The following views are mine and are not the public opinion of any formal organization. I have been active in the PB community for several years now. I am a business owner here and I am in my 30s. Over the years of attending meetings of various groups here in PB, I have noticed that the representation of PB’s residents is grossly slanted in favor a certain crowd. Years ago, several friends and I were vigorously courted to join the Town Council and to attend meetings of the many organizations here. It seemed everyone wanted “young blood” and a “fresh perspective.” And after years of involvement, I’ve found this to be painfully untrue. These organizations of elders have absolutely no desire to hear from the younger population that makes up a very large part of this community. At the past several PB Town Council general session meetings, the bitter dialog and slanted representation has all but encouraged first-timers to flee the scene. Why aren’t younger people getting involved, one may ask? It seems that the rantings of wealthy homeowners, reformed alcoholics and elderly residents is absurd and uncomfortable to most of us. And with today’s young adult holding down multiple jobs, going to school and ENJOYING the community, I can’t blame them for discrediting these organizations as local mud-slinging spectacles! What young adult in their right mind would want to hear fanatics recapitulate the same statistics and arguments over and over again every time the mere word “alcohol” is mentioned? For three months now, The Shore Club deck expansion has cannibalized the time of the Town Council meeting. And I was thrilled to see so many young people actually stay at the last PB Town Council meeting. And yet each and every new face was accused of being a “bought vote” by several elders of the organization. Who were these new faces? These are young residents and hospitality employees who make their living here in Pacific Beach. These are young, working adults who were finally outraged by the old regime of PB and moved to action. And how were they met? How were they received by these long-standing members of our community? They were immediately insulted and discredited. No wonder every PB meeting looks like Bingo night at Shady Palms. The Shore Club should have every right to expand their deck. They have taken a once run-down building in a hospitality-driven, commercial district (NOT residential) and are giving it a face-lift. They want to do exactly what their neighboring restaurants have done; build an ocean-view patio to attract customers and grow their business. In these economic times, successful, community-conscious and responsible businesses should be supported by this community and applauded for creating jobs in our neighborhood. Instead, these local business owners have been singled out and put on trial for everything “wrong” with Pacific Beach by a group that represents a mere part of our diverse local culture. These are issues of the county and city that are being heaped on the shoulders of The Shore Club. They are trying to grow their business, they are doing everything they can to work with the community but they are being slapped in the face by a group of residents overwhelmed with pious judgment and hatred. If a group is not happy with the problems of our community, talk to the governmental bodies put in place who can make a change! The Shore Club has expressed a desire to work with any organization but has been met with nothing less than hostile objection by those who oppose them. This proposed deck expansion will not draw more people into Pacific Beach. People from all over the United States and the world come here to enjoy themselves and will continue to do so whether The Shore Club enhances their building or not. These consumers are already coming to support our only industry in PB: hospitality. The fact that a narrow-minded group wishes to single out and exclude an admirable business from prospering in our local economy is unfair and, as we have already seen, destructive to our community. The motion made last week to send out an expensive mail-in ballot to the entire Town Council general membership is a cheap trick worthy of the lowest of zealots. We are all fully aware that the general membership in no way represents the demographics of our entire community, for the unfortunate reasons mentioned above. As they go door to door, rolling in wheelchair after wheelchair and minivan after minivan of ill-informed residents to these meetings, please remember the false accusations of vote-stacking. We are willing and want to work together, but we need these fanatics to understand how horrible they make community involvement for the rest of us. – Chris Decker, PB resident and business owner