More Affordable Housing on Pine Knot Ave.

A proposed 32 unit affordable housing complex on Pine Knot is marching forward. This development would take up prime (and very limited) land that would be better used for resort oriented development. This would make 2 affordable developments on upper Pine Knot and 1 proposed on Knickerbocker at Pennsylvania.

Upscale hotels, hi-quality restaurants and mixed use retail/office/residential development is what will allow us to compete in the regional retail marketplace for lost retail revenues and create good pay jobs for locals. This will take vision, and an updating of the development code and Village Specific Plan. Also needed is a change in policy and planning (or lack of planning) standards and an end to short sighted profiteering and the continuation of over-building our glutted residential sector. Only 30% of City Residential Dwellings are occupied full time. Nearly 80% of all DWP bills are sent out as ZERO water use. The cost of maintaining our utility infrastructure is unfairly divided among the 30% of occupied dwellings.

The City's Mayor Pro Tem, is the developer and operator of the existing affordable rental complex on Pine Knot Ave. He and his fellow council members, apparently want to concentrate the City's proposed affordable housing to constrict growth of City's Retail shopping district using our property tax dollars to subsidize the higher vacant land prices in and near the Village to create profit for low income real estate developers who don't give a hoot about our community. All in the name of meeting State mandated use of Improvement Agency funds set aside for this type of project. Only current City Council members sit on the Improvement Agency Board and alone, decide where city property tax dollars allocated to our Improvement Agency will be spent.

On March 9, 2009 the City Council voted to go forward with letters of support for the project and seek not only City Improvement Agency funds, but also other County funds for the Pacific Companies, an Out of State developer. Mayor Pro Tem Jahn may be no stranger to the Pacific Companies, as Pacific Company's home base is Idaho, with one Pacific development just down the road from Jahn's (Tetonia, Idaho) subdivision ( http://packsaddleproperties.com/). Jahn is the managing partner for packsaddle, along with Brent Tragaskis, who works for Big Bear Mountain Resorts and Big Bear Lake Planning Commissioner Craig Smith, who's wife is in charge of Big Bear Lake City Finances.

The concentration of this type of use (medium density affordable housing) will forever define and only further diminish the Village and Big Bear Lake of the ability to grow and prosper and create long term opportunity for small businesses, good pay jobs for locals and increase our standing in the regional resort field.