S.P. needs change

We moved to Santa Paula four years ago, and I could see immediately that the city needed to change its thoughts about growth. Santa Paula is one of the most central towns in the county and at one time was the largest. Now it has fallen way behind in improvements and growth. More people mean more business, which means more jobs, which means more money to help the city that is in major deficit.

— Don & Marilyn Westerdale, Santa Paula

A7 will cost S.P.

Pinnacle Development and its local boosters are trying to get Adams Canyon into Santa Paula again, despite the voters defeating their attempts twice before, most recently in April 2006. To that end, there are a lot of false claims being made.

I am surprised at how many supporters of A7 do not know that if the city urban restriction boundary is not moved, Pinnacle will only be able to build 34 homes in the county. Some of Pinnacle's boosters are saying it isn't Pinnacle behind the latest campaign to move the CURB and that Pinnacle might not be the developer. Why then does this supposedly "citizen-driven" campaign's literature promote the same plan Pinnacle was touting last year? Only this time the projected revenues to the city are down 75 percent from $20 million to $5 million.

Bob Gonzales, who a year ago was working for Pinnacle Development, is now a city council member and Pinnacle's biggest cheerleader. He likes to tell people that Santa Paula is underfunded and that this Adams Canyon project will save Santa Paula. That is false. The project will cost Santa Paula. In the end, Santa Paulans will pay higher taxes and assessments to maintain this 6,000-acre gated enclave that Santa Paulans will be locked out of.

If a development of some kind will help Santa Paula, then let's get a project in or next to Santa Paula, not something a few miles from town whose sprawl will cost us. And let's get a partner we can trust, too. Vote no on A7.

— Laura Menchaca, Santa Paula

Opportunities abound

Santa Paula has some wonderful opportunities on the horizon to enhance its prosperity. Responsible growth will benefit all Santa Paula citizens as we grapple with the many financial issues facing our beautiful city: escalating utility costs, deteriorating roads, worsening safety records and substandard educational results. The cost-benefit relationships of each development project for our town will be well-thought-out with the creation of specific plans, development of comprehensive environmental impact reports and mitigation strategies for any/all environmental impacts future projects will create. This process is demanding, but necessary to preserve the quality of life all of us enjoy.

I believe that responsible growth involves complementary development projects in Adams Canyon, Fagan Canyon, East Area One and Santa Paula infill. To view our community comprehensively across all development areas provides the core for responsible growth and will allow us all to maximize the many benefits growth will provide while minimizing the costs on our beautiful city.

Development of a specific plan in Adams Canyon will complement our fine city as well as future projects our city will approve. Moving Adams Canyon within the CURB will allow a complementary specific plan to be created, taking into consideration responsible projects in East Area One, Fagan Canyon and specific infill opportunities. The results will be dramatically beneficial to our community as we work together to raise the prosperity of Santa Paula.

As a concerned citizen of Santa Paula, I will vote yes for Measure A7 so the opportunity to create a responsible specific plan for our community can be realized.

— Harold S. Edwards, Santa Paula

(The writer is CEO of Limoneira Co., which is proposing a development in East Area One of the city of Santa Paula. — Editor)