Development of Ahmanson Ranch

* Adrian Rodriguez, 1st Vice President, Washington Mutual, tries to justify the development of the new Ahmanson city by using misleading and deceptive verbiage in his letter supporting destruction of Ahmanson Ranch to create the new city (letters to the Valley edition, Aug 22). Our communities will suffer health hazards and traffic nightmares. His traffic estimates are based on a flawed and outdated environmental impact report performed over eight years ago. Washington Mutual’s intentions are solely financially driven. They will not have to live with the pollution and congestion [the project] will create.

Using its own outdated, obsolete and flawed EIR figures, the company wants the surrounding communities to believe that 37,540 more car trips will not cause a major traffic nightmare on our local roads. They want us to believe that 200 tons of new vehicle pollution and 20,000 tons of highly suspect toxic airborne dust that will be created will not affect us.

Washington Mutual’s numbers do not add up. They are putting profits over people.

It is time to settle this matter once and for all.

Not one shovel of earth should be moved until all serious questions about this project are answered by individuals other than those who have a vested interest and stand to make a huge profit at our expense. A new, complete EIR must be performed.

JOE BEHAR

President, West Valley

Community Coalition

Woodland Hills

* Washington Mutual admits that the increase in traffic from the proposed Ahmanson development will add an additional 37,000 cars a day on our streets. This, they say, is much less than the 50,000 alleged by anti-Ahmanson development people. They may be correct, but there is one key point no one is bringing out: We do not have room for one more car on our roadways. Our freeways and surface streets are already gridlocked. Short of building new freeways (billions) or buying everyone flying cars (trillions), the money Washington Mutual proposes for road improvement is an outright joke. Are we idiots?

DAVID BARAL

West Hills

* The assurances of Washington Mutual about the soundness of the project insults the intelligence of anyone who currently has to enter the Ventura Freeway at the Valley Circle Boulevard / Mulholland Drive on-ramp. In addition to this obvious further gridlocking of the Ventura Freeway are the questions of fire and police protection for this city-size development. Will Ventura County continue to drain L.A. County and city resources of emergency services also?

JEFFREY M. SOLOMON

Woodland Hills

* I was impressed by the concern for West Valley community quality-of-life values addressed by your panel of West Valley community leaders (Valley Perspective, Aug. 8). Janice Lee’s message was compelling by making a head-on challenge to the Ahmanson Ranch proposed development mitigation measures. Equally potent was Gordon Murley’s argument, which identified the worsening cumulative effects of so-called mitigation measures proposed by Ahmanson Land Co.

However, I was most disappointed to observe the lack of any mention of cultural and fine arts quality-of-life needs. Apparently Ahmanson’s vision of cultural quality is encapsulated by providing not one but two golf courses. The nearest excellent performing arts facility is at Pierce College. Hopefully the development company will seriously consider a year-round facility that could provide art exhibits and smaller scale music and dance events to arts aficionados.

As past president of the San Fernando Valley Arts Council, I know the key business and commerce leaders who have been instrumental in fostering greater Valley quality of life via arts. I await a commitment to the arts from the Ahmanson Land Co. and / or its fiscal directors.

JERRY DOMINE

Winnetka