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Archive for May, 2012
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California to the middle class: drop dead
May 1st, 2012
The results are now in from the demographers – Calfornia is losing the middle class. Here is the full article:California to the middle class: drop dead
This is the key paragraph of the artcle:
Kotkin, an old-time liberal, sees troubling trends. “Basically, if you don’t own a piece of Facebook or Google, and you haven’t robbed a bank and don’t have rich parents, then your chances of being able to buy a house or raise a family in the Bay Area or in most of coastal California is pretty weak,” he said in a recent Wall Street Journal interview. “The new regime wants to destroy the essential reason why people move to California in order to protect their own lifestyles.” He says the state is run for the benefit of the very rich, the very poor and public employees.
And here is an article about how bad political institiutions can completely destroy a country:
Prosperity is all about political institutions and politics
And here is an article about how California is worse than all the other states:
Breaking Bad: CA vs. the Other States Rev. 4/20/12
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Coastal Commission to me: drop dead
May 15th, 2012
After waiting 10 months since the staff at the California Coastal Commission had my land use permits appealed to the Commission I finally have something in writing describing what they don’t like about my house. It came in the form of an email reply to an email of Dave Watson summarizing a conversation.First, here is Dave’s email to Daniel Robinson (of the Coastal Commission) summarizing their phone conversation:
Dave Watson’s summary of discussion email.
The Daniel Robinson emailed back with his summary of the conversation – which finally revealed what the Coastal Commission staff objects to about my house:
And then Dave emailed back to Daniel after talking to me:
So after waiting nearly a year, Daniel Robinson, who is a low level bureaucrat with the California Coastal Commission, and who had never even been to the house site, and who had never even met me or my wife, has told me that he doesn’t like my front yard, he thinks the retaining walls are too big, he thinks my house is too big, and that he doesn’t like the overall design of my house. Daniel thinks that my house should look more like a farm house, and also that people walking around in the city of Pismo Beach will be offended by the mere sight of my house (so called “visual impact”). And if my house design doesn’t please him then he will recommend to the full Coastal Commission that they deny my permits. Since I will only get 3 minutes to defend my house in front of the Coastal Commission I would then probably lose that permit appeal vote and I will be unable to build my house at all, and I will lose about $3 million, and will have wasted years of my life.
All of this comes nearly two years after I turned in my application for a minor use permit from the SLO County Planning Dept. The visual impact from Pismo Beach is the one that makes me the maddest – if Daniel had ever actually been to the site he would have noticed that people walking in Pismo Beach would have to look past a 9,000 sq. ft. pink Persian palace in order to (possibly) see one small corner of my house.
Of course Daniel doesn’t actually say what he would approve. For example, he objects to an 8′ retaining wall – so would a 7′ retaining wall be OK? Or a 6′ retaining wall? What part of the building code is he looking at that let’s him dictate the size of a retaining wall? What exactly could I possibly do to get approval? Daniel doesn’t say.
The bottom line is that my Coastal Commission hearing will be delayed for at least another month – maybe in July 2012 – and then as that date gets closer Daniel may let me know what exactly it will take for him to approve of my house.
So don’t believe anybody who tells you that this is a free country. In California men can marry men, and women can marry women, but low level bureaucrats decide what your house and yard will look like – if they let you build a house at all.
My advice to other people interested in building a house – Washinton State is nice. Texas is nice. Parts of Nevada are very nice. But California, and especially SLO County, is just not worth the effort. Build your house where you are wanted – not where they hate you.
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The SLO County Health Dept says the Water Well is OK for Domestic Use
May 23rd, 2012
Daniel Robinson of the California Coastal Commission is really fixated on making me use the water well instead of CSA-12 for domestic water for my house. This meant that Dave Watson had to contact the SLO County Health Dept. and get their OK that the water quality and quantity is fine for me to use. Which it is.
McCarthy Residence Water Well Review
Just more pointless bureaucratic bullshit.
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Coastal Commission staff – It’s Vacation Time!
May 29th, 2012
Now it turns out that my permit appeal in front of the Coastal Commission won’t happen in June because of conflicts with the vacation schedule of the Coastal Commission staff. Here is the email from Dan Carl:What is a couple of months more delay for me compared to the taxpayer paid vacation time for Daniel Robinson! It is just amazing to me that Dan Carl doesn’t even understand how offensive his email is. He is utterly clueless to why I would be so angry about his email.
It has now been nearly a year since the Coastal Commission staff caused my permit to be appealed to the Coastal Commission. The staff person that has been assigned my permit appeal has never even visited the site – and now my permit appeal has to delayed because of his vacation schedule! There is no way that I could make this stuff up.
Here is another article outlining why California is doomed:
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