News Subscribe to Our Newsletter Sign up for Email Updates CGF In the News Press Inquiries Past Articles Calendar			Half Moon Bay Review February 27, 2002   Kids have been  used to disguise bad development Dear editor: It is astonishing to hear Wavecrest Village  supporters blithely assert that opposition to their project means opposition  to the children of this community. While many disagree on the merits of  the Wavecrest Village project, we are in absolute agreement on the need  for a new middle school for our children ... but not in this location. Coastside kids are being used as pawns in Ocean  Colony Partners' misguided gambit to build a sprawling residential and  commercial development south of Half Moon Bay. Few would deny that development  rights exist on theWavecrest property, but many firmly oppose harnessing  the community's middle school to a flawed development proposal. Wavecrest Village should not be the price that  future generations have to pay for a public education. Indeed, one has  to wonder how eager this community would be to see the Wavecrest project  built if there were no middle school or Boys and Girls Club associated  with it. The thought of having the new middle school  placed at the southern-most edge of this community is almost as infuriating  as the hubris of the Wavecrest developers. For those of us who live in  Moss Beach and Montara, the south of Half Moon Bay middle school location  would guarantee a 40-minute drive to and from school. Poor planning such as this would undoubtedly  lead many parents to seek alternative educational choices; a decision  which would further undermine the viability and health of this public  school system. Public schools have no business in the realm  of private enterprise though they are increasingly placed there to cloak  the greed of sprawl developers. It is appalling that those who were elected  to safeguard public education on the coast have permitted our children  to be used in such an egregious fashion. An adequate analysis of alternative sites for  the middle school has never been conducted and the existing Cunha site  has potential that has never been fully explored. This community and our  kids deserve better choices. Most in this wonderful community share values  of protecting open space, and this sometimes means we have to make hard  choices about development. Curbing developments such as this Wavecrest  proposal is the best way to protect precious resources for future generations  of children. Zoe Kersteen-Tucker Moss Beach Page last updated April 3, 2002 .