Wants quiet beauty,
not ‘big boxes’

There is a quiet beauty to Agoura Hills that will be lost if the "Big Box" stores like Home Depot are allowed to take over our suburban streets and rolling hills.

The quaint area around Lady Face Mountain, where the carved Indian statue overlooks a waterfall and a two-lane road winds through Old Agoura’s small shops, gives people the feeling that they are hidden away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

If Agoura Road is changed from a rural two-way street to five lanes of congested traffic in order to accommodate the Home Depot, not only will it cause an upheaval to the surrounding businesses and residents, it will smother the small-town community atmosphere and die.

I was wondering why Agoura Hills is the target for a huge Home Depot and not Westlake or Calabasas? Wouldn’t it stand to reason that the more populated areas would have a greater need for the "Big Box" stores?

Could it be that the developers know the residents of Calabasas and Westlake wouldn’t stand for those types of commercialized structures in their classy neighborhoods? I can’t imagine a Home Depot next to their gorgeous golf courses or by "The Commons" and "The Promenade."

It just wouldn’t fit in.

I hope that the Agoura Hills city councilmembers will get a positive vision for our city. We already have the rolling hills, oak trees and beautiful homes surrounded by open space. Why not take a step in the right direction and enhance those assets by bringing in structures that are architecturally pleasing to the eye, like "The Commons" and "The Promenade"? Look at their overwhelming success. People come from the three surrounding valleys to enjoy a beautiful and peaceful environment.

We should capitalize on what we already have in our own backyard, not destroy it.

Marzette Bonar

Agoura Hills