Wow! The Santa Margarita Area Advisory Council has a poisonous atmosphere! Who feeds you this crap? You parroted the three members of the advisory council who did NOT support the proposed ranch development and who get nasty when others do not agree with them (The Shredder, “I am not funny,” July 17, 2008).

They are the only poison on SMAAC. There are three other reps from the same areas as these snakes who do support the ranch development. Are they wrong?  Maybe Supervisor [Jim] Patterson should listen to his advisory council without being biased for the minority. In typical fashion you disparaged anyone who supports this development as shiny belt buckles, POPR’s who just don’t get it. You go, Shredder, lets throw some personal jabs in there so you can discredit these numphs. It still doesn’t make you right.

The town of Santa Margarita does not consider the Santa Margarita Ranch their enemy. The ranch owners have proposed a project that safeguards our rural, agricultural view shed. They have also OK’ed an easement for a trail between Garden Farms and Santa Margarita; drainage basin easements to protect Santa Margarita in flood times; access to our water tanks, which are on their property; land for a larger cemetery; an oak nature walk, used by the elementary school; voluntarily do not use their large ag water well to minimize pressure on town water supply (and they have every right to use it); offered to share water in emergencies and, oh yes, they even offered to host the SMAAC meeting in their estancia when no other venue was available. I consider them generous neighbors.

-- Chris Volbrecht - Retired SMAAC Representative