Sorry to see the hills for sale

I am writing this letter because my sister and I were heartbroken to see a "For sale 193 acres" sign go up on that beautiful open land adjoining the 101 Freeway at the Las Virgenes on-ramp.

For nearly our whole lives we have seen horses grazing on that land. We always look for deer on our way to school. We even see coyotes roaming free across the hills. It is so peaceful to see the redtail hawks glide above the fields. How much more beautiful it is to look at those fields of waving grass, trees and natural landscape than it is to see a concrete or glass building, a parking lot or some store which we don't need.

You are probably excited to sell this land because it will bring you many thousands, if not millions, of dollars. How sad it is that people grow up and measure their wealth by the dollars in their pockets rather than the beauty around them.

I am writing to ask you not to sell this land. You will only get money for it, but the way it is, it is priceless. It is full of animals such as birds, skunks, raccoons, coyotes, deer gophers, field mice and rats, squirrels, bunnies and many types of bugs.

Calabasas has always prided itself on being "the last of the Old West," but it is turning into a "concrete jungle," full of housing developments, minimalls and corner stores. There will be no "Old West" if all the open land is replaced by ugly buildings and more smog. When you pass through Calabasas and Agoura, you won't even know it. It will be just like you're going through the San Fernando Valley- one billboard, one building after another.

Do we really need more shops and restaurants? I think all we need is a bit of simple beauty such as those hills and the old house. When I look out over those hills, I feel like the luckiest kid in the world.

To the adults who are selling off this land and building all those unnecessary developments, I hope that someday you will realize that there are treasures in this world so much more valuable than money. Please leave the open spaces alone. Emily, 13, and Ilsa, 10, Buelow Agoura Hills