Big box stores have no place
in Agoura Hills

I would like to believe that the same city council that gave us apartment buildings in place of the only 24-hour coffee shop in Agoura opted to take the "exception to Measure H" question off of the November ballot out of good judgment.

The city council appears relentlessly wedded to the "anchor store concept." In this case, the bait for overturning Measure H would be a Neiman Marcus, the theory being that, after shopping at Neiman, customers would spill over into other retailers and restaurants.

Aside from the fact that a high density development like this would generate the same traffic and other nuisances that a Home Depot would have, consider this:

The failure rate of high-end retail is truly dismal, and if a Neiman should fail in this location, then what will we have? The answer is a huge empty shell and a pool of very few desirable tenants to fill the space no longer occupied by Neiman, all of whom would assume the same fate. Doesn’t this sound just a bit like what we passed Measure H for in the first place?

I’m quite sure that the anchor concept is what’s best financially for Developer Selleck, but what is best for the people of Agoura? Are they telling us that people in Agoura won’t go out to eat or shop unless lured by $450 blue jeans?

More retail is necessary for the city to meet its financial goals and we have precious little fine dining currently. But doesn’t a more rustic, lower density project with upscale restaurants and fine smaller retail fit better into Agoura’s small-town character?

The proposals I’ve seen sound hopelessly like The Commons and most of Orange County. One has but to drive through the grossly over-developed Calabasas to know that we don’t need to play catch up to that.

It seems to me, given the downside risk to all but the developer, the anchor concept is totally bone-headed. A wise man once defined "screwing up" as "trying something that probably won’t work, just in case it does."

A Neiman is unlikely to succeed in the long run, and will bring as much traffic and pollution as any other big box-type store, albeit in nicer cars.

The entire anchor concept is trying for Agoura, and in years to come, is more likely to be an anchor on our backsides than an anchor of success.

I urge Agoura voters to consider these criteria when voting in the upcoming elections.

Vote for Kuperberg and Rishoff.

Larry Brown

Agoura Hills