We did it! Hopefully you were among the hundreds of supporters that turned out on Wednesday night for the City Council meeting. If you were there, this was an evening that you will likely never forget. SPI Holdings, LLC, their $700/hour lawyers, and slick PR team could not match the passionate voices of the thousands who have come forward in support of the ice rink. The City Council voted 3-0 against changing the zoning from ice rink to retail. As a result, SPI cannot move forward with its plans to demolish the rink and build another big box store. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean that the battle is over. The City does not believe it has the authority to compel SPI to reopen the rink, even though the Master Plan calls for an ice rink or similar recreational use. SPI has said that it will not reopen the rink at this time and will instead pursue alternative recreational uses at Bridgepointe. The Planning Commission will ultimately weigh in on any such proposal. This is good news given that the Planning Commission has harshly scolded SPI in the past for closing the rink and voted 5-0 against SPI as recently as last December. We are in the process of developing a strategy to convince SPI to reopen the rink or build a new rink elsewhere. For now, however, let's celebrate this very noteworthy victory. Thanks so much to those that attended the meeting, contacted the Council, wrote to the newspapers, and helped recruit other volunteers. Without you we never would have come this far. With your help, we have shown that we can preserve recreational opportunities for Peninsula residents, even in the face of rising land prices and ruthless developers. One thing that you can do is write a quick note to the City Council, thanking them for doing the right thing and asking them to work with SPI and the community to get our kids skating once again. Mayor Joe Goethals - jgoethals@cityofsanmateo.org Deputy Mayor David Lim - dlim@cityofsanmateo.org Councilmember Rick Bonilla - rbonilla@cityofsanmateo.org Councilmember Maureen Freschet - mfreschet@cityofsanmateo.org Councilmember Diane Papan - dpapan@cityofsanmateo.org Thanks again and let's celebrate! Mike Swire and the Committee to Save the San Mateo Ice Rink.