ROSS “RUSTY” AIMER, San Clemente
Twenty years ago, I escaped the traffic and invasion of the out-of-control growth in Laguna Niguel.
Sadly, I see the same issues brewing here in my adopted quaint and beautiful “sleepy city by the sea!”
Try driving on Pico when the school lets out or during the traffic rush hours.
We smartly rejected the construction of an In-N-Out on the East side of the 5 Freeway for the very same reason.
How in the hell are we going to unleash hundreds of utility vans and 18-wheelers on the same already saturated streets? Not to mention the 24-hour noise and pollution this monster will bring to our limited space.
I have walked the streets of the Rancho San Clemente neighborhood that will be most adversely affected by this invasion. A majority of the residents are unaware of this potential danger to our livelihood or ask how can we fight Amazon. Some, even naively, proclaim “it will bring us jobs and taxes!”
We know Amazon and other giant corporations don’t pay taxes. The minimum-wage workers they will pour into our city from outside will not pay much payroll taxes, either. Oh, and by the way, hundreds of these transient workers will also add to the traffic problems, driving to and from the fortress, from far-away cities.
I understand going against a Goliath of a corporation with an army of high-priced lawyers and lobbyists is going to be tough. They have enough money to buy our entire city staff and elected officials. But we have the power of the “vote,” numbers, and have no other choice but to fight.
Please join us to tell our elected officials, no, but hell, no.
