At issue is the prestigious Pebble Beach Company's desire to obtain an exemption to the current Monterey County's land use plan to build a new 18-hole golf course, driving range, rental cottages and other related amenities and structures on land that would require the clear-cutting of approximately 18,000 trees.

Of course, the company did offer the standard dodge of a land swap: dedicating 1,000 acres of other land to the public in exchange for the 100 acres that required development. A practice perfected in areas controlled by the California Coastal Commission and especially those adjacent ecologically sensitive areas such as those found along the California Coast and in areas like the Santa Monica Mountains and Malibu, California. (An early precursor to the type of pollution credits typified by Al Gore's carbon offset plan.)

California Coastal Commission member Sara Wan, who voted against the proposal, reportedly said, "This is the most egregious example of development attempting to circumvent the Coastal Act that I can remember."

According to a story in the Monterey Herald,

"The proposed development would affect more than 100 acres of undeveloped land in the Del Monte Forest, and environmentalists said it would have a devastating effect on the five remaining stands of old-growth Monterey pines left in the world."

Notables involved in the company which owns 4 other golf courses in the area are said to include Clint Eastwood, Arnold Palmer, Peter "the Great" Ueberroth and others of similar stature. Recently Tiger Woods' name has been bandied about as one of the 130 investors who allegedly paid up to $2 million dollars per unit of ownership.

The statement that

"Ueberroth and other company officials asserted that some development is needed to help Pebble Beach's 130 investors — including Tiger Woods — make a reasonable return, pay for upkeep on the peninsula's famed 17-Mile Drive and meet other expenses."

appeared in a Los Angeles Times' article describing the situation. 

While there are a number of environmental groups involved, and tempers are flaring, you do not see the venomous personal attacks which often characterize environmental attacks on corporations.

Could it be that the environmentalists are wary of attacking those who strongly support their other causes or who would rouse great anger against those that attack well-known icons?

Who knows? And those that really know, aren't talking.

What can YOU do?

Enjoy the ever-shrinking public portion of the California Coastline. The drive is fantastic.

If you are as golfer, play the famed Pebble Beach Course (approximately $500 per round of 18 holes) while you still have a chance.

Protect the environment in a sensible manner.

Avoid supporting and donating to those who morph environmental concerns into political or other controversial causes.

Vote for honest politicians who will appoint honest individuals to the various commissions that are designed to serve the public interest and trust.

-- steve

A reminder from OneCitizenSpeaking.com: a large improvement can result from a small change…

Research (Courtesy of Wikipedia)

Pebble Beach is a small private coastal unincorporated community in Monterey County, California which is best known as a golf destination and also one of the highest profile spots in the US.

Technically, Pebble Beach is not a city at all, but rather a corporation owned by the Pebble Beach Company and managed as a small town. Residents therefore pay homeowners' fees in lieu of city property taxes. The community's post office is named Pebble Beach, but the U.S. Census Bureau regards the land as part of the larger census-designated place of Del Monte Forest. The area is also partly administrated also by the Del Monte Forest Foundation, a non-profit organization designated by Monterey County and the California Coastal Commission, and comprising of a volunteer board of 12 persons interested in preserving the open space within the Del Monte Forest. Except for two representatives of the Pebble Beach Company, all must be property owners and residents of the Forest.

In 1999 the Pebble Beach Company was acquired from Lone Cypress by an investor group led by Clint Eastwood, Arnold Palmer, and Peter Ueberroth. In 2000, the company initiated Measure A, a controversial development proposal. Eastwood appeared in a $1 million advertising campaign urging voters to help save the forest. After the initiative passed in 2001, the public called the campaign "bait and switch" when it became clear that the proposal included cutting down 18,000 trees and developing protected wetlands to make way for a golf course, homes, equestrian center and resort development. In 2006, the plan went before the California Coastal Commission for approval. When it was clear that Measure A would be denied, the Pebble Beach Company pulled it. On June 14, 2007, the plan was submitted again. Commissioner Sara Wan called it "wholesale destruction of the environment," and Measure A was denied in an 8 to 4 vote.