Asphalt Jungle

I am active in the ballot initiative to put into law the Ventura comprehensive plan that retains portions of present agricultural land which may at some future time be converted into parks.

Since 1965 when my family and I were assigned to Ventura from Pisa, Italy, where I was an engineering consultant for two years, we experienced the immense growth of Ventura. In my former engineering assignments we had traveled and lived in parts of the United States, Europe and Asia and came to the conclusion that Ventura is the most beautiful and best suited area to settle our family.

A new majority of City Council members now appears intent on changing the character of our city by overturning our former City Council’s comprehensive plan of retaining open space of farms, parks and orchards in favor of an asphalt jungle. Although there is already allocated over 4,000 new homes, developers Hertel and Jones (who, by the way, have excellent reputations for building quality homes) want to change the status of designated agriculture or park land because they hope the new majority in the City Council will approve.

I feel that although our mayor and City Council members are well intentioned and likable people who are trying to create jobs for our citizens in difficult economic circumstances, they are also destroying the environment and quality of life that made Ventura such a desirable place to live.

SY EINSTOSS

Ventura