the Marina Center... and look, there's Mark Lovelace in a prominent position... it's all the usual suspects, "Baykeeper" too...
From: "Mark Lovelace" mailto:mail@healthyhumboldt.org
Date: March 22, 2006 9:47:02 AM PST
To: "Healthy Humboldt Coalition" mail@healthyhumboldt.org
Subject: Home Depot poses economic, cleanup concerns
Reply-To: "Mark Lovelace" mail@healthyhumboldt.org
Development poses economic, cleanup concerns, group says
Thadeus Greenson
March 22, 2006
EUREKA -- Members of the newly formed Citizens for Real Economic Growth expressed concerns about the environmental and economic impacts of the proposed Balloon Tract development Tuesday night during a presentation at the Humboldt County Democratic Central Committee (HCDCC) headquarters.
About 45 people attended the presentation and the following question and answer period, both of which were rushed along due to the time constraints of a following HCDCC business meeting.
Citing an array of economic studies, as well as city and county planning documents, Citizens for Real Economic Growth members Larry Glass and Mark Lovelace argued that the proposed Balloon Tract development goes against city and county plans for development and would irrevocably harm the local economy.
Security National owners Rob and Cherie Arkley are proposing to build a 400,000-square-foot development on the Balloon Tract that will include shops, restaurants, office space, a Home Depot, the Discovery Museum and lofts on an adjacent parcel. The Arkleys will be asking the city to change the site's zoning from public to commercial and industrial to pave the way for the project.
”Why are we pursuing this?” Lovelace asked rhetorically. “It goes against everything that's on paper about economic development in Humboldt County and the use of this property and it goes directly against the will of the voters.”
The will of the voters to which Lovelace referred, was a 1999 ballot measure in which Wal-Mart tried to obtain a similar zoning change that was rejected by a 61 percent margin.
Lovelace cited a number of economic studies regarding the impact of Home Depot stores on competing hardware businesses. He said not only would a Home Depot take major amounts of business away from some 200 local retailers, but it would siphon that money directly out of the local economy.
”There's a wealth of information on the Web, and I would really encourage people to go out there and seek it out,” Lovelace said. “Don't just take my word for it, go out and do your homework.”
During his portion of the presentation, Glass said he feels like the public is being left out of the Balloon Tract decision-making process and lambasted the city of Eureka for not aggressively pursuing the clean-up of the site that was left contaminated by Union Pacific Railroads.
Pete Nichols, director of Humboldt Bay Keeper, was in attendance and said major issues remain surrounding the contamination of the site that will be addressed either during negotiations with Union Pacific in the coming weeks or ultimately with a lawsuit.
Security National Senior Vice President Brian Morrissey attended the presentation and said afterward that, while he didn't agree with everything being said, he thinks these types of public information meetings are important. He added that Security National is confident that the majority of Eureka supports this project.
Security National will hold an open house today focusing on environmental issues. Panelists who have worked on the site or have brownfield expertise will be available to answer questions at the open house, which will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Red Lion in Eureka.
