COMMUNITY COMMENTARY

Bruce Crawford

The debate over the city of Huntington Beach’s and Ocean View School

District’s plans for the Crest View Elementary School campus has become

very contentious. This is to be expected because the deal is based upon

an unholy mix of government and business.

The city entered into a deal with Arnel Development and Wal-Mart to build

the prettiest Wal-Mart ever, according to City Councilman Ralph Bauer.

Local residents responded by gathering enough signatures to bring the

issue to the ballot box in March. If their initiative is successful, the

deal will be void.

To add to the joy, Arnel has threatened to sue if the deal is voided.

The city has rationalized its decision on the basis of the “social good,”

which it defines as that which generates the most sales tax revenue.

Residents don’t want a Wal-Mart at the Beach Boulevard and Talbert Avenue

site because of the noise and traffic problems it would bring.

In all of the Crest View discussions, no one has addressed the

fundamental problem, which I believe is that government should not be a

landlord to private enterprise. This arrangement is a variant of another

fraud known as public-private partnerships. The very term savages the

king’s English and trivializes an important business law tenet: True

partners share risks and rewards.

Government, given its overwhelming power advantage, has little risk.

Government, incapable of producing wealth but [capable] only of

consuming, destroying or redistributing it, has none to share.

Through these agreements, government can only give preferential

treatment. This preferential treatment, in turn, affords its supplicant

“partner” an unfair advantage over the latter’s competition. Such

agreements are the antithesis of free market enterprise. Much of France’s

high unemployment rate can be attributed to these unholy public-private

partnerships.

Only in an unfettered marketplace, where rational decisions determine the

use of property, can the use of the Crest View site be properly made.

Therefore, I believe that the only workable and just solution is for the

Ocean View School District to sell the land to the highest bidder. Then

let the new owner decide how to best utilize its property.

* BRUCE CRAWFORD is a Fountain Valley resident.