Honorable Mayor Casey Tanaka and Council Members, Barbara Denney, Al Ovrom, Mike Woiwode, and Richard Baily: I have been a participant on the Senior Center Ad Hoc Advisory Committee and never missed a meeting. I attended a Library Board Meeting, the Historic Resource Commission Meeting, the Design Review Commission Meeting and the planning Commission Meeting. I have also attended the City Council Meetings when the development of a new facility at 7th and D has been discussed. I have been a part of the process from the very beginning and I have watched as City Staff, Members of the Ad Hoc Committee, Members of the Senior Association and the Coronado Lawn Bowling Club have listened carefully to concerns from members of the community and have adjusted and re-adjusted their concepts, designs, plans, ideas and desires in attempt to seriously address everyone’s needs and concerns. I think that few things recently have been reviewed and revised more than this project.
It is time to move on. It is truly impossible to please everybody all of the time, and thus it is time to be reasonable people and address the things that we can reasonably address.
From all of the above meetings, my sense is that there are three issues that still draw critics of this project; trees, park land, and parking.
TREES
The number of trees that would be removed is small in light of the 8,700 trees remaining in Coronado’s urban forest. One recent re-design of the project actually reduced the number of trees to be removed as a result of community feedback. The existing park is rendered unusable by some of the existing trees. The project intends to replace some trees with better trees, move some trees, and create an environment suitable for use by the people of this community. None of our Coronado trees are more than 150 years old and none are indigenous to the island. New trees are planted daily (I have planted 10 in my own yard since 2000 when I moved here). Would we seriously jeopardize the needs of the people of this community just to save a few of the more elderly trees in Coronado? I love trees, too, but let us be reasonable.
PARKLAND
Dirt is precious in Coronado. A vacant lot here is worth more than most houses plus lots in other communities. This project does in fact take up a little more of the parkland. BUT, the park is less than 125 years old and in its present state cannot be used by people. The project will render a park that is currently unusable by the citizens of Coronado not only usable but attractive and inviting; creating space for outdoor activities and enjoyment. Remember that such a project itself will be viewed by the future generations as an historic resource when it ages just 75 years. That means that the newest generation (Generation Z), born in 2001 and beyond, will live to count it as a beautiful historic resource. Let us be reasonable
PARKING
Staff very adequately defined the additional parking that would be needed due to increased activity at the center and provided a reasonable plan. The Lawn Bowling Club, even if it were to grow to its maximum would never need more parking space than it does today because there is a maximum number of players that can play at one time on that green and that would be the same no matter how large the membership. The proposed additional parking will certainly help but we all know that parking in all of Coronado is and will always be a challenge. It seems somewhat unreasonable that additional parking was not planned when the Library addition was made, but this project is doing the due diligence of providing some relief. Would we really short change generation of citizens of Coronado by depriving them of an activity center just because some people may have to walk a block or two. Let’s be reasonable.
You are my elected officials and I expect you to represent me as well as the other people who elected you. I also hope and expect that you do your own due diligence to learn about and understand this project. I only say this because one of your appointed commissioners admitted to having never set foot in the park that is in the front of the current facility until an hour before the meeting and his 10 minutes there made him declare it “enchanting.” That is not reasonable. I did not elect him or any of the other commissioners and while I am certain that they help you as a Council Member, you are still my elected representative.
Thank you for your kind attention. Please vote in favor of moving on with this project.
Best regards,
Berie Grobe Ph.D.
