Managing Growth

Regarding your commentary by Colin Flaherty (“ ‘Alice in Wonderland, Meet the Sierra Club,’ ” June 29).

Apparently Colin Flaherty isn’t aware that the election is over and the people of San Diego voted for growth management. Only a few die-hards like Mr. Flaherty refuse to recognize that our services are not keeping pace with growth. Sewer systems are failing and spilling into our bays and lagoons, some schools are on double session, while others are closing for lack of students. Our feeder streets and freeways are at capacity or exceeding capacity in most parts of the city, and the inner city outgrew services because no one was monitoring the Growth Management Plan.

Mr. Flaherty, it wasn’t just the Sierra Club that enacted growth management, it was the voters of San Diego trying to send a message to their elected representatives to solve problems before opening up new areas for development.

Some developers are still trying to silence those voices that are concerned about the quality of life in San Diego by saying that “as soon as people move here, they want to shut the door to others.” I would remind these developers that 60% of the in-migration to San Diego came from other parts of California where the quality of life was so degraded by improper, or over, development that it was no longer tolerable. They bought homes or settled in San Diego only to find the same forces, and in many cases the same developers, at work here. They are tired of running and are willing to fight for a reasonable standard of living and quality of life.

Incorporation of north coastal cities, Proposition A, the election of Maureen O’Connor over Bill Cleator, pro-development Supervisor Paul Eckert not making the run-offs, the elections in Del Mar of pro-environmental candidates and the passage of Proposition B to give the voters in Del Mar a say over major development are all messages to the construction industry and elected representatives that the people are going to take a more pro-active role in government unless there is visible evidence that the message has been received.

We don’t need rhetoric, we want change in the way this region develops in the future.

LYNN BENN

Del Mar