The Headlands Should Be for All to Enjoy

* Having read the article, “Future of Dana Point Development in Doubt” (May 17), I was struck by the statement of M.H. Sherman Co. President Dan Daniels: “I would hope the citizens would follow the lead of their elected and appointed representatives.” It is clear that Mr. Daniels has a very distorted view of how our government is supposed to work.

What he describes is dictatorship, benign or otherwise, not representative government. His perspective on government is only an indicator of the true problem Dana Point faces.

The real issue is leadership, true leadership that not only represents the will of the people but includes statesmanship, wisdom and vision. The Dana Point City Council majority has failed in a unique opportunity to lead, and the citizens have taken this opportunity to let them know it. The people of Dana Point want to preserve the Headlands for all, not just for the rich who will buy the homes Sherman Co. wants to build or the outsiders who can afford the price of a weekend stay at the Ritz-Carlton or one of its clones.

What is needed is true wisdom and vision which extends beyond the next few years. The potential is present for a truly great and far-reaching decision to preserve much, or even all, of the Headlands’ unique natural beauty for all to enjoy. This indeed is the greater good, for that single act of creation would benefit not only the people of Dana Point today but residents and visitors who come after us.

We now have the chance to do something beyond ourselves. It is time to shift our society’s motivations from a narrow focus on city revenues and corporate profits to a wider, grander vision of what our community is about.

Imagine Laguna Beach with resort hotels and gated communities crowded along the bluffs in place of Heisler Park and Main Beach. How sad that would be. How much greater if the Laguna’s waterfront had miles of open space and parks, the way Chicago’s lakefront is even today. That is so because Chicago’s early leaders took a long-range view of their duty and responsibility to that city’s citizens. Let Dana Point’s early leaders be so inspired to listen to what the people want, to represent them in a truly visionary way, and to find a way to serve the community in its greatest sense.

A good start would be to find a way to preserve more of the Headlands for all to enjoy.

DAVID A. LINNIG

Dana Point