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Published on 06/01/1998 All articles from this issue

Letters to the Editor

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Disrespect regarding 'This Old House'

I was offended by the undercurrent of disrespect in your recent article,"This Old House" (May 27 Town Crier).

There are many longtime, elderly residents of Los Altos who are unable to keep their homes in the condition that they would like.

Critical comments like those in your article add insult to injury when our elderly neighbors (or their heirs) must sell a well-loved family home.

Regarding specifically the home on Pepper Drive, I was fortunate to be invited to a dinner party there several years ago. The interior of the home was beautifully decorated in an authentic Victorian style, including heavy draperies, bronze statues, fresh flowers, and a luscious burgundy-colored living room.

I don't remember fish tanks. But I do remember birds. They were both inside and outside, where shaded paths led to "secret gardens," rose bowers, Greek and Roman statues and aviaries filled with an impressive array of exotic birds.

As for roof rats and other dead critters in the walls - they did not disturb the enjoyment of our dinner party, and I suspect that some of the little mummified remains were as old as the house itself.

I am genuinely pleased that the new owners of the home on Pepper Drive have both the means and the inclination to undertake the "extraordinarily expensive" project of restoring it, and then decorating it to their own tastes.

I just wish that the Town Crier could have matched their "reverence for the house's origins" with a little respect for the elderly owners of many of the historic homes in Los Altos.

Donna GardnerLos Altos

CHP officer making a difference

Recently a letter was published in this newspaper (May 6 Town Crier) regarding the blatant disregard of traffic laws in the San Antonio Hills area of Los Altos. It now appears, at least from my observation, that lawless driving has been diminished somewhat. The reason for this improvement apparently is the recent attention to this area by the California Highway Patrol - more specifically by the frequent appearance of Officer Lester Slusser on his CHP motorcycle.

It isn't the fact that Officer Slusser has been so busy apprehending lawbreakers as much as the awareness of drivers that the CHP officer is frequently on patrol in the area. This fact alone is apparently enough to discourage many drivers from using the county roads of San Antonio Hills as speedways and ignoring stop signs.

I'm sure all the residents of San Antonio Hills appreciate the exposure of this problem by the Town Crier and the action that has been taken by the California Highway Patrol.

Bob JamiesonUnincorporated Los Altos

Property rights politically incorrect?

I am writing to applaud Dominick Curatola's recent letter (May 20 Town Crier) recounting the difficulties he encountered with the pathways committee and town council in Los Altos Hills and to offer whatever solace is to be found in knowing that others are in similar situations.

Our neighborhood is currently trying to fend off a bicycle path along Stevens Creek in Mountain View, traversing the back yards of many residents, with plans to establish a trailhead at a very small patch of open space immediately adjacent to several single-family homes. One resident who lives direct1y across from the proposed trailhead, grew up on Purissima Road in Los Altos Hills and fervently wishes to avoid again being overrun by cyclists, as she was there.

The note in Dr. Curatola's letter which struck a particular chord (or nerve) is the sense that it is politically incorrect in the current climate to want to preserve the privacy and security of one's own home, and that the perceived "greater good" of the public at large takes precedence over the rights of individual homeowners.

The support for paths and trails seems to be directly proportionate to the distance the supporter lives from the path or trail. I wholeheartedly agree with his contention that the majority of citizens do not use, nor care, about paths or trails and that a very vocal, politically correct minority are determining policy for the cities in which we live. They have claimed the "high ground" of ecological preservation and/or neighborliness, when in reality they diminish both. I think this is the message that needs to be broadcast in our communities.

Laura BrownPresident, North Waverly Park - Stevens Creek

Neighborhood Association

Mountain View

Shameful messages over housing designs

As a recently retired Los Altos planning commissioner, I was one of those who felt as though the time had come to revise the residential design guidelines. I still do. Enough time has elapsed since its inception eight years ago to call for new public input that might possibly lead to a more functional guide for all of those involved in the multi-faceted process of home renovation and building.

What I witnessed as a planning commissioner and now more recently as a "civilian" member of the audience, deeply concerns me. The main issue, the primary bone of contention, appears to be the "problem" of whether or not two-story houses have a place in Los Altos neighborhoods.

As my grandmother often said, "It's the tone that makes the music." What I have heard all too often lately goes something like this: "I want my individual rights, my every wish and desire honored. I just don't want my neighbor to have those same privileges." Or stated another way: "Why can't everyone else be as perfect and wonderful as I am?"

And the manner in which this song has been sung is enough to make me hang my head in shame.

It is my hope that as individuals and as the collective "we" of our beloved Los Altos, further discussions will proceed on a lighter note. Accusatory, acrimonious finger-pointing rarely accomplishes the desired effect.

Honor Spitz

Los Altos