Readers React: L.A. County made an egregiously shortsighted call on Tejon Ranch’s Centennial project

To the editor: What a stupid decision by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors to approve construction of the 19,000-home Centennial development in the far northwest corner of Los Angeles County. What was the board’s majority thinking?

Approving 19,000 new homes 70 miles from downtown L.A. is a spectacular mistake. Haven’t the supervisors noticed our freeway congestion? Haven’t they calculated the greenhouse gas emissions that will be generated by all those commuters driving hours each day to and from work?

This decision makes a mockery of California’s environmental leadership. Kudos and thanks to Supervisor Sheila Kuehl and her appointee to the Regional Planning Commission, Laura Shell, for casting the only “no” votes throughout this process. We need more of their common-sense, clear-eyed thinking about development issues.

Sarah Tamor, Santa Monica

..

To the editor: “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot” — it’s a phrase from a Joni Mitchell song that has come to me so many times over the years as I have seen the beautiful Southern California I grew up in being paved over with waves of cookie-cutter homes spilling over hills and valleys.

Too bad the vote on the Centennial project wasn’t given to the people of the region rather than the few who seem to have eyes only for the profits to be made.

Leslie Wilmoth, Grants Pass, Ore.

..

To the editor: There was an article recently about the seven states that use Colorado River water making plans for reduced deliveries in the future. Now, we read of the L.A. County supervisors approving the project on Tejon Ranch to build 19,000 homes along with schools, business parks and hotels.

Will every home, business and hotel at Centennial have urinals that do not flush, extreme low-flow showers, cactus landscaping and no pools?

If so, there will still be a water shortage in the future.

Daniel Diamond, Santa Barbara

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook