Extremely unsafe I am disgusted and insulted by Gilbert Beezley's letter, with his ridiculous accusations and childish name-calling. This issue is about profit, not low-income housing. Let's look at the facts: The Star's June 24 article, "Knolls apartment plan has many foes," stated that the county is on track for housing, even low-income, housing. For Simi Valley's part, Deputy Director of Housing Dulce Conde Sierra estimates the city will meet its goals for all but 200 units designated for very low income, once apartments at a new mall and Runkle Canyon are built. Ventura County General Plan Manager Bruce Smith said the county has been on track for its goals, too. He expected that once the affordable units at California State University, Channel Islands, are factored in, the county will have met its affordable-housing quota as well. And now that Simi Valley has approved and broken ground for its new mall/home area north of Highway 118 between First Street and Erringer Road, the city and county are better than OK for housing needs. Developer, Lee Colton Communities, L.L.C., stands to make at least $5 million per year in rent if these apartments are allowed. This $5 million does not even factor in depreciation, tax breaks, incentives, and so on. Only 20 percent of the so-called Katherine Meadows would be designated low-income. Although the developer hides behind the guise of community concern, in fact, similar apartments from this developer rent for between $1,200 to $2,000 per month. The just-completed apartments next to the Simi Valley Metrolink Station, Hidden Valley, go for that amount. The smallest is 780 square feet, and the rent is $1,250! This developer dangles the carrot of "some of the apartments will be low income" in hopes of gaining approval for his profit-making machine. All the residents of the Knolls are asking is that the county general plan and guidelines, approved just this year, be adhered to, which is rural-zoned land. The sidewalk-free roads and services (or lack of) are unsuitable and unsafe for a high-density development such as the one being proposed. We are even losing our Ventura County fire station in about a year, which means that any fire or rescue vehicles will have to cross the tracks in order to answer any calls in the Knolls, or these proposed apartments. We have no problem with homes, as long as the safe and proper density is maintained. Two-hundred-and-fifty apartments are unfit and extremely unsafe for this rural neighborhood. -- Susan Wells, Santa Susana Knolls |