Corpusfishing.com

[The Trash Heap]

The last line in Cary's LTTE is perhaps the greatest argument ever made for keeping the people and their cars together on the beach. The other LTTEs aren't bad either.

Let me share something of my own. That there will be a request for a petition drive for a referendum to overturn the whole ordinance closing 7400 feet of beach is a certainty. However, there is some discussion still underway over whether to petition to overturn parts of the twin ordinance supposedly intended to give the voters a shot at a city charter amendment guaranteeing that future ordinances for beach closure will also be put on public ballots. I haven't seen what the charter amendment ordinance looks like since it was split off from the ordinance closing the stretch south of Packery Channel, but the old language that I see problems with appeared like this prior to the March 28 council meeting:


[Except for that portion of the Gulf beach located south of Packery Channel and north of Padre Balli Park,] vehicular access to the Gulf beach may not be restricted unless approved by a majority of the qualified voters of the city, voting at an election duly called for such purpose. Thereafter, the City Council may take appropriate action to restrict vehicular access from that specific portion of the Gulf beach and comply with all other requirements necessary to effect the result of the election.

[The election requirement of this section shall be effective only after implementation of the vehicular restriction relating to the Gulf beach located south of Packery Channel and north of Padre Balli Park and all legal challenges, relating to the restriction of vehicles from the Gulf beach between Packery Channel to Padre Balli Park, have been finally resolved and all appeals exhausted.]

This section shall not apply when vehicles are restricted from access to the Gulf beach [for public safety, public health, ecological, weather-related, or environmental reasons; for promotional events;] by the use of bollards to separate pedestrians from traffic while allowing the through movement of traffic; or for the routine regulation of traffic or parking.

I've added brackets enclosing what I think should be deleted to close loopholes, the worst of which is the entire second paragraph. That paragraph would cancel the city charter amendment and the right of citizens to vote on future proposed traffic restrictions if we successfully petition and vote against the 7400-foot closure. That language leaves us with a Hobson's Choice and appears intended to extort voter support for the 7400-foot closure.

Next worse is the bracketed part of the first paragraph, which closes the barn door after the 7400-foot-long horse has escaped and, as the Chamber of Commerce points out, gives an unfair advantage to Shexnailder that other developers are sure to challenge in court. The charter amendment therefore must not exclude a public vote on that or any other closure proposed to accommodate development.

Finally, the bracketed part of the third paragraph contains exceptions to the requirement for a public vote too vague to be included in the amendment. As both Councilmen Marez and Kelly argued, the issue of what matter of public safety cancels the vote is alone enough to scuttle the whole amendment's intent. As they discussed with the City Manager and City Attorney, even adding the word "temporary" might help define these exemptions, but that wasn't done last Tuesday, and we can only petition to delete something from an ordinance, not add to it.

What does everyone else think on these issues?

Caller.com

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Letters to the Editor: 03.31.06
March 31, 2006

Coliseum first

Here we go again with the developments! Council members, we should have first concentrated on the Coliseum rather than the beach. Did the developers consider hurricane season? I think that this will bring in the rich and leave out the poor. I know some people who will consider their "development" as McGee Beach!

Thank you, John Marez, for sticking to your guns and standing up for the citizens of Corpus Christi. All other council members will just vote the way they think the citizens will be happy, to earn their votes.

marie margar

Long treks

It finally happened. The Corpus Christi City Council voted to give away 7,216 feet of our publicly owned beach to private development.

The main reason I moved my family here in the '70s was the beach. I love to get on the beach in my car and just drive for miles, enjoying the scenery and the lack of development. Now I can see the end of that freedom coming.

What's next for our beaches? Will the City Council vote to close all of it to driving? Will there be a series of parking lots built in the dunes every few miles? Then we would be forced to walk for miles carrying our coolers and children to get to the water, like they do on beaches along the East Coast.

I hope everyone who loves the beach like I do will keep track of which City Council members voted for this fiasco, and vote them out of office in the next election.

Better yet, get out and sign the petitions that would force a vote on this issue so the people of this area can make the decision, not just a few politicians.

Tony Kinsel

Video deceptive

Ref: Beach walk video.

Being a part-time resident of Port Aransas, I have watched the beach mess unfold with great concern.

I have come to expect unethical behavior from the City Council, but I would expect more from a newspaper.

Instead of reporting the truth, you have consistently avoided it, and with this video prove that you either know nothing about people who fish and use the beach/jetties or you just do not care and are purposely painting a picture that favors the trampling of the rights of all Texans whenever money is involved.

If you would like to do the walk again with actual people, go to the Port Aransas South Jetty and recruit volunteers and then repeat the tests with a family and then with people of various degrees of disability.

Not with an empty cooler, fold-up chair and one fishing rod.

And during the family test, have one of the children simulate getting stung by a stingray and carrying the child back to the parking lot with all of your belongings so that you can get them to the emergency room.

Cary Power

(Plano)
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The Trash Heap Has Spoken!
NNYYAAAHH!!!