Q Should Del Prado and Pacific Coast Highway be two-way streets as part of the town center plan? Why or why not?

A As a Town Center Subcommittee member, I participated in 17 public meetings, 8 focus outreach events, spending hours on this topic. The overwhelming input from residents and merchants was to return Del Prado and PCH into two-way with center medians. Costs and traffic capacity were nearly identical, but two-way encourages slower speeds and is more pedestrian-friendly. I answer to nobody but you, the citizens, and will always act in our community’s best interest. www.WeinbergForDanaPoint.com

Q Some boaters are concerned about losing slips and storage space with the current harbor revitalization plan. How would you resolve conflicts between storage needs and an increasing boater population?

A   Subcommittees and taskforces have proven to be very successful. They encourage citizen participation and open government. This may be an ideal way to resolve the harbor issues. Open government should not be done away with. Past council members eliminated all citizen committees except the Planning Commission, which is required by law. It would be a shame to go backwards. Citizen participation will keep Dana Point a vibrant city with an outstanding quality of life. Visit: www.weinbergfordanapoint.com 

Q Do you support the business registration pilot program passed by the city council last week? Would you have made it mandatory or optional?

A   The Council took appropriate action making business registration voluntary. Show business owners that registration has value to them, and they will register. We don’t need non-productive taxes or regulations on our business. My family owned a general store in California; I formed and ran two $50 million-plus divisions, and also ran sales for a company that grew to $1.2 billion in seven years. As your councilmember, I can relate to small and large businesses.

Questions asked by the residents of Dana Point.

Q  Why do you Continue to support citizen participation via Subcommittees, Commissions, and Task Forces?

A   I believe involving as many citizens into the into the process you ultimately get a better result.  It may be a slower process, but it is worth it; you tend to get better solutions, and stronger support.  Two good cases are the Building Height Subcommittee and the Town Center subcommittee. In the case of the Building Height Subcommittee, the recommended zoning change passed both the Planning Commission and City Council with little comment as it had been vetted at many public meetings.

Q What do you mean, "Answer to nobody but you—the residents, ensuring a transparent, fair and ethical City government"?

A Just look at my record on the Planning Commission. I listen to the Staff reports and recommendation,  Public Comments, and fellow Commissioners discussions and vote based on all the input.  In addition, I am a proponent of retaining the use of Task Forces, Subcommittees and all other form of citizen input.

Q How are you going to continue to clean up our beaches and waters

A I will continue the quest for clean beaches and waters and go after funding from whatever sources we can find.  As many of you know, we have little direct control as the beaches are owned by the county or state, and some of our pollution comes from upstream on San Juan and Salt Creek.  Two good examples are the grants obtained in conjunction with the city to study pollution at Doheny Beach and Baby Beach, and the grant to build the Salt Creek Urban Runoff Treatment Facility which won an award for the Public Works Project of the Year by the American Public Works Association (APWA)