Brush-clearing law will affect neighbors

The Poway City Council is preparing an ordinance that will require brush clearing and maintenance within 100 feet of all structures in Poway, even on adjacent, privately owned land.

The rub is that while the owners of newly built homes are regularly required to pay for this brush clearance on adjacent properties, the new ordnance will put this burden on the adjacent property owner. Why should the adjacent property owner be required to pay for brush clearance simply because the neighbor built their home too close to the property line?

I think this is going to affect a large number of unsuspecting property owners in Poway. Poway already has published an estimate for the city's clearing costs on 23 acres of public land of $270,000 (more than $10,000 per acre!) plus $58,000 for employees.

The cost to private owners, of course, would be far greater. How many owners are going to be surprised when the city comes knocking and demanding that they pay to clear brush for their neighbors?

GARY SAMAD
Poway

SOUTH

Environmental group ignores real problem

Regarding the April 17 editorial “Energy folly/New power plants face knee-jerk opposition”:

Why is it only now that the Environmental Health Coalition opposes MMC Energy's peaker plant in southwest Chula Vista and not in 2001 when the decision was made to build it? I am offended that while the environmental group did not speak up in 2001 it now wants to stop MMC from upgrading an older and dirtier facility being run under a 30-year special use permit.

The coalition has expressed its concern for southwest Chula Vista residents with regard to their health and vulnerability to respiratory problems; I know my community and it's not an improved peaker that we are concerned about. We are concerned with the impact of the harmful emissions being released by idling trucks for another business in the neighborhood. Truck idling is a major and genuine concern that has been brought up to the environmental group by many local residents time and time again without any results.

We applaud MMC for its willingness to upgrade its peaker with improved technology and for its willingness to help work with Heartland Meat Co. in retrofitting its trucks to eliminate diesel exhaust fumes.

The MMC Peaker Project will provide twice the amount of energy much more cleanly and efficiently and with substantial economic benefit to the city.

E. BRIAN DURANTE
Chula Vista

If only Wal-Mart ran gas stations

Sunday's Dialog section contained a letter from Chris Cruse of Poway, who clearly has a problem with Wal-Mart.

It seems the letter-writer's brother moved to Springfield, Mo., last summer and in that time has gone out and made a count of how many Wal-Marts are within 100 miles. The premise is that there are 40 Wal-Marts in the Springfield/southwest Missouri area. It also is said that all of the mainstream supermarkets have left town and, of course, they took the low prices with them.

In doing a search on the Internet, it is hard to find any evidence to back up the claim. I can find only about 10 Wal-Mart establishments, superstore, pharmacy, regular store, etc., in the 100-mile radius. In fact, the population of Springfield and southwest Missouri is not large.

The only question I see from what is happening with food/gas pricing problems is: How soon can Wal-Mart get into the gasoline business?

Wal-Mart is big, yes, but for some reason, one can still go there and buy just about anything cheaper than at the “mainstream” supermarkets!

When was the last time you saw some guy out on the corner changing the gas price to go lower than the guy across the street, just to get your business? I would love to see that yellow dot/happy face from Wal-Mart at the local gas stations!

TIM WING
Chula Vista

EAST

Tone down rhetoric and stay a community

It is time to stop the hated rhetoric. Yes, we are again facing an election for seats on the Campo/Lake Morena Planning Group – an election I believe that will be a referendum on development. But that is just one person's opinion. What is wrong with a healthy, honest debate on the future of our community? Nothing!

Unfortunately, what should be an election based on issues and candidates' beliefs on development, has become an arena for people to write hateful, hurtful things about those who disagree with them. It gives people an excuse for sending hate-filled e-mails to those who may not share their opinion on a particular issue. It allows rude behavior in public meetings, behavior that normally would never be considered acceptable in a civilized society. What a sad commentary on our small community.

Recently, I have seen people who have had their jobs actually threatened because they stood up in a public meeting and expressed their views against a particularly favored project. I have seen people heckled in public meetings because they dared to speak up against the views of the majority attending.

How sad. This is America and no one should be intimidated into being afraid to express their opinions – no matter what side of the issue they are on.

I am going to be the first to bite the bullet and apologize to anyone I may have angered or hurt by any “personal attacks” I may have said or written in the past, and pledge to never allow myself to take part in “personal attacks” again on anyone simply because they may disagree with me about land-use issues. I hope everyone will follow my example and put away their venom-filled pens and conduct themselves in a way our community can be proud of. Let's please agree to disagree but not get personal.

Let this election be based on people's honest beliefs on land-use issues and development, not on their personalities. Let's everyone pull together to make Campo/Lake Morena a community we can be proud of.

BEV ESRY
Campo

SAN DIEGO

Rich kids' museum

I've been so excited about the New Children's Museum opening, and then I saw the admission prices and the no-stroller policy. Wow! A cost of $10 a person unless the child is younger than a 1-year-old. I'm sure glad they opened up the place for families; it's just like the aptly named Children's Park downtown with the giant wading pool that is off-limits. Oh well.

DENNIS STRAND
San Diego