Tonner Canyon Debate

I would like to congratulate The Times for shining a light on the City of Industry and its “plans” for Tonner Canyon (“Industry Holding a Key to Wildlife Corridor,” Aug. 9).

But there are a couple of details that were not included in the article. The City of Industry says it bought Lower Tonner Canyon to prevent development. In fact, what it was more interested in blocking was the desire of the city of Brea to buy that land to truly preserve it as open space.

Since Brea does not have a $1.6-billion fund balance, unlike the City of Industry, it was in the process of assembling grants when the City of Industry sued the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy to stop it from giving a grant to Brea.

Obviously, this was a stalling tactic to enable the City of Industry to purchase the land itself. So it is a little galling to listen to the City of Industry’s concern about open space on a piece of land that is not even contiguous to the city itself and is mostly in another county.

So what are the intentions of the City of Industry? It definitely is not for open space, or it would have helped Brea buy this land. Is it for a massive reservoir on an active fault line? Is it for a major highway? Is it for even more houses?

When is the City of Industry going to tell the residents who actually live by this property?

Eric Johnson

Chairman, Sierra Club

Puente-Chino Hills

Task Force

The City of Industry has 777 residents, 124 housing units and 117 registered voters. It has admitted it has a $1.6-billion reserve, in the hands of five elected officials.

That amount is 15% of the state’s shortfall. Why does a city this small need so much money? Why does one city, out of its own jurisdiction, have the right to frame the debate about the future of cities in three different counties? The City of Industry owns land in San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Orange counties now.

The City of Industry should be clear about its plans for the property and not be coy about it. Is it because it intends to build a dam and reservoir?

If so, all of the benefits of a dam project and reservoir go to the City of Industry, while all of the risks go to Brea downstream and Diamond Bar residents above the dams.

Meanwhile, the highest and best use of the land is to leave it as open space as a wildlife corridor to link the critical pieces of vanishing habitat in Orange County that will die out or inbreed if this land is developed.

Jan D. Vandersloot

Newport Beach