Reader is tired of the same old ‘mantra’

I happen to be one of the “silent majority.” Not any more. I’ve lived and worked in the city of Westlake Village since 1966 and witnessed many changes to our community. The original planner of Westlake did a fantastic job of planning.

In 1968, the planner projected the population would be 70,000 in 10 to 15 years. Our city now has only about 9,000. The entire infrastructure was predicated on these figures. That’s why so many people love it here.

The “vocal minority” always has the same mantra: traffic, pollution, noise, crime, the danger to our children (what are the children doing at Lowe’s?), urban decay, quality of life and “we don’t want another San Fernando Valley.”

For the life of me, how can one Lowe’s store do that? This Lowe’s project can’t be seen from the freeway or Lindero Canyon Road.

The state of California requires cities to have a general plan. This plan was based on the information it had at the time it was approved.

Our city council should look for what’s best for our city, which is money. The cost of running a city—police protection, for example—is always going up. The infrastructure is at least 40 years old and will need repairing and our children need the parks to be maintained. What if there is an emergency? This will deplete our reserves.

I think the majority of residents want our city to keep looking like a jewel, and that takes money. Other cities that don’t have a tax base have resorted to fees on utilities to keep up with costs. Our quality of life will be better if Lowe’s is approved.

Finally, a Town Center of only 230,000 square feet and 18,000 feet of open space will look a lot better than an office building of 370,000 square feet that is four stories high. Tony Tramonto Westlake Village