Size of

Heschel West kept getting larger

As a resident of Old Agoura, I read with amusement the same rhetoric that Heschel respects its neighbors and offers compromises. Interestingly, when residents of Old Agoura were first approached by Heschel about a modest campus to accommodate 300 to 400 students, K-5, they proposed a campus nestled back against the hillside. Many residents were willing to consider this use.

Over the course of numerous meetings, the project has mushroomed to the massive campus that is proposed today. All of our concerns were dismissed.

Where is the compromise and good neighbor policy? In fact, the draft Environmental Impact Report is downright insulting as it glosses over California Environmental Quality Act requirements and fails to set forth accurate information and current studies.

So much discussion has been directed at the need for quality education. Old Agoura itself is already home to three schools. Many of us respect Heschel for their dreams and educational goals for their children; however, if we are to stick to the facts, then this remains, above all, a land use issue.

How can Heschel think that their children’s education is any more important than the quality of life of our children? Are not all children equal under God? Certainly, the values of home and family should be as important as one’s education.

I believe that disrupting the lives of over 400 families by increasing their burdens of daily traffic, noise and environmental impacts as well as putting their lives at risk in times of wildfire emergencies and evacuations is a rather self-serving way to demonstrate one’s efforts to respect their neighbors.

Kelly Morris

Agoura Hills