What People Are Saying: Proposed Phil Lesh Venue, Target Approved

Lots of great debate was going on this week around San Anselmo-Fairfax Patch and we want to recognize some of the great comments and continue to encourage the discussions.

The over the proposed Target in San Rafael, even after the council .

WAB:

If the opponents to the project are successful, it will not be easy to fill the vacancy in the Yardbirds location or the Borders property-there aren't too many mom-and-pop businesses that would want those rentals.

Anne Brown:

I sure won't be shopping at Target, and I live in San Rafael. That place is full of plastic crap from China, and the profits don't benefit anyone who lives here. If I want plastic crap, I can go to a thrift store and still benefit local owners and employees. If I want something nice and new, there are lots of locally-owned stores who need our business.

The biggest question of the week was ? In a record-setting number of comments for us, 64 thoughts were shared on the still-hypothetical music venue and, for the most part, the debate has been well-thought-out and continues to flourish. Here are some of our favorites:

SolMan:

The city leadership needs to balance of all the positives and negatives of Terrapin Landing. The neighbors have legitimate concerns about noise, parking and other issues. They would be disproportionately impacted by a live music venue at that location and they deserve to be treated fairly. The city also needs to consider the benefits to the town that the venue would bring, including the fact that a lot of people in this town would enjoy walking and biking to Terrapin Landing. It would also create new tax revenue and would help other small businesses in town by attracting folks from outside the area.

Brad Clark:

I guess I could always charge people to park in my lawn and set up a falafael stand and porto potties to make some extra cash.

AND

I don't think its fair to be punished for living close to town by having no say regarding new business applications. In fact, I have more vested and my opinion should be duly considered. If a person who chose to live in the redwoods had a new neighbor that wanted to cut down all the redwoods on their property I would support that person's right to fight the harvesting of the redwoods.

Jory Prum:

Fairfax is a "sleepy downtown?" Maybe you're thinking of San Anselmo, where they roll up the sidewalks at 7pm.

All told, I think another venue in town will help all businesses. Remember, this is a town with 23 restaurants and a majority of the night life that exists within the county. The more destinations we have, the better our businesses and our town does.

Did we miss your comment? Or your favorite comment of the week? We'll feature the best comments of the week every Friday; email kellyd@patch.com