February 21, 2001

Demolition or construction, the man took risks

His Viking ancestors led the way west from Europe centuries' before Columbus "discovered" the Americas. For a thousand years they lived in Iceland, that volcanic blob in mid-Atlantic.

He was a Canadian, a child of Icelandic parents who then moved to the Bay Area. He joined the navy in World War II. An avid wrestler most of his life, he was a man so physically fit and mentally alert he led an Underwater Demolition Team. He and his crew were notorious for one particular stunt. When the first Marines landed on the first beach in the bloody, heroic effort to retake Guam from the Japanese army, they found a sign already posted that read: "Welcome Marines. USO 2 blocks. Courtesy UDT 4." He was reprimanded, but also widely admired for his nerve and daring. Andres "Andy" Oddstad was only in his thirties when he found a little coastal valley known mostly for artichokes. Oddstad saw opportunity. He bought most of the ranches in San Pedro Valley and proceeded to find many ways to cut costs and build good homes that could be sold inexpensively to his fellow veterans and their families. All of Linda Mar grossed about $40,000,000. That's a ballpark figure, arrived at by multiplying 4000 homes times an average $10,000 price tag. Today those 4000 homes are worth substantially more than a billion dollars. More important, they provide housing for roughly a third of Pacifica's residents. Tens of thousands of children grew up in Oddstad homes. A large part of the financial security enjoyed by thousands of families has been generated by appreciation of their Oddstad homes. I bought a Linda Mar ranch home in 1963. I estimate that, since I moved in, my home has appreciated at the rate of $21.50 a day, every day for 37 years. I owe it all to Andy Oddstad, his intelligence, his foresight, and his willingness to take risks. So do thousands of my neighbors, including many who never heard of Andy, even some who think Linda Mar was a terrible idea.

Ironically, Mr. Oddstad was on his way to a physical fitness conference in Fresno when he was killed in a terrible auto accident in January 1964, 37 years ago. It was the other driver's fault completely, small comfort to those who admired and appreciated Oddstad. If he was alive today he'd be only in his early eighties. Like another man he'd met and admired while in the navy, John F. Kennedy, he died much too young.

Of course, some folks have never forgiven Andy for creating Linda Mar. If they had their way, San Pedro Valley would still be filled with artichokes, a quiet rural enclave where the loudest sound would be the wind whistling through the Eucalyptus trees.

Not all developers are candidates for sainthood, not even Andy Oddstad. Developers are pragmatists. To accomplish their goals they have to pour concrete, pound nails, saw lumber, pave streets, dig sewer lines, and sometimes annoy politicians and those who like to describe themselves as environmentalists. Personally, I think it's time we put a long moratorium on acquisitions by land trusts and open space districts. People are important. People need houses they can afford. It's time they got more of them.

E-mail Paul Azevedo at thereactor@earthlink.net or visit his website, http://home.earthlink.net/~thereactor/