Heschel West must get its act together

Heschel West was "finally approved," after almost 10 years. You would think that with a vociferous opposition from the local residents of Old Agoura and the city of Agoura Hills that they may have had something to do with that long time frame, but you would be mistaken.

There is a simple reason that it has taken Heschel so long to get their project approval with 29 new conditions. That reason should be obvious to everyone by now- they do not have a real plan. Heschel proponents have a wish for a 750-student, 2,638cartrips a day generating private religious school but they still do not have a legitimate quantifiable plan.

For 10 years Heschel representatives have consistently shown up at public hearings unprepared and without required project plans and appropriate supporting documentation. I still do not know of one person who has seen a comprehensive plan that accurately renders this project or that even shows us what to expect.

What we can definitely expect is for Heschel representatives to keep doing what they have done for the last 10 years. That is evading, delaying and obfuscating while marginalizing legitimate concerns of the city and the Old Agoura neighbors.

This half-baked private school sortaplan with all its inherent problems whose access infrastructure cost is now mandated to be paid with city of Agoura Hills public money was "finally approved" for one reason alone. If you followed the preposterous 10year long public process, it is obvious even to a casual observer: Zev Yaroslavsky and his cronies wanted it approved.

This process is far from over, though as Yaroslavsky, in his haste to pay back political favors, left the door wide open for inevitable legal challenges on so many different issues it will be hard to pick just a few. Steve Casey Agoura Hills