More on SoCal Edison

Following last Monday's post regarding Southern California Edison's plan to relocate a Pasadena family nursery and make way for a self-storage development, I read about a homeowners' association meeting that deteriorated into a shouting match over this very subject. The Pasadena Star News reported on Tuesday's gathering, which included 75 angry residents who oppose the new storage facility and wish to keep the 35-year-old Persson's Nursery in business.

The unlucky representative for RHC Communities, which wishes to lease the property from under the nursery and build the storage site, bore the brunt of attendees' animosity. Fortunately, a level-headed community member pointed out the best course of action was not to argue with the developer but to dutifully participate in all the city council meetings addressing the issue. I wish luck to District 4 Councilman Steve Haderlein and Mayor Bill Bogaard, who are likely to be bombarded with phone calls.

So we'll see what happens. The Persson's lease terminates at the end of the year, and the business now has a written offer from RHC for assistance with their move to another SoCal Edison plot across the street. The parties are scheduled to meet today to hash out terms. Persson's estimates it will need $250,000 to relocate effectively, thanks to new city regulations. I'll provide updates on this as information is made available.

For those readers who are baffled as to why I would linger on this (after all, self-storage is opposed by residents in municipalities across the nation), here's the peg: I found it interesting that self-storage was for once playing the bully and not the bullied in a property struggle. After the industry's role as underdog in several eminent domain cases, it's curious to see the tables turned in this composition, which has been building to a crescendo over the past three years.