Build Heschel somewhere else

In the debate about the construction of the Heschel School, I keep reading or hearing that while residents of Old Agoura oppose it, other surrounding communities appear in favor of it. Obviously, residents of North Ranch, Calabasas or Hidden Hills won’t have to deal on a daily basis with the traffic impact of this project.

Would the Calabasas City Council or the mayor of Hidden Hills still support the Heschel School project if asked to pitch in to pay for improvements at the freeway interchange in order to alleviate traffic issues? Would they offer an alternative site within their community? Most likely, the city of Agoura Hills will be left holding the bag and will have to use taxpayers’ money to accommodate the private school’s impact.

Most residents of Old Agoura have no problem with one more school as long as it is a much-scaleddown project. What Heschel is proposing is something that in five or 10 years could potentially house as many students as Agoura High today. Heschel School should look for an alternative site that does not impact surrounding communities so dramatically or propose a much smaller project. Jean-Luc Nouzille Agoura Hills