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BIG MAC

There was yet another hearing on the proposed MacMansion adjacent to our property.

This has been going on since 2006.

A guy wants to build a two story monstrosity next to us. Peers right into our pool area. Other neighbors worse.

It requires a variance.

Architectural Commission passes it. They are all developers with developer mentality. Rights of ownership and all that. Forget the rights of neighbors.

In short, assholes with conflicted interests.

The Planning Commission turns it down.

They tell him to redo it. He doesn't but brings it back to them. They turn it down again.

The developer appeals.

City Council sends it back through the process telling the guy to meet with the neighbors, go back and make the privacy thing better, and to start over in the process. They don't turn it down outright.

We meet with him. Not a pleasant meeeting.

The guy goes back with a reduction of the second floor and gets another OK from the conflicted assholes on the Architectural Commission then takes it to the Planning Commission and they turn it down again even more dramatically.

Last night he is back to the City Council to appeal the loss.

De ja vu all over again.

We have now attended more than 10 hearings on this thing.

Neighbors at each one.

The Council has one member (a rumored supporter for our side, the Mayor) on the sick list.

The vote is tied. No decision.

It has to go back on the agenda for next week when they have a quorum.

Holy shit.

Eight neighbors go out pissed off.

We will be back.

The votes against us were one know nothing. The ex police commissioner who should have recused himself since he was not around when this happened the first time.

The other is an architect with many such projects of his own where the technicalities often favor him and he does not want others or himself to be judged by any other consideration like size, design, appropriateness and so on.

Another politician with a pesonal axe to grind.

OK. I can take it.

We are told that we will win.

I have heard this all the way through the process.

What if we lose?

Nothing bad. The developer has taken the windows and balconies that looked at us out and so the privacy issue is gone.

As to the rest of it, I can live with whatever the outcome is. But in the meantime, we are working hard to stop it.

Would be be OK with a smaller, more appropriated design?

Sure.

We will see.

Labels: macmansion

CURB APPEAL

We went to the City Council last night to oppose the appeal of the McMansion guy. The one who wants to build a 2 story monster across from our back yard.

He had been turned down in five or more hearings before the Architectural Review guys and the Planning Commission.

Last night was his last best shot. He asked the Council to over ride the Planning Commission.

Which they fucking did!

Well not all the way.

I search for a metaphor.

They tried to play Solomon and decided to cut the baby in half. Only the developer got most of the mutilated baby.

That doesn't quite do it.

They bent over backward (as they are wont to do) to please a developer and stuck their head up their asses.

No.

Maybe this. Half a loaf means breadcrumbs.

We lost the argument about whether the lot qualifies to be two story. Flat out.

It does technically—well it does not technically—but it is close enough to say it does. So they decided to say that it does.

On the other hand they did see how the neighbors were unhappy with the immense size and mostly the way the house will 'look' into other people's yards. Us.

So they didn't deny the appeal. They didn't approve his plans.

They sent him back to the Planning Commission and architectural review with a second chance 'so he wouldn't have to pay his fees over again'.

Very disappointing.

A lot of the neighbors were more, way pissed than me.

I just take it philosophically.

It isn't the first time that I discovered others who did not share my world view.

I can see where they were not impressed with our opposition.

First the height issue. A technical KO.

Then the argument that this disrupts the character of the neighborhood. That it would make our nice neighborhood like other 'lost' sections of the City.

Well, you can't expect them to be sympathetic with that. They have presided over the overbuilding of the City and obviously can't agree that is a bad thing.

We obviously were seen as crybabies.

No account taken of our negative view of the house design either. It is an ugly mother. But they let people build whatever they want to. Property rights.

The Mayor asked if the McMansion guy had discussed any of this with the neighbors. He said 'no'. The Mayor thought it would be good if he did and try to make some changes. Come, let's reason together. Why can't we all get along?

Well, forget that. We already did all that through the design review process and he didn't change a thing.

And he probably will not this time either.

He will traipse it back through the same boards with the sympathetic comments of the City Council around his neck and get what he wants.

In the meantime, for me, it is another lesson in how 'the Man' isn't going to pay much attention to the needs of the people.

Yeh, I know that's exaggerated but I am in the middle of watching Reds.

For me, I am done with the process. It is on to Plan B.

I will get busy on the new trees that we will put in along the wall so they will grow nice and tall by the time the house looms over our us.

Time to move on. This has had us on near-fume for nine months. Time to let go of it.

I'm going for my bike ride then go get a hair cut.

Labels: macmansion

GETTIN' READY

The MacMansion guy is appealing his total wipeout at the Planning Commission.

You know. They guy who wants to build a huge house on a little lot right at the pool end of our wall.

It is a blivet.

Ten pounds of bullshit in a 5 pound bag.

So we are getting ready.

The signs are good.

We got his writeup today. It isn't very good and even more interesting, he did it himself. There is no lawyer in the picture. He had one last time.

We were concerned because the Council blanches a bit at legal beaglism. They don't like lawsuits.

His photos suck too.

Another thing. The Planning Commission report really gives him the shaft. Once they vote all the power goes into defending their decision.

Good for them. They are on our side now.

Buddies.

They were not always so cordial to our position.

I went over my speech and finished it off.

I am the lead speaker!

It is Wednesday night.

I am ready. Poised. Loaded.

We will see.

The regular Council Meeting starts at 6PM. Early dinner.

We do not know when we are going to be heard.

I hope that I am home (with happy news) before my bedtime.

I usually don't stay up so late.

But this is worth it.

I will prop my eyes open.

Well, the adrenaline will be high.

Labels: macmansion

SLOW MOTION WIN

We had another hearing today about the monstrosity proposed across from our pool area. Two floors. See right down into our pool.

The guy submitted the same plans he had before after a lengthy instruction by two town committees to make some changes.

A 'fuck you' if ever I saw one.

So the Planning Commission is just about to deny his permit entirely.

We made our presentations anyway.

They have to be tired of seeing us but the point has definitely been made.

So, right in the middle, here comes the developer saying that he really has new plans and could he have a continuance so that he can make another proposal and not have to start at zero.

He said that after my speech.

I think he would have said it anyway but I like to think I scared him off.

We had 14 people there today, seven households.

John just called.

The Commission voted to deny the application. No continuance. Unanimous.

Hurrah!

But that is not the end of it.

He can and will certainly apply to City Council for an over-ride. All conventional wisdom says that will fail but we are not going to back off.

So it is probably one more trip to City Hall and at least another speech.

Labels: macmansion

IMMIGRATION

I had not been a supporter of tough immigration laws until I saw this video.

Immigration: The Human Cost

Don't miss the crawl along the bottom of the screen.

Labels: immigration, macmansion

HEARINGS

We are still slogging through hearings on this macmansion that they want to build just over our southern wall.

Two stories high.

Right where we jump into the pool bare-assed. I don't mind people looking but there is a limit.

There are a lot of other things wrong with it. Too fucking big for a minimum lot. All that.

The neighbors are in an uproar.

We have managed to get the Planning Commission to refer it back to the Architectural Advisory group and now they have put in on hold for further study.

This is a good thing for us.

The developer is understandably pissed.

John is at the forefront of all this effort. I am the background man. proofreader, commenter.

Actually there is a better, more energetic partner—the other abutter—who has been great help for John.

We are going to keep on going.

Part of it is the principle of the thing.

The city absolutely supports developers at the expense of the people who live here.

There are a lot of reasons for this, some good actually. But there should be a middle of the road between the two interests.

The tax base is in jeopardy. The City has staggering entitlements. Police and Fire and other benefits and pensions that will eventually break the City unless they keep growing the tax base.

California is a Prop 2 1/2 state. They invented it here.

So we pay taxes on what we paid for our house and land plus 2 1/2 percent over ten years (compounded of course).

But, as we all know, property has inflated way beyond that rate of increase.

If someone bought our house today or developed a new house the same size, they would immediately pay about three times as much tax as we do.

It is an interesting exercise.

In the meantime, I have conferred with our gardener Paul and we have selected a row of sumac trees to be planted outside the wall.

The macmansion will not see us and we will not see it.

But, we will know it is there. And, our neighborhood of mixed quality homes will be the poorer for it.

Labels: garden, macmansion

HAPPY DISASTER

I seized victory out of the mouth of defeat today.

My printer has been on its last legs. It barely made it on to the new Mac System X.

We had to offer incense and prayer to the HP customer service gods to download a program that would work.

But today, mid project, it gave up the ghost.

We had taken pictures up and down the street to show why the MacMansion is out of sync with the neighborhood.

I got good pictures and was printing 8 or 9 of them when the machine faltered, gave a death rattle (really) and expired.

I tried, gods know I tried, to resuscitate but no dice.

Off to Staples and with a call to Dave and some help from a customer service guy I got me a new printer.

The HP 6940. Without the wireless.

It installed without any problem at all!

It has gotten where even four thumb intuitionists like me can install a new device.

I finished the photo job (due to be presented tomorrow) and all is well in printer land.

It is a beautiful machine. Sturdy too. Brushed chrome.

How can they sell them so cheap? 150 dollars?

OH! The cartridges, silly. Two combo packs cost almost as much as the printer.

Caught again.

Labels: computer, macmansion, photos

BIG MAC

We went to the second hearing of the Planning Commission yesterday.

This is about the huge house that they want to put across the side lane; the one that will look down on our back yard.

There were as many unanswered questions this time as the last.

I didn't attend the first one; scheduling trouble. But I did go yesterday. I rose to be counted in opposition and then figured, what the hell, I have three minutes. Why not say some more. So I pulled a short speech out of my ass.

I think it went over well. My partner even said so.

The applicant spoke this time. He's a maroon*. Worse, it also became clear that he is a developer. He will not live in the house!

I stage whispered the word as loud as I could to our large neighborhood contingent—"de-vel-o-per!".

There is nothing wrong about developers other than their zero interest in the neighborhood, their goal of making the fast buck and their total irresponsibility.

In any case, a motion was made to deny the application for the house. It did not pass. Commissioners are reluctant to deny because people get litigious and the city is terrified of lawsuits.

Then a motion was made to approve. It did not pass!

Stalemate.

Purgatory.

Nothing worse for the developer who now has four weeks to try again (or go appeal to city council) or quit.

We are not there yet but we are doing well.

I like that it has brought our relatively distant neighbors closer.

There is even talk of a neighborhood association.

I don't know that I would go that far but it is a good sign of cohesiveness.

Maroon: Bugs Bunny's civil wording for Moron but in the greater NYC area also extends to a lack of culture and sensitivity. A jerk.

Labels: developer, macmansion, maroon