Gates don't make people snobs

I have lived in various gated communities for 14 years now in Calabasas. I, and a whole lot of Calabasas and Westlake Village residents, like living in them, and it's not to be "snobbish," but the extra safety and extra care the properties receive and the level of upkeep the homeowners are asked to provide is a big factor. Why in the world would you want to deny those in Oak Park the same benefits? I am sure some Oak Park residents want the extra protection and the extra value gated communities provide for.

"Oak Park officials have long believed gates serve to separate communities, not unite them." Ron Stark, a former MAC member who's been active in Oak Park since it was founded, said it was his opinion that gates created "a bunch of small communities that thought about themselves and their own problems."

Ron is right; we do think about ourselves and our problems. What is wrong with that? It's not the city's problem anymore; it's ours. And it's my impression that our community is very united and wilbe more united as we grow. With 500 homes, that is not some smalcommunity. Most of our gated communities are mini-neighborhoods with our own security. We pay for all our trash pickup, alour resurfacing of streets, basically everything that normally would be paid for by the city, and we still pay property taxes, so what's the downside? Everyone wins.

I think Ron Stark is probably not doing Oak Park any favors with his attitude. "The fancy fences carry a certain cachet, but the snob appeacan be a turnoff. If a community

doesn't have gates to begin withlet's not add them now."

Snob appeal? So the Acorn thinks we are snobs because we want a better place for our kids to grow up that's not crime ridden? That's nice and trash free and welkept? Where the property values increase at a great pace? I really am turned off by the Acorn's impression of us. Maybe you should stop representing Calabasas and Westlake Village. We are just too snobbish for you. Howard Benson Calabasas