Letters to the Editor: Don’t let suburban sprawl squeeze out the last Valley orange grove

To the editor: It’s disappointing to read that we’re still not done bulldozing farmland to make room for sprawling suburban development in L.A. County. With food prices rapidly outpacing inflation, not having access to locally grown produce only adds to that cost. (“Final orange grove in the San Fernando Valley is likely to give way to luxury homes,” Aug. 22)

If the land were going to be used for multifamily housing (which we desperately need in this city), it would be more palatable. Instead, we get more sprawl, requiring costly infrastructure that will almost certainly not be covered by the property tax revenue generated by a meager 21 houses.

And what do we get to show for it? Higher food prices and increased pollution from trucking our produce halfway around the globe.

Justin Johnson, Hermosa Beach

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To the editor: The loss of more than 1,000 mature orange trees to be replaced by 21 “luxury” homes is sickening, especially when climate change and the loss of natural greenery are real issues for residents of the San Fernando Valley today and will only worsen in the future.

Brett Stone, North Hollywood