Development of Ahmanson Ranch

Re “Project Approval Is a Jurisdictional Mishap,” Dec. 26.

I have no connection with the Ahmanson Ranch development. I have lived in the West Hills / Canoga Park area for the past 20 years. Although I am concerned with overcrowding in previously developed areas, I am dismayed over the stop-the-Ahmanson-Ranch-development campaign.

We have growing businesses in this area. The Ventura Freeway tech corridor includes major companies like Amgen Inc., Alcatel, Blue Cross, Nova Development and Teradyne Inc. As these companies continue to grow, their new employees will want homes in this area. If this campaign is successful it is likely that those new employees will be crowding our freeways and polluting the air as they travel past open areas to distant housing developments. Furthermore, many new companies as well as those already located in this area will move elsewhere to communities that appreciate the benefits of new development.

I understand that many of my neighbors are concerned with traffic on Victory Boulevard and the Ventura Freeway, but the alternatives are even more depressing. The various groups fighting new development ought to be working with city and county planners to find ways of minimizing the impact of additional traffic instead of looking for possible environmental impacts. The alternative that concerns me most is a loss of business opportunities that will result in stagnation and recession for this area.

Brad Sherman knows that this area needs new, vital industries to ensure growth. He needs to look beyond the noisy groups fighting this development and see the long-term benefits that will occur when this development is completed.

DON EVANS

Canoga Park