No megastores in our backyard

What makes Westlake Village different from many other areas is the absence of megastores. It's mainly a residential community with a few neighborhood shopping centers and a number of small businesses, which create a villagelike ambience that has attracted many families.

The site that used to have Kmart and a few other small businesses is zoned for a neighborhood shopping center to accommodate the neighborhood's needs. A Home Depot store does not fit into the picture.

The Home Depot, by its very nature of conducting its business, belongs in a regional shopping center. Both of the other Home Depot locations in Thousand Oaks are in these zones.

Though the old Home Depot on Ventu Park has been abandoned for more than five years, I don't have a problem with the new store in Newbury Park, (but) considering the population, how many Home Depot stores do we need? The Hampshire Road location is unneeded and is clearly the wrong site for yet another Home Depot store.

Also, I like to support local businesses and have a choice of small hardware, plumbing and specialty stores which make up our community. A Home Depot store at the proposed site will have environmental, economic and social impacts that will affect the quality of life in the small community we have lived in and enjoyed for many years.

We cannot drive small businesses out by allowing Home Depot to open a store in locations planned for neighborhood shopping centers. These (sites) were planned for stores that would serve a neighborhood's needs, like groceries and pharmacies, not contractors' warehouse stores.

And since when has a Home Depot store become an ideal and inviting gateway to a community which prides itself as a safe and quiet neighborhood for raising families?

By rejecting the Home Depot store in our neighborhood shopping center, the city will be forced to look into other alternatives.

Then we can look to revitalize the spot that Home Depot has held since 2004, when Kmart closed. Then we can revitalize the site with a plan that will be better suited for our community. Mo Sedighi Westlake Village