Don’t Let Developers Bulldoze Our Quality of Life
Don’t Let Developers Bulldoze Our Quality of Life
Editor,
I read in the newspaper that developers want to develop Hollister, build a city near Pinnacles National Monument, another city between the Pajaro River and Route 25, and widen Route 156 at San Juan Bautista.
What wonderful ideas. With bulldozers, and all that nice, flat land, we can build more of an urban sprawl than San Jose. We might rival, or even surpass, Los Angeles in size and problems.
Just think how pleasant it will be. We can have gridlock in downtown Hollister, bring the ‘benefits’ of city living to the rural Pinnacles area, and overload Route 25 and Route 101 so the early morning commute in the fog is an even more terrifying experience than it is now. We can fill our entire area with cars, cars and more cars. But, best of all, we can make a few people rich beyond even their wildest dreams of greed, while the rest of us can buy the biggest possible house, built on the smallest possible piece of land, and take five lifetimes to pay of our mortgages. But, heck, let’s face it – we never meant to pay off our mortgages. We mean to build up equity, sell our home, and buy another mortgage – I mean house.
While we’re at it, we can widen Route 156 and totally gross out the people of San Juan Bautista who live near that noisy road. Widening Route 156 will help San Juan Bautista lose its friendly, small-town atmosphere and liven it up.
Oh, it all sounds like Fun! Fun! Fun!
And, as the sun slowly sinks in the west each day, each of can peacefully go to sleep knowing that our individual decisions have caused us to forever lose the farming and ranching base of our area.
Folks, believe me what I say that developing an area will give a short-term benefit to the many, make a lot of money for the very few, but forever degrade that indefinable something in our area called the quality of life.
Paul Shanley
Hollister
Council Takes a Tough Stand
Editor,
Seems our city council has taken the bull by the horns and will increase our sewer rate.
It’s needed for Hollister to grow. Sad it wasn’t done sooner when bond interest rates were low.
Now the fed is going after Hollister prices.
Many thanks to our city manager Clint Quilter for his diligent work on the one issue.
It’s only a 15-year fix. Let’s not have Hollister’s “Oklahoma Land Rush.”
Robert Gila
Hollister
