Still opposing the new school

Last Wednesday, the Agoura Hills City Council voted 4-to-1 in favor of a development agreement with the Heschel West Day School: In exchange for further concessions from the school, the city agreed not to block the development in court.

I appreciate the difficult position of the council members and respect their position. Yet voting in favor of the agreement was misguided.

As each council member acknowledged during deliberations, this development is wrong for the location. The council voted unanimously to reject it within the last year, and the residents of Agoura Hills—not only from Old Agoura—have been largely opposed to it for 10 years. Our demand that the size of the school be scaled down was never met.

Four out of the five council members, following the recommendation of the city attorney, were unwilling to risk the potential expense of a lawsuit and its aftermath because they felt that the project would go through anyway.

It remains too big a school for the neighborhood. Our city will suffer the costs, disruptions, hazards and traffic for years.

Residents and council members agreed that the Heschel School is being shoved down our throats by Zev Yaroslavsky and the L.A. County Board of Supervisors in a stark reminder of the reasons for incorporating 25 years ago. Despite the conciliatory tone from the schools' representative during the public hearing, this hardly creates the conditions for good neighbor relationships going forward.

Mayor Pro Tem Weber understood in "voting with his heart" that you do not appease people who bully you into doing something you feel is wrong. You keep on fighting. Standing up for what one believes is right and yields greater benefits over time. Jean-Luc Nouzille Agoura Hills