Letters to the editor: Keep away from tall buildings; negligence of almond growers
Don’t need taller buildings
In January, Ventura submitted a proposal to the state which will permit six-story buildings in many areas of Ventura. With the state density bonus this will allow seven and even eight stories.
Our existing ordinances restrict most buildings to 3½ stories. These well thought-out and comprehensive plans are the result of hundreds of person hours of collaborative work including the public, design professionals, city staff and former City Council members. They were written to assure new developments are complementary to our city, not at odds with it.
An argument often made for six-plus-story buildings is they put more housing on the same lot thus increasing supply. If supply exceeds demand, prices will come down. But in Ventura we have something people living in even more expensive areas want and will pay for. They can afford Ventura market rates and consider them a bargain compared to most SoCal beach areas. So, if these new buildings allow out-of-towners to live close to the beach, the increase in housing supply is offset by an increasing stream of demand from outside the city. This is what we are seeing with many new projects today.
A second argument for taller buildings is the land cost per unit goes down. But when a seller knows more units can be built on the same piece of land, a $2 million lot becomes $2.5 million. Furthermore, consider those two extra floors. If they’re higher than the buildings in front and now have an ocean view, be assured they’ll rent for premium prices. So, we end up with taller buildings, more traffic and less parking while housing costs remain high.
Please be aware of this proposed change and ask you city council member to reconsider their position on six-story buildings.
Robert Guthrie, Ventura
Greedy almond growers
Maybe it's time to sue California’s almond growers for gross negligence in the way they guzzle enough water every year to supply all the homes and businesses in the state. Worse, they export 70% of those almonds on behalf of New York City hedge fund investors. That’s a lot of California water being diverted overseas in the form of nuts and big profits for wealthy investors.
Right now, California almond growers are sitting on well over a billion pounds of surplus almonds. The water used to grow that surplus could have helped fill a few major reservoirs and staved off today’s harsh cutbacks and threats of fines for the California consumers that have been subsidizing the state’s greedy almond growers.
Gary Selvaggio, Simi Valley
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Letters: Keep away from tall buildings; negligence of almond growers
