A Healthy and Vibrant Community

By M. L. "Maxx" Stalheim

The right choice, at the right time, for the right reasons

I am a concerned homeowner who is bothered by the prospect of high-rise development destroying the charm of our extraordinary community. I also recognize our community plan determines our unique character, and charts a course for realizing our long-term vision of becoming a healthy and vibrant southern California beach-town.

The Imperial Beach Community Plan and Local Coastal Plan was adopted in 1994. A community plan has a "life expectancy" of twenty years, which means our plan is experiencing a mid-life crisis. In other words, it is time to evaluate where our plan has succeeded and where improvement can be made.

The Urban Waterfront & Ecotourism Study, completed in April, 2005, provides a strategy and implementation program for capturing a larger portion of tourism dollars, and includes several recommendations which may require amending our community plan. The recommendations are intended to increase our recognition, attract visitors, and expand local business opportunities. They also identify the potential for incompatibility with existing land uses, and resistance to change.

As your elected representative, I will explore many of the study's recommendations, and lead the dialogue regarding land use amendments. Our community is at a critical juncture, and balancing competing goals is a difficult task. Encouraging new development, protecting our neighborhoods, improving our quality of life, and preserving our natural environment, will require us to elect the most qualified representatives.

I am the right choice, at the right time, for the right reasons.

My campaign has been endorsed by many people who recognize my long-standing commitment to improving quality of life, including Supervisor Greg Cox, Mayor Diane Rose, and three members of the City Council. With twenty years of professional planning experience, I possess the necessary ability, and enjoy working in a public forum - asking questions, listening to responses, building a consensus, identifying a course of action, and taking steps to implement long-range community goals. No other candidate can make the same claim of experience and ability.

I thank you for the opportunity to serve our extraordinary community. Imperial Beach is a great place to live, work, and play, and has a fantastic future. Working hard for our community's continued success is the reason why I ask for your vote on November 7.

You are invited to please visit my web page, http://www.maxxforcouncil.com, and share your thoughts. I believe our best days are ahead of us. Together, we will keep Imperial Beach moving forward!