I moved to Calimesa because I wanted a place for my children to grow up in safely, with a sense of belonging to a community. My children walked to a local church, rode their horses, raised animals, breathed clean air, and felt comfortable in our friendly, crime free neighborhoods.
My children lived the same dream we all have for our children. Do I want to see large developments come in, change the atmosphere and lifestyle of those who live here now? Absolutely not. There are few cities left in Southern California like ours. In a few more years, there may be none.
When I specify I want quality development, I mean housing we can all be proud of. I mean housing that does not take away from what is already here. I believe small lots, with house on top of house, bedroom windows lined up within a few feet of each other, belong in large cities that have no room left to build in. Major housing developments bring more traffic, smog, and crime. They are a draw on a city's resources. Rarely do they pay for themselves.
I do not believe the majority of citizens moved to Calimesa hoping to see large housing tracts put in. I do not believe most citizens moved here hoping we would grow like Yucaipa and become a large city. I do not believe most people moved here expecting large shopping centers would follow. I truly think most of us want the same things: a quiet, peaceful lifestyle, in a beautiful small city, where we feel safe with clean air and water, and we are still comfortable enough to say hi to each other in the grocery store.
Calimesa needs new businesses. We do not need hundreds of new homes to attract the business. Businesses look at the surrounding populations when choosing new locations. Yucaipa, Beaumont and Banning have and will continue to supply the growth in housing that brings the head count necessary to support these businesses. 4000+ homes are already planned by the PGA golf course. Beaumont has several thousand more approved. Yucaipa is still building Chapman Ranch.
Houses do not pay for the services they require. 66,000 cars a day pass by on the 10 freeway. Between these cars and the surrounding populations we can support many kinds of business here. We have excellent freeway access and commercial zoning along the freeway. This is what we need to promote. We can have a good and adequate tax base without drawing on our resources like schools, police, fire, water, roads and the lifestyle we currently enjoy.
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