Sunland-Tujunga Support for Wachs

The Sunland-Tujunga Assn. of Residents’ board of directors supports City Councilman Joel Wachs’ efforts to keep our mountainsides from residential overdevelopment.

All of us love our semi-rural life style--that’s why we bought here--and we know if our open lands and hillsides don’t receive the minimum density safeguards already embraced by 14 other community plans in the city, these mountains will be developed beyond rescue.

Councilman Wachs does not aim to deprive homeowners of the right to improve their dwellings, and we know the final ordinance won’t take away that freedom. But his proposal will check over-densification and destruction of the San Gabriel and Verdugo mountains.

More than 3,500 persons signed a petition supporting his council motion in February. People living here know that our narrow streets, aging sewers, trash disposal horrors and the like cannot tolerate density on mountainsides. Major storms are nasty and unfriendly to our slopes, which range from 15% to an abundance of 65% to 75% slopes to vertical bluffs.

Outside interests must not be allowed to dictate what will result in the ruination of our fragile environment. Once their profits are realized, they will move on to saturate other areas, leaving us to cope with and pay for the aftermath.

Investing in land speculation and development is not a guarantee of profit, any more than buying stock in the stock market. The use of land and its development are legally within the police power of government at all levels, the criteria being reasonableness.

PETER GAREY

Tujunga

Garey is president and chairman of the Sunland-Tujunga Assn. of Residents.