Twenty-seven years ago, when I was 11 years old, I spent almost all my free time in the Saratoga hills, riding a pony, walking a small burro and hiking with a friend. The hills were far less developed then, and I sometimes saw as many as five coyotes at a time. It was a joyful thrill for me to see these beautiful animals close up, and they looked at me with shy curiosity, in no way threatening.

We must remember that if we choose to live in more rural areas, to enjoy their wild beauty, that wild animals are a part of that wildness and beauty. I hope that humans will have the wisdom to appreciate these creatures, in the few places remaining to them.

We have excavated and paved over most of the places where wildlife made their homes. People who desire a wildlife-free environment would do well to choose homes in less rural neighborhoods. Those who long for the beauty of rural areas, can be reassured by the fact that coyotes do not prey on humans.

I would never assume that a small child is safe unsupervised outdoors, no matter whether their environment is urban, suburban, or rural, frequented by coyotes, or not. Families choosing to live near the wild should choose large pets, or supervise their small pets outside.

Mountain lions have been known to attack and kill humans, though they are far more likely to avoid our presence. I have seen bobcats in the Saratoga­Los Gatos area, though never yet a mountain lion. While mountain lions might live in our area, I suspect that some of the "mountain lions" seen have been bobcats. Bobcats, like coyotes, are not dangerous to humans.

Again, I would not leave a small child unattended where any of these animals might appear—but then, I would not leave a small child unattended anywhere, ever.

Jocelyn Kahn

Ravenwood Drive

Montalvo should allow road to go through

There are few things in this world that I find more irritating than a newby, a proponent of "Not In My Back Yard" mentality. Whether driven by irrational fear, ignorance or greed, a newby exemplifies selfishness, even at the expense of the safety of other people.

It appears that the Montalvo Association has slithered rather gracefully into the greedy newby position when it comes to negotiating an agreement with the city of Saratoga for a fire road along Norton onto Bohlman Road.

Mr. Prow, I do not believe the previous owner, Mr. James Phelan, would object to using part of this property to insure the safety of the 400-plus residents who live on this mountain, given the honorable nature of this project and Mr. Phelan's more than charitable character during his life that made Montalvo even possible.

I suggest you concentrate less on the black and white limitations you perceive in the trust agreement, and explore the preservation of color, namely the greens, browns, and other reflections of nature that will be lost in the event of a red hot fire on the mountain above Montalvo. It seems to me that gray ash, the smell of acrid smoke, and the black charred remains of trees on the mountainside above Montalvo might have an impact on the creativity of the artists living there, and might even impact the desire of locals to visit during concert season.

It seems, however, that the association members appear to be mostly motivated by the almighty dollar. I think the Montalvo Association should also keep in mind all of the shades of "reds" the members may see in the event the association gets sued by some of those residents who lose their homes or even the life of a family member in a Bohlman Road fire. I don't think it takes much stretch of the imagination of any decent judge to see the Montalvo Association's real motivation in delaying any fire road development after Mr. Prow's comments at the Jan. 7 city council meeting about the city helping Montalvo's mission, such as in allowing the expansion of the theater to allow more tickets to be sold. All of the association's talk about being a good neighbor is ludicrous with such an obvious "what's in it for us" attitude.

Quite frankly, I would be remiss if I placed all of the burden of resolving this situation on the Montalvo Association. The city of Saratoga and Santa Clara County have allowed rampant development up on this mountain without addressing the single-lane, narrow, twisting road that is our only way up and off of the mountain. The residents on Bohlman Road are very diligent about fire safety, and work hard to keep their properties groomed and their water tanks filled. We can only do so much, however, and some very close calls in recent years have only magnified the treacherous nature of trying to get off the mountain in the event of a fire.

Please, can we have a lot less talk and a lot more action, city of Saratoga and Montalvo Association board members? Fire season is only five months away!

Diane Greene

Bohlman Road

Saratoga needs to keep saying no to developer

A few years ago the owner/developer of the Quito Road­Highway 85 power lines site tried to convince our council that ultra high density (60 units on less than three acres) was required on that site to house seniors. Meanwhile, some of the other proposals to raise the density in the West Valley on the excuse of need for senior housing had been accepted and built. But if these proposals had really been vitally needed, why was our family receiving ads for that senior housing at least once a week over a period of several years?

The Saratoga council, true to campaign promises to preserve our low density character, said no.

Now that same developer poses another high density idea—housing teachers. Well, according to the San Jose Mercury News study published Feb. 2, assumptions of a teacher housing crisis is a myth. Their study found that teachers in this valley had significantly higher rates of home ownership in this valley than other educated professions.

What will this developer invent next in his attempt to tug at our hearts so we will be willing to give away our community character?

He bought a cheap, multi-hazard, multi-sensitive site. He is trying convince us to ignore all of this, including our own general plan and zoning. He would walk off with the big bucks, leaving us in a tangled overload. I hope our city continues to be smart enough to say no to this developer.

It is unfair to continually confront the citizens with threats to destroy the character of our community just so a developer can continually try for the brass ring. We need an ordinance that limits the number of times a developer can propose more density than the zoning allows.

Cheriel Jensen

Quito Road