Huh? wrote on Sep 6, 2007 8:27 PM:Who the heck is Cathy Baker and what exactly are her qualifications to make redevelopment decisions or comments? Last I heard she was involved with adeveloper downtown so how can she have independent judgement?

Increased traffic?? wrote on Sep 6, 2007 9:14 PM:We don't really expect people to spend money in Oceanside if they're not here do we? Do we actually think they'll just mail the money to us?? To put it another way..no traffic, no business.

Vista Resident wrote on Sep 6, 2007 10:18 PM:Is this article saying that they're thinking about building more monster buildings up by the pier besides the two that are already under construction?

Frank wrote on Sep 7, 2007 1:35 AM:I don't understand- The article sounds like they are going to build more monster buildings down by the pier? How many more buildings are enough? They will never never fill them! They will be a vacant eye sore! Too much all at once! Down town Carlsbad has several small hotels and a great place to vacation and walk, as they don't have the rif raff walking the strees like in Oceanside.

Zoo wrote on Sep 7, 2007 1:39 AM:They will never fill the rooms!!It will be more of a ghetto than it is now with big vacant buildings!

It begins wrote on Sep 7, 2007 1:45 AM:More Traffic Duh. Try driving in that area now on a weekend. Oceanside merchants want this? Let them pay for it. I do not know any that have been there for 30 years. No one is spending many millions to increase business in East and North Oceanside. There will be many more surprises.

Randy wrote on Sep 7, 2007 4:17 AM:Traffic is good. Traffic is our friend. Traffic is prosperity. Long live traffic!

Shame on you Carolyn, wrote on Sep 7, 2007 4:37 AM:They wanted nine stories, you and Esther wanted three stories and your compromise was eight stories? The existing build blocks the sun and now we are going to have a wall three blocks long and eight stories high. And to that the traffic and the lost historic significance of the Grave's (top gun) house and you have done a real disservice to Oceanside's character. Who put you and Sanchez in charge of this project?

Ted wrote on Sep 7, 2007 4:46 AM:Conserve water and electricity so another utility guzzler can be built.

agree w/frank wrote on Sep 7, 2007 6:02 AM:I agree with Frank, Oceanside needs to clean up the riff raff that loiters near the theater. I refuse to take my family there after witnessing public drunkeness and brawls in the street no less. I'll take my chances in Vista!

kit wrote on Sep 7, 2007 6:12 AM:No surprises here, this project has been vetted by the public, staff and the Council for three years. We need this economic engine to anchor the Project area. Go Kathy Baker and Jane McVey...

Vista Granny wrote on Sep 7, 2007 7:51 AM:Are the hotels, etc. going to be cheaper than those in San Diego or La Jolla? If not, why would so many people want to stay in Oceamside? Tourist spots and good restaurants are too far away. Even a Coaster user like myself would hesitate to vacation in a place where I had to ride a train and hour each way each day to find the good stuff -- as for driving south? Forget it. Encinitas and Carlsbad are great places to stay and play, small town atmosphere, good restaurants, as well as the beach - laid back - no need to go to the zoo. Actually, though, I don't care much what they do to Oceanside. Aren't some of those brownish townhouses hideous to look at? Horton Plaza started this craze for orange and ugly browns -- how do we stop it?

hey Frank wrote on Sep 7, 2007 8:08 AM:"Where's the Beach", Carlsbad has no beach or harbor, parking is horrible, and the hotels are tacky at best. Oceanside rocks!!

Jake wrote on Sep 7, 2007 8:16 AM:Who really cares? We're not talking serious stuff like the preservation of an idiot fish shutting down our water supplies!

to all bozos wrote on Sep 7, 2007 8:22 AM:To Huh, Kathy Baker is one of the top people in Oceanside's Redevelopment agency, so she is qualified to make comments. To Frank and zoo,right now the time shares and hotels in the Harbor are sold out almost all year long as is the Beach Club time shares on The Strand and the time shares in the Fairfield project, at the Pier, are well on there way before even being open. Where do you think all the walking people in Carlsbad come from, the tons of hotels along I-5. Hotels bring people and money, Build them and they will come. And for traffic, unfortunately it is bad everywhere, even the almighty Carlsbad that you Carlsbad gods love. For the people that always complaining about Oceanside, get out of your cave and go downtown, you probably haven't been there since the 60's but continue to complain. Smarter people then you see the future and potential, why do you think they are investing big dollars, check it out, started with the Regal Theater complex, currently one of the busiest theaters in all of San Diego County, yes proven by numbers not opinion. As the building progresses downtown, the shops in the The Regal Plaza are also filling up. O'sides biggest problem, parking. For the ones that say no ones goes downtown, there are parking structures and parking lots, still not enough, too many people visiting downtown, go figure. Until all you negative people are part of a solution instead of a part of the problem why don't you live your negative, miserable everyday life in your cave and keep your negative opinions to yourself.

oh Oside wrote on Sep 7, 2007 8:43 AM:That big yellow loft apartment building just east of Coast Hwy is still completly empty about a year after it was completed. So are many shops in the movie theater complex. Oside is trying to hard to become Carlsbad. The problem is that the residents like Oside the way it is. Its the city council that is selling our town from under us for more tourist generated revenue.

Mike wrote on Sep 7, 2007 8:47 AM:Great more traffic for those of us who enjoy the beach and surf on a regular bases. I also agree they will never fill these hotel rooms. These politicians only see the potential dollars for the city. They have no concept of reality. The reality is when the building is done, we are stuck with the eyesore.

Part two wrote on Sep 7, 2007 8:47 AM:Just read the article on downtown Carlsbad, or the "Village", as the Carlsbad gods call it. The article" Carlsbad Design Board Supports Changes To Village". What is this world coming too, a change to Carlsbad like Oceanside to improve itself. The article quoted " Hasn't been a retail powerhouse of late". So they want change, taller buildings, higher density residential, more parking. Not a single complaining blog on this yet. God forbid the Carlsbad god cave dwellers ever complain about the mighty Carlsbad changing. Don't get me wrong, I like Carlsbad for what it is and I like O'side for what it is, I just don't like the people that are always negative and can't see past their noses. Try thinking about improvement to make things better, like Oside and Carlsbad. Kudos to both cities.

FTM wrote on Sep 7, 2007 9:18 AM:No riff raff in Carlsbad? You have not been down thier latley. If Carlsbads downtown is so great, why is the Carlsbad City Council trying to shut down live music in the Village? Give ma a break, they are getting more crime in the Village than the small Carlsbad PD can handle. Oceanside is the more suitable place for the large venue music and entertainment establishments because Oceanside has more beach. The south beach is still very open. Carlsbad does not own most of the beach so they do need to cut back on development. Oceanside has the opposite, so there is lots of room for smart development. As for filling rooms, are all the rooms at the north end empty? No. The timeshares are full and they are building more. Why would you think these would go empty if all the other rooms north by the harbor are not empty? Where does this thinking come from?

reality check wrote on Sep 7, 2007 9:24 AM:Hmmmm, this is a tough one...Vacant dirt lots, and a fine carnival that roles through town several times a year? Or, a nice resort hotel like other coastal cities have that will bring in lots of TOT tax, help downtown business owners, and improve downtown O'side for the better. Wake up and smell the coffee, change is good once and awhile!

Build it, they will come wrote on Sep 7, 2007 9:45 AM:Oceanside has been talking, talking and talking. Build it and money will finally come to Oceanside to pay for services. We will also have restaurants where we can be proud to take our friends.

O'side Res wrote on Sep 7, 2007 10:12 AM:All the tourist can spend their money at the thursday night swapmeet, I mean Farmer's market. I think if I lived in Iowa, I would want to fly out to Oceanside and spend my money at the Thursday night Swapmeet downtown and then a hair cut and then a cash advance to get home. How about a nice place to eat where I can get a cocktail before dinner. No lets build a monster hotel and block the cities view of the ocean, we need more tax revenue to pay more police to be down by the big hotel, protecting the tourist from the people who live in Oceanside.

FTM wrote on Sep 7, 2007 10:23 AM:reality check is right. And who cares what people from Vista or Carlsbad think? Why do they care what happens in downtown Oceanside? I know why: FTM - F.ollow T.he M.oney - La Costa Resorts and other area hotels are not happy about competing with upscale developments in Oceanside. For the first time we have a City Council that is not beholden to La Costa resort money and willing to go against them. Oceanside has EMPTY DIRT LOTS! HOW STUPID IS THAT? Does Carlsbad allow emtey dirt lots? Has not Carlsbad developed every last square ince except Ponto which goes on the block this winter? What right does a Carlsbad resident have to bad mouth this project?

FTM wrote on Sep 7, 2007 10:32 AM:I do not believe an Oceanside Resident actualy prefers a "swap meet" to a nice upscale hotel. I think the person is not really a resident. Your joke about the ticky tacky cash advance stores and barber shops shows your contempt for the current condition of the town and the military, and your soulution to just build more "cocktail bars" is the kind of thing I would expect to hear from a non-resident. You don't fool me with your lies; your not an O'side Res.

Scott wrote on Sep 7, 2007 10:40 AM:I guess you can't blame them for trying, but I just don't see who will occupy these buildings in an area flooded with junkies, whinos, pimps, prostitutes, and gang members. It sure would be nice to see someone try and put more police on the streets to clean up the area before inviting more tourists to come in and see what kind of dump we live in. It's not even safe to walk down Mission Ave nowdays. And thats less than a couple blocks away!

Proper Planning Works wrote on Sep 7, 2007 11:11 AM:Yes, definitely traffic will increase. Who can't figure that one out? Oceanside is shaping up and with the proper planning, which this city has been doing, things will be a lot better in Oceanside. This city is so much better than it used to be! Thank you so much, City Council, for approving projects that are good for our city and good for our economy. I can't wait for the Westin to be completed and for all the other great improvements to be done.

Clash of the Classes wrote on Sep 7, 2007 11:17 AM:What you see happening in Oceanside is the clash of the classes. Some people who live in Oceanside see the improvements as a threat to their existence in Oceanside. As improvements are made, a better class of people occupy the city. The riffraff are forced to go someplace else because they are no longer tolerated. Of course there are a lot of people in Oceanside who are opposed to improvements. They want the city to stay as it is so they can continue to live there. Too bad!

Viz wrote on Sep 7, 2007 11:49 AM:I love oceanside but I hate the people who live there. Really...u have about 4 different gangs in Downtown Oceanside west of the 5. What we need is more invesors to bring the big bucks here...hire more cops, clean up Nevada and Tremont St and clean up are community...Chargers anyone?

help wrote on Sep 7, 2007 11:51 AM:Carlsbad can bring the live bands to Oceanside!!! We are tired of getting pulled over at every stop light in Carlsbad!

FTM wrote on Sep 7, 2007 12:07 PM:Scott: Why are all the other rooms and timeshares full? How come all those condos and rooms around tha harbor are full? Why are they building more times shares and rooms? You think these guys build the rooms because there is no demand? All the rooms in Oceanside are full! What makes you think no one will occupy? Where does this thinking come from???? Look at the reality of what's happening ther right now! Poeple are moveing in as fast as the builders can build.

FTM wrote on Sep 7, 2007 12:09 PM:Viz: Do you live in Oceanside?

cs wrote on Sep 7, 2007 12:19 PM:Oceanside needs heavier traffic so that people will want to avoid coming here.

GO Away Chargers wrote on Sep 7, 2007 12:33 PM:If one little hotel will cause traffic problems, can you imagine the paralysis that a stadium will cause? ...

GFN wrote on Sep 7, 2007 12:46 PM:Yeah, Oceanside is shaping up as an impossible place to go...too crowded. Why do we kiss the wallets of OUTSIDERS and destroy the community we live in? Don't you know the difference between 'standard of living' and 'quality of life'??? We will be a 'rich' community without access to the best areas of our community. It will be like working and making $200,000 a year in Baghdad! Yeah, it's a lot of money, but what good is it if we, the people who live here, can't enjoy it???

David wrote on Sep 7, 2007 1:05 PM:Just great we need more tourists! More tourists to come to our fine city, leave their garbage trail on the beach. Get mugged downtown, get arrested soliciting a postitute. By the time we clean up our beach and pay for the cops to patrol this great downton area,this wonderful hotel will cost us taxpayers 10 million a year. I am not being negative I am being realistic. A hotel downtown is just going to bring more problems for us locals.

Dan wrote on Sep 7, 2007 1:16 PM:I am one of the bozos...It has taken how long for the store fronts at the Regal to get filled up? 5 years I have looked at empty store fronts. I would never go to the Regal. My kids have been there twice...Never again. Being threatened by a group of thugs is not a fun night out. This council and councils before it are looking at the potential dollars not potential problems.

DJK HB Transplant wrote on Sep 7, 2007 1:31 PM:I agree with "Build It" and "Reality Check". Bring the people, bring their bucks, raise our property values. Just look at Huntington Beach about 15 years ago...and look at it now. Property has DOUBLED in that time.

DJK HB Transplant wrote on Sep 7, 2007 1:31 PM:Yup, and bring on the Chargers. Let's ALL make some money.

O'side Res to FTM wrote on Sep 7, 2007 1:46 PM:Resident for 17 years. I would prefer a place to have a cocktail true before a meal, maybe a nice pub. I don't prefer a swapmeet, I was being sarcastic. I think the whole downtown is a mess. Oceanside has very few places I would take my out of town guests let alone my family.

Council getting rich? wrote on Sep 7, 2007 1:57 PM:(All) Oceanside city council members need to sign a document stating they have no personal financial interest in the Downtown Oceanside hotel.

CarefulWhatYouWishFor wrote on Sep 7, 2007 2:03 PM:Yep, I remember when I was a kid, growing up in a small Rust Belt town. Every shift change, six times a day, downtown would be chock full of traffic and people, going to and from work, stopping in the department store or grocery, picking up dry cleaning, getting haircuts, etc. Some people complained about the traffic, too. Went back there not long ago. Now that the mill is closed, the traffic problem has been solved, and no one flocks to downtown anymore since there isn't anything but boarded-up storefronts. I kinda wondered if people there liked it better now, traffic-free, or the way it was, with a pulse?

O'side Res to FTM wrote on Sep 7, 2007 2:09 PM:How do you get I don't like the milatary out of what I wrote. Everyone needs a hair cut just not 20 shops to choose from, and I never wrote I wanted more cocktail bars either, a nice restaraunt with a bar, I never used ticky tacky either, I would say trash. I was trying to write, no one is going to make Oceanside a destiantion when all we have to offer is a Farmers market on Thursadays and haircuts and quick loans. People like to dine and cocktail just like the Gaslamp.

Great wrote on Sep 7, 2007 2:40 PM:This all sounds great.

VIZ wrote on Sep 7, 2007 3:56 PM:FTM: Sure do buddy and i hate those gansters thinking they can run the city. Clean up Oceanside and lets be proud of our home!!!

VIZ wrote on Sep 7, 2007 3:58 PM:Lets get rid of the scum and bring in the riches

Censorship Continues wrote on Sep 7, 2007 4:04 PM:Why do you even have a Comments and Letter to the Editor sections when you censor almost all comments that don't follow the NCTimes' agenda?

wow wrote on Sep 7, 2007 4:12 PM:at this point, I'm GLAD I live in Vista :))

Zoo Keeper wrote on Sep 7, 2007 4:40 PM:To in the RUst Belt-- maybe the down town you are speaking about in the belt is no longer viable because of a Walmart located in another part of town. I have been to hudreds of towns where the down town is destroyed because of a Walmart-"small merchants just can't compete." Our down town magnet is the beach and pier and always has been. The lower class of people that hang around down town has been the sand in the gears that keeps us from becoming another LaJolla.

FTM wrote on Sep 7, 2007 5:26 PM:I'm glad WOW lives in Vista too. O'side Res is making some sense now. It's true we all wax sarcastic about 'our' town, and that's okay for you and VIZ since your one of us. I just don't need people living in the meth capital of the country (VISTA!) telling me my downtown is full of junkies. HEY VIZ! WHAT UP? Do you realy hate us folks who liver here? Com-on, you don't mean it. The guy from HB is right. Back in the 80's we got in fights in HB just trying to see our band play. Now the town is WAY better. The Big O is getting better and that seems to make Vista and Carlsbad people upset. They don't need to come here, so why complain? Let's get all the cool live bands playing here downtown. I'm not afraid of a little bohemian style crowds downtown. Look out! The Irish Pubs and the Ska folks are coming! And (God forbid!) COFFEE HOUSES?! What will we ever do?

FTM wrote on Sep 7, 2007 5:29 PM:Oh, I forgot to add, my favorite blogger of all time is "Great". That guy has the right frame of mind! He's my favorite next to O'side Res and VIZ. Com-on guys, you love this town, admit it.

Eurolady wrote on Sep 7, 2007 6:35 PM:I love the way downtown Oceanside evolves. Look at all these new beautiful homes, new stores, things look so much better than 7 years ago when I came here with my family. With all the police downtown and at the beach we feel safe. We have a beautiful pier .... just would like to see the beach a little cleaner. Happy to have moved to Oceanside... In the long run Oceanside will be "North County's finest"...and property prices will go up again.

4 Times Censored wrote on Sep 7, 2007 6:37 PM:So perhaps it is out of bounds to comment on some of my experiences in the new eating and entertainment places in Ocenside-so you will have to find out on your own. I suppose only raving reviews are acceptable, even if the food and service was not the best.

FTM to O'res and 4 times wrote on Sep 7, 2007 8:27 PM:Hey 4 times, you can't mention the NAME of any establishment because it can create a liability for the NTC. Use yer brain. Like, I KNOW that the BEST SUSHI in ALL OF SAN DIEGO is seved at a place in Oceanside but I can't give the name or NTC could get in trouble. (I CAN tell you it's downtown). And O'Res is absolutly right about a Gaslamp district in the Big O. It's already in the works because Carlsbad want out ot live music venues all together. It's brought too much nightime crime to the Village, (and since most Carlsbad residents are over 90, they don't like the noise). Oceanside average age is MUCH younger, (like 33 or somthin). VIZ! YOU RULE!

O'side Res wrote on Sep 7, 2007 9:00 PM:I prefered when I could go to The Playgirl and the surf musuem was next to the beach and the drive-in had movies and I took Mission Ave to get home. The Grove was a nice place to get a cocktail and a meal. I guess its the clash of the incomes and when they knock down and rebuild everything 10 blocks in all directions from Mission Ave and Hill street I mean Coast Highway the downtown will be perfect.

O'side Res wrote on Sep 7, 2007 9:05 PM:Why is everyone so worried about their property going up. Are you buying or selling? I would hate for Oceanside to turn into Huntington Beach, what a zoo. Lets not keep up with the OC yuppies.

O'side Res wrote on Sep 7, 2007 9:59 PM:Last thought I swear. When I travel to other cities, I like to go to the unique joints that the city is famous for whether its upscale or not. SF has many interesting Cabarets, Chicago has many unique bars and famous eateries, LA has hundreds of unique dining and cocktail joints of all scales of economy, SD has the Gas lamp with some new classic spots and many old, the point I'm trying to make is that Oceanside (council and redevelopment committee or whoever decides) wants to knock everything down and get the most per square foot rather than encourage uniqueness and style and quality planned environment. Boom everyone is now complaining about the train whistles. We have a killer Theatre (The Star)with its neon marquee and they put a monster building across the street that casts a shadow on it. I feel like the new building is leaning over Coast Hwy, All this money pouring in for development is to make a quick turn around, there is no feeling or architecture or soul to anything being built downtown. People won't be walking around 100 years from now on tours of the building architecture like many people do on vacations to other cities, and the only way you will be able to see the beach is if you stay in one of these towers on the beach. I make a good living but I can't afford these lofts going up everywhere. Why would I as a young person want to buy a loft when there is no where for night life or groceries or dining or parking. The new lofts by the Post office only have one parking space per unit. So you have a lady friend visit for the evening, The real estate agent told me to tell my lady friend to park at the transit center. Thats a buzz kill. So all the new development is going to park at the transit center. There is no planning or vision, its build and hopefully the new buyers won't ask these questions. This city has no vision just dollar signs.

FTM wrote on Sep 8, 2007 6:44 PM:O'side Res, your absolutly right. The downtown must reflect a uniqueness that belongs to oceanside. I think there is really a lot of room for the kinds of things you are talking about. Don't worry, it's not too late. There is still plenty of room for the bohemean culture in the town. Don't get discouraged just because we are trying to beef up the infrastructure a little bit. We need to get the dirt lots and the hobos out so there is more possibilities for the bohemeians. I get what your saying, and it's gonna go the way you want. Because the council has no vision they also have no control. it will happen on it's own. we are making room for all the bohemian culture that Carlsbad and Vista are throwing out of thier town. It's happeneing. Don't despair.