Ruining of Mammoth... The Question is Do you Care?

Gordon Alper former Mammoth Mayor submitted this to our Mammoth Messenger, The Sheet and Mammoth Times Editors.

While everyone was at home last night in the comfort of their warm homes, enjoying dinner with their families, watching a favorite TV show, or helping the kids with homework, your Town’s staff under the watchful eye of your Town Council was trashing our town.

We all thought that we had a Vision of our future and a set of guiding principles, called the Town Vision Statement, a general plan update, and enacted ordinances. Well think again. Mark Wardlaw, our chief protector of this vision, suggested or instructed, I don’t know which, Mammoth Mountain to design a structure at the top of Meridian that would ignore our values to create an “iconic structure”. This they have done. We will have a building that rises some 102 feet over two stories of underground parking that majestically steps down to 85’ and then finally to the ground. It will house all sorts of wonderful things. A neighborhood grocery, great restaurants, five star hotel and condominiums, an ice rink, a convention facility, and whatever else you can stuff in a 300,000 square foot structure, or something like that. This is after the Town staff supported another developer, who asked for a taller project that would also reduce set backs and increase his allowed density. This is after granting homeowners who request similar favors so that they can build their mountain mansion, or whatever. All of this while the nodding heads, Our Town Council, fall allover themselves in their praise of all things great and large.

What happened to our vision of a town where” development takes place in a way that respects the natural and social resources and enhances the quality of life…”, or where”… there is a small town image with architecture that reflects its mountain settings.” What happened to our ordinances that restrict the height of buildings to further this fine vision? What happened to the well thought out densities that are part of our accepted overall plan? I think it is safe to say that they are gone.

This only the beginning, this is just an ongoing escalation to see exactly how inattentive we really are. The planning is being done to propose a 200-foot Hotel complex somewhere inside the Sierra Star area. Should that not get your attention, look forward to the Mammoth Lakes Foundation master planning their property to house a whole new town, complete with what. Just stay tuned.

I think the real question is, do we care? I’ll bet the town council is banking on our continued unwillingness to protect our best interests. After all they have written off all previous attempts by interested citizens and groups to influence the process. Maybe they have it right! Maybe we just don’t care. Give us a little candy bar and shove us into a corner. I just wonder if that is really the way it is. Would you mind taking a few minutes to email your thoughts? Do you care? If the answer is yes, what should we do? Send email to:

Whocares93546@hotmail.com

Gordon Alper