In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. I want a safe Third Street Promenade . But the City Council ban of skaters there is tragic. A whole class of people has been eliminated from a primary public area, based on fear, anecdote, and the omnipresent influence of rising commercial rents. In the process, our social contract has been broken.
Good government seeks to meet the reasonable, yet sometimes diverse needs of an entire community. .
The best policy-making comes when we seek common ground. But the city agencies involved did not seek this. Their responsibility was to use their resources to bring all stakeholders together. A small meeting of representatives should've been convened, followed by a public workshop for all potentially-affected groups. Instead, political organizing went forward, with the singular goal of winning a City Council vote.