Shopping close to home

Re: Grant Brimhall's May 11 commentary, "Measure B is bogus":

Thanks to Brimhall for clearly defining what Measure B is all about: corporate abuse of the initiative process to stifle competition. As for its claimed objective of easing congestion, I would add the following:

The Do It Center on Thousand Oaks Boulevard is a bit more than two miles from my house and I generally shop there once or more a week. More than half the time, it does not carry everything I need. I must then drive nearly eight miles to the Home Depot in Newbury Park to find the rest.

If, on the other hand, Measure B should fail and Home Depot opens an outlet about one mile from me on Hampshire Boulevard, it would actually decrease my driving for hardware supplies by more than a factor of two, which makes a big difference when gasoline prices are headed for $4 per gallon. It would also cut my related energy consumption and pollution contributions by the same factor.

I suspect many local shoppers would be similarly affected, simply because being able to do your shopping closer to home does more to ease traffic than forcing competing stores to be farther apart, as Measure B would do.

In fact, it would do more to increase congestion, energy consumption and pollution by forcing shoppers to drive more.

— Angus Andrews,

Westlake Village

Who needs Home Depot?

My family and I just moved from Los Angeles to Westlake Village. After reading the arguments on both sides of Measure B, I would vote in favor of it.

The Conejo Valley may "lose" revenue in the short run by not putting up a mall on every corner, but it will gain exponentially in the long run with greater property values and an incomparable quality of life. As more and more people head north, literally fleeing Los Angeles, Westlake and Thousand Oaks can only flourish.

One thing I don't see in any of the arguments about Measure B is, to me, the most obvious question: Do we need another Home Depot?

The answer seems obvious to me: Home Depot just wants to get its hands on as much Conejo Valley cash as possible. I say vote yes, Thousand Oaks!

— John Romano, Westlake Village

Opponents exaggerate

I have recently received many doomsday mailings about voting no on Measure B. It struck me as odd that any Thousand Oaks inhabitant could be against a measure that actually gives residents a greater voice in the way their city is run. Measure B simply requires that voters approve large developments proposed for the city first.

Reading the literature opposing this measure, one would think that its passage would put an end to the city's progress, its safety, the quality of its schools, indeed, even ruin its economy. Give us a break! How stupid do you think Thousand Oaks residents are? If new projects are needed, certainly we have enough brains to vote for their construction.

The city would need additional funding only if its population density increases. It seems to be doing just fine funding its services now and will continue to do so even if residents decide against a large development — which they may or may not do.

The literature against Measure B accuses the Do It Center of being behind a push to stop future competition. In reality, The Home Depot is a large source of funding for the anti-Measure B propaganda.

Without passage of Measure B, Thousand Oaks traffic will continue to increase and quality again will take a back seat to quantity (read money). We can expect to spend more hours behind the wheel trying to get somewhere — anywhere — more and more slowly.

I lived in the San Fernando Valley for 17 years and watched it turn from a group of livable residential communities into a jumbled morass of concrete, traffic and ill-tempered drivers. I wonder what those against this measure really stand to gain if it doesn't pass.

— Gerry Williams, Thousand Oaks