Oak Creek was a mistake

Oak Creek was a mistake

I moved to Agoura Hills to get away from the "big city" life and because I believed it would be an ideal place to raise a family. The area has good schools, a predominately single-family residential makeup, a low crime rate and quite a few open spaces with natural flora and fauna. Agoura Hills always had an air of being protected. It was nice to see open space as I exited the freeway at Kanan on my way home from work. I even used to see deer where the Oak Creek complex is beginning to sprawl. Yes, the city has some apartment buildings, but there is still an "old neighborhood" feel.

I find it hypocritical that the city council opposed the Ahmanson Ranch and yet was so willing to allow the Oak Creek complex.

I foolishly assumed that there were open spaces because people in the community wanted them and they would automatically be protected by city officials. This is probably about the time the city officials will say, "Well you should have voiced your opinions and concerns at the council meetings, public hearings and developer workshops!"

I moved here to raise a family in a nice, established neighborhood, not to become a political activist in my free time. I work too hard to attend various forums where I can speak my mind to no avail. We put our trust in the officials we elect to make the right decisions that will keep our community safe, desirable and free from overdevelopment.

City officials are naively or knowingly kidding themselves if they think the community wants or needs the continued expansion of Agoura Hills. I am also very aware that "money talks" in these business propositions much louder than I can project my voice at any city meeting.

I moved away from my old neighborhood because apartment building began springing up, schools became overcrowded and crime rates rose. I know people who went to the city meetings and voiced their opposition. The sad truth was that in the end they were no match for the developers who "greased palms" and the city officials who doled out favors. Upon being elected or hired many city officials sell their souls and make unconscionable decisions without the concerned communities’ best interests in mind.

Some city officials like to "correct" editorial submissions when they are offended by certain community members’ opinions. Instead of taking the opinions to heart, they say that concerned residents do not have "all the facts" and that they are "misinformed."

They further try to validate their positions by lashing out with rhetoric laced with self-serving semantics.

However, there are a few things I know for a fact that cannot be disputed. The Oak Creek complex will create more traffic, more people and more entries for the "Sheriff’s Blotter" section of The Acorn.

Our community members and city officials need to keep everything in perspective the next time someone in our town wants to turn a prairie into a parking lot.

Mike Peters

Agoura Hills