REPORT FROM THE NO-PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING OF 3/12/07
POLLUTION AND HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS?
After first thanking City employee Don Lamm for helping with the conversion of an industrial complex at 17th and Placentia to industrial condos, a citizen who has a business on the Westside bluffs told the no-Planning Commission that he's heard talk in the community about pollution coming from the bluffs, and he suggested that in order to put such talk to rest, the AQMD should be called to look into the matter.
We believe the City should take him up on this. However, the AQMD is the wrong agency to check on possible problems.
In fact, the State Department of Propeller Beanie Caps might do about as good a job as the AQMD on investigating possible pollution and hazardous chemical emissions from the bluffs.
Here's why. The AQMD apparently does a pretty good job for what it is set up to do, which is to report on tail pipe emissions and auto produced smog. Now, for Linda Dixon and her pals, this means that they look for automobile pollution.
If there are pollution and hazardous chemical problems on the bluffs, they're most likely not caused by auto pollution. Thus, the AQMD is not the right agency to investigate.
Look, this isn't very complicated. Here it is by the numbers:
1. City records tell us that there are approximately 60 acres of industrial buildings on the Westside bluffs.
2. A map tells us that the bluffs and the industrial buildings are between the ocean with its almost constant moist breezes and most of the homes in Costa Mesa.
3. Common sense tells us that chemicals that are used in many industrial businesses on the bluffs evaporate into the air, where the moist ocean breezes pick them up and blow them downwind over most of the homes, schools, and kids in Costa Mesa.
4. Medical science tells us that children are especially at risk of developing cancers and other diseases later on in life, if they are exposed to many dangerous chemicals, because their growing bodies are like sponges that take in many chemicals through their lungs. These chemicals then move into their blood where they are carried throughout their bodies and are sometimes deposited in their bones, internal organs and brains--where they are like time bombs just waiting to cause problems.
Look on the back of any can of paint thinner, paint, solvent, etc. and you'll see warnings that the products contain chemicals known to cause various health problems. Some warn that they are known to cause cancer. Others that they cause nose and lung irritation. Some warn about skin irritation. And, the list of health risks goes on and on. How many gallons of similar chemicals do you think might be used in businesses on the Westside bluffs? Sorry, we don't have the answer. And, we bet the City probably doesn't have an accurate answer either.
But, maybe we have it wrong. Maybe we're just blowing smoke (sorry, we couldn't resist). As we've written before, we really do want to be wrong on this and we would be very happy to learn that our kids aren't in danger. But, we're not going to pretend everything is hunky dory unless we see reports of competent experts proving there is no problem.
Here's the link to the AQMD's website. See for yourself why we don't think this is the right agency to check for possible pollution and hazardous chemicals in the air from the Westside bluffs.
http://www.aqmd.gov/
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IMPROVEMENT SUGGESTION FROM COMMISSION CHAIRMAN DONN HALL
Donn Hall made the good suggestion that the City of Costa Mesa should start improving the appearance of the areas under our overpasses as Irvine has done. The CM PRESS agrees. A small thing, but a step in the right direction to making our city nicer looking.
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CHANGE COMING TO THE SOUTH WEST CORNER OF HARBOR AND HAMILTON
The no-Planning Commission approved a zone change for a developer who has bought several parcels on Harbor and also on Hamilton so that new retail can be built on Harbor (possibly a Walgreens), along with a fast food restaurant, and with 14 new, for sale townhomes behind the retail on Charle. If done right, it could mean a nice improvement for that area.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.
