Don’t you just hate it when people twist facts?  Me, too.

Now I’m not saying they do it on purpose.  But it’s frustrating just the same.

Take for example the recent dustup over a developer agreement here in the Venice of America.  Most progressive cities do them all the time.  They offer a roadmap for smart growth, and certainty for taxpayers and investors alike.

It’s a good thing.

But some don’t quite get it, and are taking liberties with the facts.  I’ll refrain from shouting “fake news”, but why would a resident activist recently say on the record “Pier 66 is much smaller than Bahia Mar, but wants the same development rights!”

That’s simply wrong data from a common sense standpoint.  Super wrong.

In fact, Bahia Mar includes only 16 acres of dry land.  The proposed Pier 66 initiative? 25 acres!  And let’s be real here.  Bahia Mar has a ton of submerged leased land that allows the Tate gang to shove their units onto that much smaller piece of dry land.

It’s apples to oranges.

And if past is prologue and there is some give and take on unit count, a more likely scenario looks like this:

Probable max density on Pier 66:  25 units/acre

Approved max density on Bahia Mar:  41 units/acre

Which means dry land density for Pier 66 – which is what we actually have to see and deal with – would be 40% less than Bahia Mar.

Far less density.  Private, not public, land.  Proposed dedicated infrastructure funding for water, sewer and traffic management.  An investor who takes a long view, and wants to take his time to get it right.

That’s Pier 66.  It’s completely different than Bahia Mar.  And already much, much better before we even see a site plan.

 

 

 

 

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