Thanks so much to the 350 or so volunteers that showed up for last night's Planning Commission meeting. We packed the main room and two overflow rooms - I am not sure that the City has ever seen as much passion around a local issue. Thanks to your hard work, the Planning Commission voted 5-0 to reject SPI Holdings LLC's proposal to strip the Master Plan of its ice rink requirement, tear down the rink, and install more big box stores. The Commission members cited several reasons in denying the developer and their proposal: inadequate compensation in their offer, bad faith in their previous actions, the dearth of recreational space in San Mateo despite increasing population, and a desire to preserve the quality of life of San Mateo residents. We have won yet another battle. Unfortunately, the war continues. Ultimately, the San Mateo City Council will have the final say on SPI's proposal. On previous occasions, the City Council has ignored the recommendation of the Planning Commission and approved controversial projects, ruling in favor of well connected parties. We cannot allow this to happen here. We need to remain vigilant and ensure that City votes to preserve our unique recreational amenity, as it has numerous times over the past thirty years. We will keep you posted as to next steps and the timing of the City Council meeting. In the meantime, here's one quick action that you can take to build our momentum. Please visit the attached article in the San Mateo Daily Journal. Please 1) Make a quick comment at the bottom of the article, thanking the Planning Commission for standing up to SPI; and 2) respond to the poll in the upper right corner of the Daily Journal page, asking what the City should do with the ice rink. Thanks again for your continued support. Sincerely, Committee to Save the San Mateo Ice Rink