Fire chief: Mistakes were made

There is something wrong a law that requires an environmental review but doesn't count the people who live in a place as part of the environment.

"On March 14 board President Peter Carpenter, in an email to the chief and the district's legal counsel, suggested sending Menlo Park a "Notice of Decision to Appraise," the first step in acquiring a property, whether by eminent domain or a mutual sales agreement."

I applaud Peter for taking the "eminent domain" route to acquire property from the City of Menlo Park for an MPFD fire station.

A similar action was suggested by the late Dave Collins when he and I were proposing acquisition of some San Francisco Watershed land to create the golf courses promised in a 1969 "Grant of Scenic and Recreation Easement" entered into in exchange for the rerouting of I280. That re-routing added one mile to the daily commute of many peninsula residents. Peninsula residents have never been compensated for the added costs of the re-routing.

Who was responsible? Who signed the letter that went out to residents? Who was accountable? THE CHIEF.

I should have reviewed the letters before they were signed.

My responsibility, my failure - PERIOD.

Perhaps it's time for some community minded leaders on the Fire District Board?

I applaud Peter's willingness to take responsibility for this debacle. But the reality is that despite Peter's lofty title, the "Board President" is a part-time, volunteer position.

The fault lies with the absurdly myopic Fire District brass: the Chief, Deputy Chief, or whoever else on the District's staff works on capital planning and projects. If the District is even contemplating the use of eminent domain on residential property, the first step is to contact the property owner and explain the process in a transparent, non-confrontational way, i.e. "the Fire District is in the early stages of looking at options for expanding its fire station, and one of those options involves trying to buy your house from you."

And no, CEQA does not require the District to send out a"Notice of Appraisal" before contacting the property owner in the manner I suggested above.

Government Code section 7267.1(b) provides in pertinent part: “Real property shall be appraised before the initiation of negotiations, and the owner, or the owner’s designated representative, shall be given an opportunity to accompany the appraiser during his or her inspection of the property.” A Notice of Decision to Appraise is the means by which the owner is afforded the opportunity to accompany the appraiser during the property inspection. So, the Notice is the first step in effort to acquire property where the public entity initiates negotiations, "

Seems to me that this Fire Board is making an effort, and succeeding so far, in pissing off every city within their district. They certainly have Atherton taken care of and Belle Haven(though not a city itself) now it looks like they are setting sights on Menlo Park. I wonder who is next...

This is about as good as it gets, Thank You Peter

Peter Carpenter is a registered user.
I should have reviewed the letters before they were signed.

My responsibility, my failure - PERIOD.