Editor, Daily Nexus,

The Isla Vista Association learned that since 1999, the Isla Vista Redevelopment Project Area Committee spent $2 million on planning with the vast majority of funds coming out of taxpayers’ pockets. Meanwhile, I.V. is the most densely populated town in California without sidewalks and the only college beach town in the U.S. with no controlled parking. This irresponsible waste of public money disgusts the Isla Vista Association. The current “redevelopment” plan is one in a long string of I.V. money-wasters that are now gathering dust in the county planning department. With the current financial crisis it is time to eliminate this boondoggle and commit remaining funds toward fundamentals: sidewalks, parking, and protection.

In 2002, the IVA formed a sidewalk and parking committee to address the salient issue in our town. We obtained an estimate and learned that $2 million will pay for six miles of 5-foot wide sidewalk – enough for a majority of Isla Vista. Instead, we have idiotic drawings from an out-of-town planner placing islands and chokers in the middle of streets, eliminating on-street parking and angering residents. Those red curbs that quickly went away after public outcry were among the only concrete efforts to actually do something with our $2 million. All we got for our money was spray paint on the streets to go along with some fancy pictures, meetings and gallons of hummus. The chief goal of redevelopment is to increase density – ruining the culture that is I.V. We urge all I.V. residents to contact 3rd District Supervisor Gail Marshall and demand that she put redevelopment on hold, fire these planning parasites and do something concrete for the community.