A recent letter to the editor regarding story poles at the ATC project caught my eye. The letter describes “licensed story pole contractors and structural engineers” willing to donate their time to “check” (code word for challenge or refute) the work of other experts, licensed building officials and the city of Pacific Grove’s own story pole policy. A popular refrain from opponents of this project is, “I don’t believe the facts and science of your independent experts (experts hired by the city of Pacific Grove) and their published reports and studies, so I am going to try to find my own experts (untrained and non-scientific people with a bias to do nothing) who will tell the story I want to hear.”
Opponents, including three city planning commissioners, would have you believe that the Water Management District’s expert general manager and his water use calculations are wrong and the district does not have the authority to approve water use on the project site. However, they do have the authority to run our local water system and sell recycled water for us to drink. Which one is it? I trust the Water Management District and the fact-based science in the project’s environmental impact report. Why won’t they?
— Dan Reed, Pacific Grove