‘Hidden Dragons’ in Building Ban

This April will mark 50 years since my husband and I moved into our new home in San Gabriel. We are still fortunate enough to have the same home and one another.

As you might imagine, we have seen many changes in San Gabriel, both good and bad. We have voted for many politicians and seriously studied and discussed various issues we felt were important to maintaining the loveliness that first attracted us to this city.

We are delighted that our initial $6,000 investment of 50 years ago is so beautifully healthy today. We are also quite blessed in having lovely young neighbors who have maintained and even improved our entire street.

We are quite irritated by the recent imposition of a one-year moratorium on construction, and are upset enough to write our first letter to a newspaper in a very long time.

I doubt if any of the people who so ardently supported the moratorium are more concerned about or love San Gabriel any more than we and our friends, who have spent well over half our lives here.

So, we now have a one-year moratorium. What about the businesses who fear that fire could destroy or badly damage their buildings and they could not rebuild for a year? What about the businesses that suffered earthquake damage and have had to move because of moratorium restrictions? The hidden dragons in the moratorium are just beginning to surface. This should teach us a strong lesson for the future. Always consider the whole picture.

Mary Bertone

SAN GABRIEL