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Walnut Creek plan won’tsolve housing crisis
Walnut Creek takes good care of its senior citizens. Thirty-five percent of the city’s population is over age 60 versus the overall county which stands at only 20%. Why? Because Walnut Creek offers an abundant variety of senior living options and therefore has more seniors living there.
Five hundred twenty-five “age-in-place” continuing care senior housing units, similar to the Spieker Diablo Glen proposal, exist or are currently under construction in the city. Providing needed senior housing is not a reason to green-light this project. This is a very expensive living option.
The argument is that seniors will move out and leave their affordable homes behind to move into this development. The reality is that individuals moving into these residences must, out of necessity, be high-income and from affluent communities.
This development will not solve the affordable housing crisis nor offer options to Walnut Creek and county residents that they don’t already have.
James MikusWalnut Creek
Supervisors could havedone the right thing
Contra Costa County supervisors voted to accept the grossly impactful and oversized Spieker “Diablo Hills” development for Seven Hills Ranch. They completely ignored the community’s petition, “Saved and Sensible NOT Supersized” that has gathered over 4,000 Walnut Creek and county signatures.
Petitioners’ comments reveal concerns with an overdevelopment that is incompatible with the surroundings and the General Plan, has a huge environmental impact, and adds to traffic complications and safety concerns. For the last, worry is specifically expressed about construction and delivery trucks exiting to the east and winding through Heather Farm Park to get to Ygnacio Valley Road, endangering park users, including pedestrians, bikers, skate park and tennis court users, and children at the playground.
All of these concerns could have been addressed if the supervisors had asked Spieker to build as the site is currently designated — single-family medium.
Melissa PettitWalnut Creek
Resist reductionto solar incentives
I have been waiting for years for increased incentives for solar installations on private property, so that it would become possible for my condominium community of 360 units to install solar.
I am totally opposed to reducing current incentives as proposed in the latest PG&E initiative and CPUC’s supporting PG&E’s profits instead of Californians.
Incentives for environmentally friendly products have been effective to date. Stop any effort to make California go backward.
Claudette BeginUnion City
Let’s make internetaccess universal
As a student during the COVID pandemic and a Bay Area native, I can confirm that internet access is a 21st-century necessity and affects the health and education of families across the Bay Area. However, many residents that live in densely populated areas still rely on outdated wiring from the 1970s to provide high-speed services. The areas that do not have access to home internet services coincide with historical housing discrimination patterns.
I believe that cities should update their general housing plans to reflect the current federal requirements for broadband, especially for affordable housing units. Affordable housing units should ensure that service is available to all residents of the building and that Bay Area residents know about the Affordable Connectivity Program, which subsidizes $30 per month of a household’s internet bill.
Mckenzie DiepBerkeley
Oil companies can’tdefend climate claims
Thank you for reprinting the NY Times article about the Texas Public Policy Foundation (“Group waging national fight against climate action,” Page A11, Dec 4). This influential political organization is blocking the transition to clean energy and increasing fossil fuel industry profits. Unfortunately, your reprint omitted important parts of the original.
One missed sentence stated “…publicly available tax filings show that the group has received money from fossil fuel companies including the coal giant Peabody Energy, Exxon Mobil and Chevron.”
I retired after working for Chevron for 30 years. U.S. oil companies have provided valuable progress-enabling products and services to Americans for over a century. But now, Chevron and others are paying to obscure scientific facts and delay the transition to cleaner energy. Their support of this dangerous disinformation is morally indefensible.
Jim BootsDanville
