Letter to City Council
1 Comment// Posted in Uncategorized by Lisa on 10.22.09.
October 13, 2009
Dear Honorable Council Members:
To quote President Ronald Reagan, ”Well there you go again.”
This time we will try to make our message as concise as possible. We are assuming, of course, that you have read thoroughly all the previous correspondence from the Downtown Business Association and its members. We emphasize, as previously stated in our correspondence, “BayWalk is the keystone of the remarkable downtown renaissance, and now could be the catalyst to the demise of our downtown. The Downtown Business Association believes that in 2009 our Council should be good caretakers and look to the future of our beautiful city.” Please, put aside politics and self-interest and do what is right for the people, small business, the downtown work force, and the stature of our community.
As witnessed in last week’s Council session, it appears you are taking your responsibilities to heart. The Downtown Business Association’s observations are as follows:
1) This is not a First Amendment issue. It has been addressed by the city’s legal staff and
recognized by the majority of the Council that this is not the case. There is ample room for
for demonstration and protest in the area just across the street without infringing on the First
Amendment.
2) Let’s refer to business closures within and outside of BayWalk, as the SPILL OVER EFFECT.
As mentioned in last week’s meeting, many businesses have had to fold, such as Studio
Encanto, Green and Yellow Basket, Queen Emerald, Gratzzi’s, Pacific Wave and numerous
others. Having talked to many of these business owners, not one, with the exception of
Gratzzi’s would say their closure had anything to do with the six feet in front of their
business that the Council is addressing. However, the BayWalk situation had a major
and direct influence on their closures. (SPILL OVER EFFECT) In fact, there is probably
not one business in this city, other than BayWalk, that could claim six feet could make
or break their business. This is simply because no other business in any given block
has the audience to warrant a demonstration or protest. The SPILL OVER EFFECT
will ripple from BayWalk through Grand Central, 4th & MLK, and Midtown. Conversely, in a
positive vein, if you vote for the sidewalk vacation, the SPILL OVER EFFECT from BayWalk
will stimulate business throughout the city and once again create the traffic, revenue, and
vibrancy that we have been losing.
Page Two
BayWalk Revitalization
3) As this issue relates to the new Central Avenue Trolley, let’s once again talk about the
SPILL OVER EFFECT. If BayWalk is shuttered – and, mark our words, it will be if this is
not resolved in a positive manner — there will be no one to ride it into the Grand Central
District. Consequently, you may very well be destroying everything that Grand Central has
worked for over the last several years.
4) From personal knowledge, we can unequivocally state that future investment in our
downtown core will dry up since, with such lack of vision, there will be no
interest in investing in the downtown core. We know of two projects in the last
two weeks that have backed out precisely because of the BayWalk dilemma.
For the sake of all of our futures, let’s get off this carousel and do the right thing. LET BAYWALK ONCE AGAIN BE THE CATALYST THAT HELPS REJUVENATE OUR CITY.
Most respectfully,
Tom Sexauer
President
Downtown Business Association
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