Courthouse Coverage

The excellent coverage of the “Chatsworth Courthouse: Disputed Project Proceeds” by staff writer Amy Pyle captured the true flavor of the situation.

I am writing because of the quotation in that article by Los Angeles Municipal Court Presiding Judge Jon M. Mayeda, who said: “If that court had been wrong on its recommendation, then the argument against that site would be more persuasive and clear.”

In the first place, the court should be sensitive to the citizens’ requirements without having to be told. The court certainly knows without being told that a courthouse should not be across the street from a residential neighborhood.

One would think that the homeowners are opposing a courthouse per se. We are not. It is locating it across the street from a residential neighborhood that violates all zoning and land use principles as well as common sense. That must be clear, especially to a presiding judge.

HARRY WM. GODLEY, Chatsworth. Godley is chairman of the Chatsworth Homeowners Committee