Chamber president letter disappoints





I was very disappointed reading Louis E. Masry’s letter in The Acorn a couple of weeks ago.

It’s not about the school itself. I hear Heschel is a wonderful school, a great place for kids to get an education. The resistance is about location.

Louis E. Masry’s letter states it will “bring more businesses to Agoura Hills and increase our property values.” Really? Driver is the only way to get in and out of Old Agoura and it already supports the high school, not to mention two preschools.

Two weeks ago, I made the mistake of turning right from Colodny onto Driver at 3 p.m. It took me 20 minutes to get to Thousand Oaks Boulevard. That’s less then a 2-mile drive.

With Heschel at the other end, every resident of Old Agoura will be trapped at drop off and pick up times. I can’t even imagine what will happen when the fires come back, and emergency personal won’t even be able to get by the frantic parents. So no, I don’t think our real estate prices will do anything but go down.

There is also the fact the city of Agoura is required to give this private institution millions of dollars. I sure would love to know where that money will be taken from as our public schools take cut after cut.

And finally, the proposed location is a beautiful, open piece of land. Why the need to rip it apart when there are numerous developed lots sitting vacant? I drive through Calabasas and Woodland Hills regularly, and the congestion, traffic and overcrowded way of life makes me happy to come home to a slower paced, beautiful area.

I invite Louis Masry and all those in favor of this location to drive down Driver at 3 p.m. and then stop and look at the rare, untouched beauty of driving up Chesebro. Maybe you can start to understand life is a little more then money. This is a fight I know that I, for one, will always be willing to fight for.

The uniqueness of the area is the open spaces and the tranquility. Be careful what you are fighting to do to it. We will lose all this and become just another blur of city in between city after city.
Pat Colabella
Agoura Hills



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