SOAR and Development

* I have read article after article regarding housing or commercial developments trying to gain approval throughout Ventura County. From their growing activism and the recent passing of multiple Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources (SOAR) measures, it would seem that virtually no person currently living in Ventura County wants any piece of remaining open property developed in any way or fashion.

I completely agree with not wanting Ventura County to turn into another Orange County or San Fernando Valley, but what is hard to appreciate is the selfishness that seems to prevail. Everyone seems to think that it’s their “right” to determine what someone else does with their property, especially if they don’t like or want whatever is going in.

Funny thing is, they didn’t seem to feel it was an infringement on someone’s rights when their own subdivision was developed. I guess it was just fine destroying that piece of history. So it’s OK for current residents to live where they want, but it’s certainly not OK for anyone else to want that same thing.

When did everyone become so self-righteous?

The article, “Homes Sprouting, Farms Dying,” (Feb. 7) spoke of a housing tract being built on Nichols Ranch. Nearby residents wanted the land to remain a farm / orchard. Why don’t they just pool their money and buy that property and farm it? Oh, but that’s a crazy idea, isn’t it? Why should we be expected to do things for ourselves? Let’s make government do it.

Current residents have no more right to a good life than new or future residents do. You should ultimately have no right to dictate what someone else does with their property or where someone else lives. Remember, we’re supposed to be a free society. Part of that freedom is your being able to move away when you don’t like it here anymore, as well as the freedom for someone else to sell or develop their property, just as someone did many years ago with the land you now call home.

People’s self-centeredness can be so frightening at times. Can anyone ever move beyond just looking out for No. 1? Can we try to see things from a point of view other than our own?

Maybe we should all try to remember that few of us are true natives to this land and that all people should have the right to enjoy the kind of life that Ventura County affords us.

MICHAEL W. BILHARZ

Oxnard Shores

* Re “An Economist Looks at SOAR,” Ventura County Perspective, Feb. 7.

It would be difficult to argue with economist Mark Schniepp’s conclusions that restrictions on buildable land lead to higher home prices. While this by itself might argue against land-use restrictions, property values alone cannot frame the debate.

Supporters of SOAR have concerns about environmental issues--preserving watershed, protecting flood plain areas, preserving wildlife and defending air quality. It is about population density and the recognition that unfettered growth is destructive to us individually and to our communities collectively.

I don’t believe homeowners who supported SOAR in overwhelming numbers did so to increase their personal net worth. Rather, they understood that as citizens they have a right and responsibility to debate values and lifestyles versus unregulated use of the land to satisfy an insatiable need for housing. What we should be studying and debating is population growth that is out of control.

JOYCE A. WHITE

Simi Valley