We Get Letters: Beginning Sept. 4

Neighborly note

The members of Protect Hermosas Future state that their goal is to protect the financial future of Hermosa Beach. On the surface this seems like a very noble goal. We would all love to have a windfall that fixes our streets, our sewers and all the other issues faced by most cities in Southern California. But for me, the nobility of this group and its goal is tarnished because of one inescapable fact. That fact is that for this windfall to occur, quality of life for some of our neighbors will be put at risk. As a group, we will have to choose to put this facility very near to our neighbors homeshomes where they live, play and raise their families.

I would not want an oil pumping station anywhere near my backyard, regardless of the windfall that may result. Even the smallest risk is too much. My quality of life and that of my family is more important. Therefore, I cannot, in good conscience, make a decision that would force that risk on others. And I am certain that if the members of PHF were honest with themselves, they would not want that facility in their backyard either. How can they, in good conscience, place that burden on others?

Hey, PHF, lets find a solution to our deteriorating infrastructure that doesnt involve putting our neighbors quality of life at risk?

Rob Blair

Hermosa Beach

Contract stipulations

I have heard some residents questioning the logic of Hermosa Beach and E&B Natural Resources entering into a 35-year contract should the oil ban be lifted. I would suggest that the length of a contract between two parties is determined by capital investment on the part of the applicant, in return for certain guarantees by the property owner. This is not a marriage, and it is not a mortgage, as some have compared it to. It is a business.

With more than $200 million in infrastructure, E&B needs the assurance that they can complete the goals of their project: recovering the expected resources from Hermosas uplands and tidelands. Hermosa Beach needs the assurance that they will, in turn, receive substantial income streams and lucrative benefits over this duration.

Agreements, by definition, involve the needs of both parties. I want to make sure the needs of my city, Hermosa Beach, are in a tough, enforceable contract for the anticipated duration of this project.

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We Get Letters: Beginning Sept. 4