Voting on Growth

* In reading “Decisions on Growth Come to the Ballot Box” (Nov. 2), I chuckled at the irony. Elected local officials are alarmed that the initiatives will take them out of the planning process and complicate governance immensely. Is this not how taxpayers, community groups and watchdog organizations have felt for the last 10 years, with endless tract home and big-box development being fast-tracked? These ballot initiatives are a wake-up call to our elected and appointed representatives, as well as developers--clean up your act or run the risk of constantly fighting the ballot box.

MICHELLE BERG

Long Beach