The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

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Stop the destruction of the community

Tasman Avenue is finally gone. What has taken nature years and years of growth and creation, has taken man one day to destroy. And now the Sunnyvale Town & Country is the next target. I'm really saddened at the tide of events here in Sunnyvale and the Santa Clara Valley in general. The making of a community is like the aging of a friendship and a marriage--care, attention, respect and getting to know each other.

Because of foreign interests, whether from out of area, out of state or out of country, the face of our town is being irreparably changed for the sake of economic interests. I am not against a certain amount of growth for the good of the economy; but when long-term nice neighborhoods are destroyed to build high-rises, concrete, walls and pork-barrel projects, then it is bad for all of us dictated to us by an absent federal government or people whose next day involves planning where else they can make a buck. A sense of community is lost when familiar landscapes and gathering places go down to the ax of the Hun only to be replaced by the unfriendly icons of greed.

Politicians come and go, large corporations and developers usually don't live in the communities they destroy, and when their work is done, they move onward to destroy somewhere else. It is the people living in a community who have to pay the price. They pay the price by increased crime, loss of sense of community, loss of peace and beauty. The quality of life in a town is not measured by how big or better something can be done or how much money can be made, it is measured by a safe, enjoyable, and fulfilling place to live.

To give the city of Sunnyvale credit, our councilmembers and residents have been more sensitive to growth in Sunnyvale than places such as San Jose, Santa Clara and Mountain View. Some areas such as Murphy Street have actually improved while retaining its flavor.

I truly hope the residents and representatives of Sunnyvale will help keep our town a good place to live. We, the people elect our representatives. If our lives are changed for the worst because of them, then we deserve it for putting them in office.

Sandra Skolnik
Sunnyvale

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, April 15, 1998.
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