It’s been more than two months but the memory remains intense. Before there was even a stay-at-home order or talk of wearing cloth masks in public, my first adjustment was rather pedestrian: I put the winter exams for my university classes online. But when coronavirus soon made clear that our spring term would begin and end online, I realized that my colleagues and I were in store for a much more formidable challenge.
This coming Tuesday, May 12, the Claremont City Council will consider the next phase of planning for the Village South Specific Plan (VSSP). In our state, planning decisions are meant to be local, and they’re meant to be an open process of community input, expert research and continuing discussion. In the current VSSP draft, written by city staff and their consultants, the building height limitations that are proposed are not viable.
Readers of the COURIER have been kept informed about the financial challenges and projected structural deficits our city has been quietly dealing with for over a decade.
Until two years ago, our city council was able to adopt balanced budgets that did not appear on the surface to impact the day to day operations of our city, or the quality of our lives and leisure moments spent enjoying our community.
Home is a familiar, safe place and I am glad to be in it. I have a front stoop with a chair where I sit and watch the bees pollinate—hopefully—my Meyer Lemon tree blossoms. Masked walkers pass by, birds sing and the sun feeds me vitamin D, and I read and feel peaceful.
Since we have to stay home, I try to find the positive side of this situation.
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