HECTOR HERNANDEZ, San Clemente
The latest critical issue facing the city council is the erasure of the city of San Clemente’s debt. In order to get this started, the city council has decided to sell city-owned land. This land is on Avenida La Pata and sits adjacent to a fire station and the Aquatic Center, football and soccer fields.
The prospective buyers are a developer of gasoline stations and a national coffee chain. The question being, is this the most sensible option available to the city council? This proposal is being sold as a way to cut debt and entice residents from Rancho Mission Viejo to use our community retail sources.
Now, this sounds wonderful, but is the selling of city land the best way to pay off past debt? Is placing an unnecessary gas station, with all its carbon monoxide fumes, next to our beautiful recreation center a great idea?
Now, how about the coffee drive-through, has anyone seen the lines entering the newest drive-through at Del Obispo and PCH in Dana Point? It is now common for consumers to sit on PCH and block traffic while waiting to enter the drive-through.
All this, of course, while emitting more carbon monoxide into the environment.
The facts are, land is precious, and once it is gone, it will not magically reappear. The residents of Rancho Mission Viejo already saturate our retailers with business without a new gas station and coffee retailer buying city land and polluting the San Clemente environment.
Now, here is the real question: Why doesn’t the city council seek the advice of its residents for ideas before taking careless actions?