Let The Voice Of The People Be Heard!

I sent this to the Caller/Times on 12/31/05. Don't know if they will print it. I urge all who agree with this viewpoint to send this to everyone you can, or better yet, write your own letters. We can not relent in our efforts or we will lose our beaches.
12-30-05
Dear Editor,
A couple of months before the holiday season began in 2005 The Corpus Christi City Council, at the urgings of Mark Scott, passed a controversial city ordinance closing 4,200 feet of Padre Island beach front in front of the sea wall to vehicular traffic.
Strong opposition to this idea sprang up immediately and though a series of public forums were held where strong opposition was voiced the council passed the ordinance. Most on the council and the Mayor tried to calm fears expressed by opponents of the measure by declaring that no more public beach would be considered for closing to vehicular access.
The opposition, a loose coalition of environmental groups and concerned individuals, immediately went into action drafting a petition to have the issue placed on a ballot so the citizens of Corpus Christi could take such a decision out of the hands of a city council.
The petition drive was well on its way when, about two months later, council member Mark Scott announced that he had made a “mistake” in supporting the original ordinance. He announced that multi-millionaire Austin Developer Paul Shexnailder had plans to build a 500 million dollar resort development in the area between the seawall and the Packery Channel. Scott also made it known that Shexnailder said the whole deal was contingent on the entire beach in that area, which added another 1,800 or so feet to the original proposal, in being declared a “pedestrian friendly” beach, in other words, “no vehicles allowed.”
In order to rectify his big “mistake” Scott declared that the original ban be rescinded and that a new ordinance be drawn up to accommodate the millionaire’s demands. No matter that Shexnailder has yet to produce any plans or solid information about the size and scope of his operation.
Scott, as usual, was able to entice the mayor and enough of the council to go along with his scheme and it was done. This, in effect made the petition drive moot.
At this time, early in the New Year, a new ordinance has not been drafted and the petition drive is stalled until that is done. It will make it very difficult for the petitioners to be successful but the drive will continue as soon as the council acts.
The council, in effect, changed the rules in the middle of the game. Now a war of words is being waged in the local newspaper, on TV, in emails and other correspondence by both sides as they try to convince the public of their respective positions.
Scott and his supporters argue that it was not dishonorable to go back on their positions concerning no more beach to be closed to traffic because they didn’t have all the facts about this “great new economic opportunity” and it was for a chance to create a larger tax base and about 1,500 new jobs. As mentioned, these figures come from Shexnailder and are not substantiated by any documentation or plans.
Once again Scott and his cronies are saying that there is still lots of beach accessible by vehicles. The opponents are repeating the argument they made in the initial argument; give one developer what amounts to a de facto private beach and all developers will want theirs once the precedent has been established.
At stake is a long tradition of beach use that has allowed visitors and local residents to virtually go anywhere they wanted on the beaches and fish, cook, swim or whatever as they carried their necessary equipment with them.
The supporters of this bald beach grab say they need a place safe for
pedestrians and where they wont have to worry about their kids being
run over by cars. They ignore the fact that there now exists many areas
on the beach where either driving is prohibited or the traffic area and
the use area is separated by physical barriers.
They also ignore the safety record on the beaches where
vehicular/pedestrian incidents are extremely rare and where most of
those have been during spring break and involved spring breakers and
law enforcement officers.
Some argue that cars on the beach damage the environment. Not true!
Cars leave a small, if you will, “tireprint,” which soon erodes away with
the wind and the tides. In order to provide beach access, which is
required by the Texas Open Beaches Act, any beaches closed to traffic
will have to provide public parking lots based on a formula drawn up
by the state concerning how many cars to be accommodated per so
many feet of beach closed. Parking lots in the dunes would be
environmentally destructive in the extreme.
It is my opinion, after spending forty years on these beaches that it is
the beaches not the developments that people come here for. We have a
still unique situation that allows more beach access to more people at
more undeveloped beach than can be found anywhere else I know of in
North America. That is a strength and a draw for people. If people want
to park in parking lots and thread their way to the beach, making
several trips to haul their fishing gear, surf boards, ice chests, BBQ pits,
beach chairs, shade and other assorted beach items, leaving their
vehicles vulnerable to thieves they can go to Miami or South Padre
which don't offer what we now enjoy.
Development? On our barrier islands it needs to be more carefully planned than has been the case so far. The development should not encroach on the current natural areas still left, should not be on the beach or in the sand dunes.
Remember this a barrier island and the more development it undergoes the more sand dunes and beaches are degraded, causing rapid erosion and diminished protection for the mainland. The lessons of the last hurricane season appear not to have been learned.
No city council or mayor should be able to make such a momentous decision, affecting a long held traditional way of life. If it is to be done it must be the voice of the people making such a decision.
Thanks
Dicky Neely
4141 Whiteley Dr. #201
Corpus Christi, Tx. 78418
361-937-3768
Muddyboy3@aol.com