Sustainability Council

* Re “Higher Density Zoning,” Ventura County letters, Sept. 5.

Kathy Heiberg’s characterization of the Sustainability Council of Ventura County as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” for advocating higher density zoning seems as unfair as it is incorrect.

The Sustainability Council does not advocate higher density development but promotes sustainable solutions to contemporary problems. Given an increasing population and constraints to suburban sprawl under Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources (SOAR), the present development patterns are not sustainable. Higher density zoning would be one way to resolve this conflict but we have been conditioned by low-density suburban developments to reject even modestly higher development densities.

Some of the most cherished cities and communities are built to higher densities. The reason we enjoy such places is because they remain “livable communities.” People can walk to stores, parks and even to work. Kids can walk the neighborhood without fear of crime or heavy car traffic. Ultimately, the question is not density but how hospitable a community is to people.

SOAR does not provide for solutions to our growing housing needs or stipulate how we solve the conflict between human needs and environmental preservation. That remains for all of us to do now. Using land within city boundaries and existing development zones more efficiently is not about wolves as sheep but about human problems that human beings have to solve.

At our Aug. 24 public meeting, citizens repeatedly spoke to the need for more common meeting grounds to promote “civic engagement.” People want to know and meet their neighbors and work with them to solve our modern problems. Sprawling suburban tracts rarely allow for such engagement. Driving many miles to work also cuts down on quality time at home or in public activities.

Ms. Heiberg implies that SOAR stopped all development and that we are promoting it. This is neither true nor possible. SOAR coordinator Roseann Mikos in the same edition of The Times wrote that SOAR allows for 60,280 new housing starts by 2020. We have an exciting opportunity to experiment with improved ways to manage our land resources so they optimally meet the competing demands for urbanization, farming and conservation of natural resources.

We invite Ms. Heiberg and others to help in the search for sustainable solutions to our real needs. Web sites about livable communities can be found at www.sustainableusa.org, and we can be reached at 653-2520.

BOB CHIANESE

Sustainability Council

of Ventura County