Imperial Beach, California, Part 5

We must also understand that Imperial Beach has created its present dearth of employment all on its own. For decades the Imperial Beach City Fathers were making every effort to lure high tax base residential development to the city.

Helix Land Development Company purchased 126 acres for a marina and very high-end residential development. There were to be high rise residential properties, a large shopping center, low density housing (read a million of dollars each), medium density housing, medium high density housing, a yacht club, a large community auditorium, a boat harbor, a golf course, and all schools and roads paid for in full by the Helix Land Development Company.

Not only that, but a critically needed flood control channel was to be built to take Tijuana’s sewage far out to sea.

In the early 1970’s Imperial Beach was fighting tooth and claw to stop the seizure of these border lands by the government for a “park.” Local newspaper headlines such as: “New Action Taken to Save Beach” and “Stites Aims New Attack At State” reflect the desperate efforts of a few visionaries who actually wanted to build a future for the tax paying people of the community.

At the same time, scientists and health officials were adamant that $21,000,000 (in 1970 dollars) should be spent immediately on that flood control channel to protect America from Tijuana's sewage. That never happened either.

As late as February of 1975, the San Diego Union newspaper reported that Imperial Beach residents were marching on Washington, D.C. to stop the seizure of these lands and their conversion into a “park.” All of this was to no avail.

With a subsequent change in “administration” in Imperial Beach, the future of the City of Imperial Beach has been sealed.

Where once people hoped to bring clean water, open space, grass, swimming pools, and children to Imperial Beach what they have instead purposely selected is a steaming, festering, mud land of decaying sewage as a “lure” to tourists the world over, and as an embodiment of the city’s culture and its hope for a bright future. And these "people" are serious.

When you have, essentially, a micturiting, mucous filled swamp as your neighbor, you must understand that all of your neighbor’s “swamp things” will come visit you. The larger your neighborhood swamp, the more things there are to come visit. While the chances of billions of Border Field State Park anthrax spores wafting in huge tan clouds to the north and powdering your doorstep are not that likely, other things ....are.

In the present case you have 2,531 acres of sewage laden bubbling swamp supporting rabid skunks (65% tested are rabid), two kinds of very unpleasant rats, clouds of meat eating flies, wasps, and vast swarms of virus and bacteria carrying mosquitoes of several types (and where the males and the females bite).

All of those entities listed above are fully capable of bussing loads of really tenacious bacteria and viruses to you and to every air breathing thing within at least ten miles of you.

Not only are your kids not safe but even your kid’s caged iguana and gerbil can be face down in shallow graves in the back yard with ice cream stick tombstones from what you bring home from that place, or from your own front yard as these entities run, crawl, skip, fly, or even buzz past.