Los Angelization of Central Coast

The article reminded me of testimony a gentleman from Los Angeles, newly arrived in Arroyo Grande, gave at a City Council meeting last fall. He was testifying in favor of the second phase of the development where he lived, and where developers were proposing to remove some 300 oak trees.

He spoke passionately of the beauty of Arroyo Grande and he said, “I’m an environmentalist; I love trees. I planted 24 trees on my property, including four redwoods.”

Little does he realize that the developers bulldozed more than 600 beautiful oaks in the area where his white behemoth of a mansion now stands. These oaks grew to their majestic size without any help from environmentalists or the municipal water system.

The sad part is that he means well, but it never occurred to him to ask what the land his house stood on looked like before the developers, with the permission of the planners and governing bodies, decided to turn land into money.

But the saddest part of all is that he could have looked out his window at the area slated for the second phase and seen what this land used to look like, but he doesn’t know how. He just wants more big white mansions on the hills to keep him company.

This is what those of us who love this area and have worked for years to preserve it are up against. Hence, our hostility toward our Board of Supervisors, city councils, planning departments and the Los Angeles folks who could help prevent this desecration, but are too greedy, shortsighted or unknowledgeable to do so.

ELIZABETH SCOTT-GRAHAM

Arroyo Grande