Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2002 19:29:14 -0800
Reply-To: California CoastWatcher Newsletter
CALIFORNIA COASTWATCHER NOVEMBER 2002CoastWatcher is a publication of Sierra Club's California Coastal Program. CoastWatcher is a monthly Internet magazine covering news of the coast and proceedings of the California Coastal Commission. The Commission met in San Diego County from November 5-8, 2002. For the complete CoastWatcher inventory, and for subscription information, check out http://diablo.sierraclub.org/archives/calif-coastwatcher.html. Also visit the web page of the California Coastal Commission at http://www.coastal.ca.gov/web/index.html. To examine the conservation voting records of the entire 12-member California Coastal Commission over the last two years check out Sierra Club and the League for Coastal Protection's annual voting analysis at http://www.sierraclub.org/ca/coasts/2000_votingchart.pdf and http://www.sierraclub.org/ca/coasts/2001_votingchart.pdf Want to join Sierra Club's Great Coastal Places Campaign? Interested in seeing more about threats to the coast and opportunities for protection? Go to http://sierraclub.org/ca/coasts/. QUOTES: "I really don't know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it's because in addition to the fact that the sea changes, and the light changes, and ships change, it's because we all came from the sea." -John F Kennedy, 1962 "What we do on the California Coastal Commission is seek to protect the rights of all the citizens of California to the natural resources of the state that belong to all of us." -Commissioner Chris Desser, September 13, 2002. "The coast of California is the coast of America. There's so little of it, and so much pressure on it from well-backed individuals and corporations. It's very important to push back as hard as possible to keep it the way it is." -Gabrielle Adelman, founder of www.californiacoastline.org, a photographic survey of the California coast. "In ten years you will be able to go to the web as an individual and click on a region, a place, a beach, an island, a forest, a delta, a river, a trailhead..Then you'll be able to hit a button .and see the change over time." -Paul Hawken, author, ecologist and businessman, on the future of eco-webbing. STATISTICS: During the first week that www.californiacoastline.org was online approximately 1000 visitors were recorded. By the second week 5,000 people had perused the site. By the third week over 150,000 visitors had been to the website and visitation had increased to 20,000 per day. As of November 23, 2002, over 325,000 visits to the site had been recorded. More than 4,000 tons of sand are hauled by train each week from Baja California to San Diego. -San Diego Union-Tribune, October 31, 2002. Production of wine grapes accounts for half of all pesticides deployed in Mendocino County. The chemical most often applied is Sulfur. -California Department of Pesticide Regulation. Nine days after the breakup of the oil tanker Prestige, over 200 miles of Spanish coastline has been coated in oil. So far, only 20% of the 20-million gallon cargo has escaped the ship, which was sunk 150-miles offshore in deep water. It may or may not keep leaking. CONTENTS: 1. ROUTINE ELECTION OF COMMISSION OFFICERS BECOMES POLITICIZED 2. COMMISSION AGAIN APPROVES MASSIVE WETLANDS DESTRUCTION AT GOLETA SLOUGH 3. PELICAN POINT HOMEOWNERS LOBBY FOR A SEAWALL IN WETLANDS TO ENLARGE THEIR BACKYARD 4. CONTINUOUS COASTAL TRAIL IN CALIFORNIA CREEPS TOWARD CREATION 5. SAND MINING STRIPS BAJA BEACHES 6. US CONGRESS PASSES COASTAL WILDERNESS BILL 7. CLEAN WATER AND COASTAL PROTECTION BOND 2002 (PROPOSITION 50) PASSES! 8. WELCOME DONALD TRUMP TO CALIFORNIA 1. ROUTINE ELECTION OF COMMISSION OFFICERS BECOMES POLITICIZED While State and Federal elections went off relatively well this month, the same cannot be said for election of officers of the California Coastal Commission. As reported in the San Diego Union Tribune and Associated Press, California Resources Secretary Mary Nichols was contacting Coastal Commission members and urging them to delay re-election of Commission Chair Sara Wan. Secretary Nichols called the Commission "deeply divided" and urged commissioners to delay election of officers because newly re-elected Governor Gray Davis plans changes to the Commission. This comes on the heels of Davis' delay in reappointing his most effective Coastal Commission member, Chris Desser. Hundreds of Californians have called, emailed and sent letters to Davis urging Desser's reappointment. Meanwhile, the governor has reappointed his other three commission members, including pro-development commissioners Greg Hart and Cynthia McClain-Hill. Underlying the wrangling over the commission's election of officers is the fact that in her three years of service, Commission Chair Sara Wan has allowed the public equal participation in commission development decisions. She has tried to create a level playing field, where the public gets the same time allotments as developers. It hasn't always been that way. Generally, the Commission Chair makes the rules and often, public participation has been virtually nonexistent. It should not be surprising that developers, who are used to controlling public hearings, are upset about Wan's administration of the commission. With many large-scale coastal developments due to be debated by the commission over the next year (ex: Arco's 15-year effort to build a luxury golf course along a mile of oceanfront habitat on the Naples Ranch in Santa Barbara is set for December 11), developers are jumping at the chance to oust Wan. On November 7th 2002, the Commission voted 7-5 to postpone the election of officers until its December meeting in San Francisco. Commissioners Dettloff, Reilly, Nava, Desser and Wan voted to re-elect Wan as Chair. Commissioners Peters, Woolley, Kruer, McClain-Hill, Potter, Hart and Burke voted to delay the election. Of the vote, Commissioner Shirley Dettloff stated, "I am appalled by the action this commission just took. To say it wasn't influenced by outside forces is a sham." Publicly, Commissioners Dave Potter and Cynthia McClain-Hill claimed at first that the postponement was nothing more than a routine delay. Yet almost simultaneously they announced a campaign to elect Potter as chair. While Potter has since stated in the Monterey Herald that he resents being characterized as a pro-development vote on the Commission, the fact is that Potter, along with Hart and McClain-Hill, remain at the bottom of the Commission's conservation voting scorecard. Potter, in defense of his campaign to be Commission Chair says, "I've never seen the Commission so dysfunctional..it's gotten unnecessarily ugly." McClain-Hill adds that she finds Wan's vocal support for the coast "patently offensive to me." (San Diego Union-Tribune, November 7, 2002). Potter adds, "There's nothing in the weeds here except the natural succession of leadership." (Associated Press, November 8, 2002). Potter's quote may sound good, but it isn't correct. In fact, Commission Chairs have traditionally served until they leave the commission. Over the last fifteen years only one Commission Chair has been removed by a vote of the commission, and that was Republican Lou Calcagno when Democrats regained control of the commission back in 1997. In reality, Wan is being punished for her democratic principles in even scheduling an election of officers. At least two Chairs in the last 15 years (Tom Gywn and Carl Williams) served for years without any election at all. Potter and McClain-Hill also ignore that the fact that local elected officials have not served as Commission Chair for 15 years for good reason. Potter, like other local officials, is required to miss at least one day of the commission meeting every single month because he must attend Monterey Board of Supervisors meetings. It has proved to be much more functional to have citizen members of the commission serve as Chair since they can actually attend the whole meeting. Last, the efforts of Potter and McClain-Hill to paint Wan as being "too environmental" are nonsense. Wan's long history of public interest coastal protection work should be viewed as an asset. The commission still approves approximately 1,000 new developments every single year. While Wan has worked hard to try to reduce the senseless damage of the coast, development of it still races ahead. Most people believe the commission exsists to protect the coast, not try to develop it faster. Californians are often astonished to learn that developers even serve on the commission. Based upon their voting records, when McClain-Hill says that Potter "would be a more effective chair because he is more even-handed," what McClain-Hill really means is that she wants Potter for Chair because he, like her, is a pro-development vote on the Commission (quote from Associated Press, November 8, 2002). An intense lobbying campaign is now underway. Based upon the conservation voting scores of the various players, one would have to be pretty naïve to believe that this was anything other than a developer driven exercise to win control of the commission. Potter, McClain-Hill and Hart support Potter for Chair because all three have pro-development voting records. Wan is the subject of a removal campaign because developers resent her desire to protect the coast. Wan is being cast as an extremist because she supports the coast. The Chair is an important piece in the coastal protection puzzle because the Chair makes the rules regarding the commission's agenda and how meetings are to be structured. For example, a chair that structures meetings to reduce public participation would assist developers in a big way. And given Commissioner Desser's support for an independent and balanced Commission, it is especially worrisome that Davis has not made her re-appointment. If Governor Davis wants to create an environmental legacy in his second term, a good place to start is with the Coastal Commission. Given the State's budget situation, there will be few initiatives that require new funds over the next year. Keeping the commission in a strong position to protect coastal resources does not cost the State anything. The Governor can help maintain a balanced commission by re-appointing Chris Desser. And even if he continues to refuse to remove the problematic McClain-Hill and Hart, the Governor could at least appoint good alternate commissioners for them (both McClain-Hill and Hart lack alternates). Contents 2. COMMISSION AGAIN APPROVES MASSIVE WETLANDS DESTRUCTION AT GOLETA SLOUGH Characterized as "minor text amendments" the changes to Goleta Slough are anything but. On November 5th, the City of Santa Barbara won approval, again, to fill over 13-acres of wetlands in the Goleta Slough in order to pave the way for a massive, unnecessary expansion of the Santa Barbara airport. For years the City of Santa Barbara has been engaged in one of the worst wetlands destruction efforts in California history, having reduced the once enormous Goleta Slough to a couple of tiny creeks alongside an airport. For a telling aerial photo, go to www.californiacoastline.org, and type in #3156 as the picture number. Allowing an airport in a wetland, and the "baggage" that comes along with it, such as expansion, has come at a horrific price. Scientists, according to the Santa Barbara ChannelKeeper, recorded significant sustained populations of species such as black-tailed jackrabbit, gray fox, badger, long-tailed weasel, spotted skunk, American bittern, California quail, greater roadrunner, Western screech-owl, short-eared owl, horned lark, white-breasted nuthatch, yellow warbler, Wilson's warbler, tri-colored blackbird, arboreal salamander, red-legged frog and the two-striped garter snake as recently as 1983 in the Goleta Slough. The slough was also one of the coasts most productive fisheries, yielding significant numbers of halibut and flounder. Today, less than 20 years later, none of these species is found in significant numbers in the Goleta Slough. Blame for the entire carnage can be placed squarely on the shoulders of the City of Santa Barbara. They have embarked on a campaign with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to extinguish birds and wildlife at the Slough because they believe that nature is a threat to airplane safety. As part of their plan, they have enlarged the airport, destroyed the wetlands, and allowed sediments to plug the mouth of the estuary at Goleta Beach in order to strangle the wetlands. And now Santa Barbara proposes to expand the airport yet again. Another 13-acres of wetlands in the already devastated Goleta Slough will be filled. And the Coastal Commission has allowed this. Fortunately, the newly established City of Goleta, which surrounds the airport, is aggressively trying to prevent further degradation of the Slough. They have joined forces with the Santa Barbara ChannelKeeper in a lawsuit to protect the remaining wetlands from further destruction. Given that the Coastal Act explicitly prohibits the wetlands destruction sought by Santa Barbara Airport, there is a good chance the project will be rejected in court. Stay tuned. Contents 3. PELICAN POINT HOMEOWNERS LOBBY FOR A SEAWALL IN WETLANDS TO ENLARGE THEIR BACKYARD Pelican Point is a narrow sandy spit at the mouth and confluence of the Pajaro River and Watsonville Slough on the Monterey Bay in Monterey County (for a picture, go to www.californiacoastline.org, and type in picture #6889). From an aerial photograph one can see a luxury, gated, private beachfront condominium complex built before passage of the Coastal Act. The condos sit right on the sand, sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean and the Pajaro River. One can also see the illegal, massive riprap seawall constructed in several phases over the years by the condo owners. There is no public access allowed to the beach despite the fact that the condo complex is entirely surrounded by Zmudowski State Beach (the public can and does use kayaks to visit). Not surprisingly, it turns out that these condos should never have been built in such a sensitive environment, and so close to the ocean. Now the homeowners worry about the fact that the narrow sandy strip on which they dwell is about to be reclaimed by the sea. Instead of retreating, the homeowners want to fight to protect their buildings, no matter what the cost to nature. So they are proposing a 715-ft long driven sheet-pile metal wall on the Pajaro River-Watsonville Slough side of their complex. In effect, they propose to channelize the river. The proposed sheet pile wall is located partially within a wetland and entirely within an environmentally sensitive habitat area (ESHA). The wall would also be located within a significant public recreation and viewshed area. Meanwhile, the majority of the project site has been designated as a Natural Preserve within the Zmudowski State Beach along the rivermouth and sand spit. Incredibly, the homeowners are asking that the project be constructed on public land. Rather than just deny the inappropriate request, staff from the Coastal Commission and State Parks researched and proposed another solution. They determined that the wall could be built mostly on the condo complex lands. State Parks then recommended that the Commission approve an alternative design, to move the wall, to the maximum extent feasible, off the public land. But the condo owners objected. They want the wall on the public land because it will provide for larger back and side yard areas! Having the wall on the public's land will also increase their usable private property - be it at the expense of the public and the natural habitat is supports! Who would support such a taking of public property? Well Assemblymember Fred Keeley for one. He has already written two letters in support of the homeowners. And now it looks as though State Parks, a state agency entirely under the control of Governor Davis, is reversing course. They have sought delay of the Commission hearing on the project twice in order to "consult" with the homeowners. These private Sacramento deliberations involve lobbyists hired by the homeowners and State Parks representatives. No members of the public have attended. Stay tuned as the project may well come before the Commission at its next meeting in San Francisco in December. At stake is a vital principle: shall public property be protected or just given away to wealthy coastside homeowners? From Sierra Club's view, it is critically important that coastal commissioners not subvert public resources merely to allow coastside homeowners to have larger backyards. Contents 4. CONTINUOUS COASTAL TRAIL IN CALIFORNIA CREEPS TOWARD CREATION In 2000 the White House designated the California Coastal Trail from Oregon to Mexico as a Millennium Legacy Trail. Assembly Resolution No. 20, as passed by the California Legislature in 2001, states "the Legislature hereby declares that the California Coastal Trail is an official state trail and urges the California Coastal Commission and the State Coastal Conservancy to work collaboratively on the completion of the trail.." SB908, passed by the California Legislature and signed into law by Governor Davis in 2001, requires that the California Coastal Trail be developed. It also requires the Coastal Conservancy to develop a plan to complete the trail by January 31, 2003. The Coastal Conservancy is currently working on that plan. The trail, various maps, alternatives, and potential routes will be discussed by the Conservancy Board of Directors in Oakland on Wednesday, December 4, 2002. The public is encouraged to attend the meeting and participate in this important, historic discussion. Hopefully, the Conservancy will be publishing its maps and deliberations on its website. For now, you can find out more about the meeting and the Coastal Conservancy at http://www.coastalconservancy.ca.gov/index.htm. Contents 5. SAND MINING STRIPS BAJA BEACHES Financial News - Baja sandbox is being emptied into the U.S. Date: 11/03/2002 Baja sandbox is being emptied into the U.S. Extensive mining takes toll on the environment By Sandra Dibble UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER October 31, 2002 TECATE- The fine, porous sand that once covered the Cañon Bill riverbed has been hauled away, probably to California. Left behind is a layer of dried silt and crumbling river banks that rise more than 20 feet. Spurred by the demand for concrete and asphalt in San Diego County in the last three years, legal and illegal sand-mining operations have multiplied in Baja California's riverbeds, posing a significant environmental threat to the region. The riverbeds are crucial plant and animal habitats, and the sandy soils act as natural filters for aquifers that supply fresh water to the arid Baja California region. When the sand is stripped away, there's an increased risk of flooding downstream and harm to the aquifer. More than 4,000 tons of sand is hauled by train across the border each week from Tecate to Campo. Even more is shipped by barge: Ensenada port officials report that 650,000 tons of sand and gravel was exported to San Diego and Long Beach in the first nine months of the year. Mexico's federal government, which has jurisdiction over the country's riverbeds, is struggling to get a grip on this industry that has flourished with little supervision. "It's like a cancer. One day (the illegal sand-mining operations) are here, the next day they're in another streambed," said Alejandro Alvarez Cárdenas, chief of the Baja California office of Profepa, Mexico's federal environmental watchdog agency. "We all need sand, but the problem is how it's being done." Mexican environmental officials say they lack the scientific knowledge and legal tools to oversee the rush to mine the state's sand. "We need regulations that are strong, concise and don't bend," Alvarez said. Mexican newspapers have reported that some of Baja California's sand is being used to replenish beaches in Hawaii and Florida, but Mexican government officials said they have no evidence of that. Kim Sterrett, program manager for California's public beach restoration program, said Mexican sand isn't used in any of the state's restoration projects. However, Mexican sand is being used by the construction industry in the United States. Ocean sand is too salty to be used in concrete and asphalt, so builders turn to sand from riverbeds. Sand mining is tightly regulated in the United States, however, and the construction industry has had to look elsewhere. "There's plenty of sand in San Diego County, but it's not available for use because of environmental concerns," said Arnold Veldcamp, corporate secretary for Superior Ready Mix Concrete in Escondido. More than a dozen federal, state and local agencies can block a U.S. sand-mining operation, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and regional water boards. Superior Ready Mix buys its sand from Carrizo Gorge Aggregates, a subsidiary of the Carrizo Gorge Railway, which hauls Baja California sand from Tecate to Campo.Carrizo Gorge got into the sand business about two years ago, purchasing sand from a supplier in the Las Palmas Valley about 20 miles south of the border. "Not one grain of sand is (shipped) unless it has gone through the government agencies," said Benny Wright, president of Carrizo Gorge Aggregates. Last week, top federal environmental officials in Mexico City vowed to step up their vigilance in Baja California by sending Federal Preventive Police on surveillance flights to find clandestine operators. Authorities said they won't simply impose fines and revoke licenses: They'll also seize the machinery used by the illegal sand-mining businesses. Nearly half the sand that is legally excavated in Mexico is mined in Baja California, according to Mexico's National Water Commission, which issues sand-mining permits. Illicit operations, however, could make that proportion far greater. According to one estimate, as much as 2 million tons of sand is being excavated, both legally and illegally, each year in Baja California. The largest export operation, Petreos del Pacifico, began excavating sand outside Ensenada in early 1999 with a license. In December 2001, the Mexican firm formed a joint venture with Hanson Aggregates, an international building materials company based in London. Roberto Curiel, Petreos del Pacifico's chief financial officer, said his firm exported about 350,000 tons of construction sand last year to San Diego. He said it was a blend of natural river sands mined at Ojos Negros, a small community east of Ensenada, and sand manufactured at a quarry outside Ensenada. When Mexican environmental officials temporarily shut down most of Baja California's sand-mining operations earlier this year, the Petreos operation was closed for about two weeks, he said. It reopened after an environmental review. "We are all for regulation of the industry," Curiel said. "The permits should be granted to people or companies that have the infrastructure or abilities to mine sand in an environmentally friendly way." Alvarez of Profepa said nearly 90 percent of 69 Baja California sand-mining operations inspected by his office since August 2001 had licenses, but few had submitted the legally required environmental impact statements. In most cases, Álvarez said, the operators hadn't been told they needed the reviews. Today, 16 sand businesses have reopened after reviews by Mexico's environmental ministry, or Semarnat. However, Carlos de la Parra, the top official in Baja California for Semarnat, said most are being allowed to mine only 10 percent of what they are requesting. De la Parra said the government needs scientific studies on the effect of mining on the state's riverbeds. "We don't know how fast the sand is going to recover," he said. "At this time we're discussing how to manage the problem. It's really gotten to be a concern at the highest levels." In Tecate, Cañon Bill, which is about a mile from the U.S.-Mexico border, stands as a cautionary tale for what can go wrong when authorities don't pay attention. Mexico's National Water Commission originally issued an excavation permit for 3 feet, "but people kept digging and digging," said José Alfredo Angulo Ibarra, the city's director of ecology. Federal investigators are still trying to determine who is responsible for the devastation and believe the lot's owner is hiding across the border, Angulo said. Today, the sand that filtered the water running down the streambed is gone. "All this is affecting the ecosystem," Angulo said, as the dried silt crunched beneath his feet. "We want whoever did this to restore the site." Contents 6. US CONGRESS PASSES COASTAL WILDERNESS BILL Jack Ellwanger of the Pelican Network has passed along the following good news: Congress has passed Sam Farr's bill to add 57,000 acres in Monterey County to wilderness designation! The Big Sur Wilderness Conservation Act of 2002 includes 37,000 acres in the Ventana Wilderness of the Los Padres National Forest. Land in the Silver Peak Wilderness, southwest of Ft. Hunter-Liggett, and the Pinnacles National Monument comprise the other 20,000 acres designated in the bill. With the National Monument status for most of the offshore islands in Monterey County, which was also achieved through Congress by Farr, the new wilderness protections will cover almost all the Northern Los Padres National Forest and the Big Sur Coastal Zone. Nine State Parks, and two University of California research reserves are in the zone, also. This presents unique opportunities for research of both terrestrial and marine environments in one of our planet's rarest areas. The Big Sur Wilderness Conservation Act is a significant accomplishment. Sam is a real hero for getting this done. Moreover, he is enriching a fine legacy. Friends of his father, Fred Farr, should be thought of at this time, too. Margaret Owings, for example, who started Friends of the Sea Otter and also Friends of the Mountain Lion, brought the need for protecting this area to the county's, the state's and the world's attention several decades ago. With Fred Farr, who was then a California State Senator - carrying the bill, Owings persuaded the California Legislature to create the California State Sea Otter Game Refuge, a landmark act. With her husband, Nathaniel, she led the fight for a land use plan for Big Sur that prohibited billboards preserved views and rural character for the region. The foresight and perseverance of these conservation pioneers set the stage for the bold citizens' initiative to create the California Coastal Act, and for Rep. Leon Panetta's work in creating the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. With the passage of this Wilderness legislation, it is an appropriate occasion to salute the work of the Ventana Wilderness Alliance (VWA), too. This group arose from hikers who wanted to protect the Northern Santa Lucias, organized on the Internet, rallying conservationists from many places who care about this unique coastal mountain range. The VWA is now a significant force for conservation in our region. http://www.ventanawild.org. VWA worked with Sam from the beginning on this bill. Now let's hope the Senate can pass the bill. PelicanNetwork (http://www.pelicannetwork.net) Contents 7. CLEAN WATER AND COASTAL PROTECTION BOND 2002 (PROPOSITION 50) PASSES! Proposition 50, the Clean Water and Coastal Protection Bond 2002, was enacted by California voters on November 4th. What does it mean? To start, Proposition 50 allocates $950 million dollars to purchase coastal private property, much of which can be developed under existing law. Of that, $120 million goes to the State Conservancy and $40 million to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy in order to acquire, protect and restore coastal rivers, wetlands and watershed lands. Another $20 million is dedicated to the San Francisco Bay. The remaining $750 million is going to the California Wildlife Conservation Board for acquisition, protection and restoration of coastal rivers, wetlands and watershed areas throughout California. Hopefully this bond will lay to rest development efforts at Bolsa Chica, Ballona, downtown Malibu and the Hearst property at San Simeon. The voters have shown once again that if politicians and decision-makers will resist the temptation to allow development of these sensitive resource areas, the public will vote to put up the money to buy them. You can check out the Proposition 50 website at http://www.prop50.net/. You can also check out the Wildlife Conservation Board website at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/wcb/. Contents 8. WELCOME DONALD TRUMP TO CALIFORNIA In two stories in one week, the L.A. Times has heralded the arrival of East Coast developer Donald Trump ("The Donald") to the California coast. Apparently The Donald is purchasing the Ocean Trails Golf Course in Palos Verdes, famed for the fact that the course was built on active landslides, which predictably slid into the ocean two years ago. The previous owners went bankrupt trying to rebuild the course, which has cost so far in excess of $60 million dollars. Nonetheless, The Donald sees a good deal in buying the 300-acre course, which includes the rights to build 75 homes. In keeping with the bizarre theme of the course's creation are The Donald's ideas on its future use. Take for example, his announcement that the golf course, once opened, will be made private (it is now public). The Donald claims he will sell 300 memberships at $300,000 each. One of his lawyers ought to inform Donald of what happened when Japanese developers bought the Pebble Beach course in the 1980's and proposed the exact same plan. After the Coastal Commission denied the privatization proposal, the Japanese sold Pebble Beach a year later at a $350 million dollar loss. The Donald also claims that he is going to redesign the course so that every hole faces the ocean and clings to the ocean bluff. No word on how The Donald expects to keep the course from falling into the ocean again. You can read all about The Donald's real estate empire at http://www.trumponline.com/, but you can't communicate with The Donald, or at least not from the website. For Trump, Risks and Riches Are Par for the Course James Flanigan, LA Times November 17 2002 This is a story about how the rich get richer. Donald Trump is buying Ocean Trails in Rancho Palos Verdes, the golf course that attained notoriety three years ago when its 18th hole fell, kerplunk, into the Pacific. That collapse, which was found to be the result of a busted sewer pipe, sent the golf course's developers, Robert and Kenneth Zuckerman, into bankruptcy proceedings. It cost the main lender, Credit Suisse First Boston, most of its $100-million loan. And it stuck a collection of insurance companies with some $61 million in claims payments, some of which the bank is using to rebuild that final hole. In the intervening years, several developers took a look at the golf course with an eye toward buying it at a discount and operating it profitably. No one, though, had the guts to make a bid. "They just couldn't see enough golfers paying enough to make the place work," says Los Angeles developer Robert Lowe, who is about to build a luxury hotel nearby. Nor were these timid shoppers too sure about the stability of the ground -- and for good reason. Ocean Trails, according to Ken Zuckerman, is dotted with what geologists call "ancient slide areas." But Trump, the New York mogul, is stepping in where others feared to tread. "That land is solid," he says with characteristic certainty. "We checked carefully." Trump is paying $27 million for the golf course, which comes with adjacent building lots to accommodate 75 houses. In an area where nearby homes are selling for $1 million to $2 million apiece, the overall price is a bargain -- so much so that Trump can now afford to pump a lot of dough into upgrading the property. "I'm going to put in $30 million more to build the finest course in California," explains Trump, himself a six-handicap golfer. "I'll build elegant holes -- all of them facing the ocean -- and a driving range and practice area." One idea he has is to turn Ocean Trails into a high-end private club, much like he has done with two golf courses in posh Palm Beach, Fla., and New York's opulent Westchester County. At Ocean Trails, he can see charging private club members as much as $300,000 just to join. "Do the numbers," says Trump. "Three hundred members at $300,000 each comes to $90 million." In other words, he might turn a big profit even without building and selling houses along the golf course. Of course, it won't be that simple. Les Evans, the city manager of Rancho Palos Verdes, points out that there are deed restrictions requiring Ocean Trails (which the new owner wants to name Trump National) to be a public course. Changing that, says Evans, would take decisions by the town and the California Coastal Commission, which governs oceanfront property. In the end, Trump may be well advised not to go that route; it took the Zuckermans 10 years to get the necessary approvals to build the original Ocean Trails. Yet even if the course is opened to the public, Trump still seems to have a highly profitable venture on his hands. As he has so many times before, Trump has spotted a trend to tap. "Luxury golf is a growth industry," says Richard F. Davis, an expert in resorts law and finance in the Los Angeles offices of the firm Greenberg Traurig. Pebble Beach, the famed public course in Northern California, is getting $175 to $200 for a round of golf and has a six-month waiting list to play. And Pelican Hills, a public course near Newport Beach, is snaring $185 to $200 a round. Those kinds of numbers add up fast. "A top-class public course in the Los Angeles market could be a big winner," Davis says. Trump certainly doesn't win them all. Like all builders, the 56-year-old has had his rocky moments. A decade ago he put one of his casinos, the Taj Mahal, into bankruptcy proceedings and had to persuade lenders to keep his principal company afloat. And early this year Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts Inc. faced a threat of default on massive debts. But a recovery in the gambling sector has improved Trump Hotels' fortunes. And Trump's development company is finishing a big apartment structure on New York's Park Avenue and 7,000 housing units overlooking the Hudson River on Manhattan's West Side. "I'm the largest developer in New York City," the billionaire says proudly. And that's a key to understanding the Ocean Trails deal: Trump is thinking grandly, not narrowly. "I'll build better than Pebble Beach," he vows. The son of an apartment house developer, whose own son has entered the business, Trump understands above all the value of land -- especially when it includes a view. With Ocean Trails, he will own 300 acres on the Pacific Ocean. "It's almost impossible to think of such an opportunity," he says. There is no telling how Trump's brash style will suit the Palos Verdes Peninsula, where finicky residents have made life tough for developers, including one who went bust trying to revive the former Marineland aquarium site where Lowe Enterprises Inc. is building its hotel complex. Yet Trump could be just what the area, which suffered a decline in its tax base during the last recession, is looking for. "I think he'll give the community cachet," says Ray Mathys, a former mayor of Rancho Palos Verdes. Trump says he intends to own the golf course for the long term, and adds that financing his dreams there won't be a problem. "I may take a first mortgage but I'm going to own it," he says. "I'm a rich guy." And, it would seem, getting more so all the time. November 10, 2002 LOS ANGELES TIMES Buyer Vows to Trump Pebble Beach Flamboyant New York developer details big plans for course in Rancho Palos Verdes. By Stephanie Chavez, Times Staff Writer Donald Trump rode into the ocean-view enclave of Rancho Palos Verdes in a black stretch limousine Saturday and told a roomful of residents what's in store for their city's most prized piece of property if he gets his way. First, he said, forget about your "very good" but basically uninspiring Ocean Trails Golf Club course, the one whose 18th hole slid into the Pacific Ocean a few years back, eventually bankrupting the last developer. The new golf course on which he intends to close escrow in two weeks could become the "Trump National Golf Club, Rancho Palos Verdes." Second, watch out Pebble Beach, he said. You members of the Riviera and Los Angeles country clubs? You won't be able to match the beauty and challenge of the new Trump golf club. "Look, no course in L.A. has the Pacific Ocean," Trump said. "No course in L.A. will even be able to compete." If that's not enough, he boldly vowed to outdo the famous ocean-side eighth hole at Pebble Beach by reconfiguring an existing Ocean Trails hole so that it is perched on the fringe of a bluff. Trump's pitch is the latest in a nearly 10-year development saga for 261 spectacular acres on Palos Verdes Peninsula. Residents fought and won 65 acres of open space, 17 acres of parkland and 10 miles of public trails as part of an agreement that allowed the former developers, Kenneth and Robert Zuckerman, to build the golf course and 75 luxury homes. But weeks before their course was to open in June 1999, a chunk of land fell into the ocean, because of sewer pipe leakage. The Zuckermans filed for bankruptcy protection, after which the lender called in its loan and took control of the course last May. Word of Trump's impending purchase became public in August, but details of his plan were not disclosed until Saturday. Trump said he wants to build only about 55 luxury homes, not the 75 that had been approved for the site, and to add a driving range. He also wants to close the course to the public and make it an exclusive, pricey, private country club. So, residents and city council members, the decision is up to you, he said. "Are we going to have a superlative course, a great course, a course to rival Pebble Beach with a world-class driving range?" Their answer was straight out of a city code book. Any substantial changes to the original plan would "have to come to the full council to be judged," said City Councilman Larry Clark, who added that the California Coastal Commission would also have to approve any changes, such as tinkering with the placement of holes near sensitive coastal bluffs. Trump's pitch to a standing-room-only crowd at the Ocean Trails ballroom appeared to be well received. Just don't mess with our public space, warned several community leaders. And, said one woman, "big names don't impress us" in Rancho Palos Verdes, which is one of the most affluent ZIP Codes in the county, with a median home price of more than $720,000. Not to be outdone by money talk, Trump made sure to tell residents that this project " is a small deal for me," like a fun, "weekend job," on which he said he intends to spend in excess of $45 million. The New Yorker said he wants to build himself an ocean-view home on the land and work with officials of Loews Hotels, who have plans for a nearby resort. He met with a prominent Los Angeles real estate figure, John Cushman, last week in New York to discuss the possibility of building a residential high-rise elsewhere in town. "I would not be surprised if I came to Los Angeles and built Trump Tower," he said. 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