Goodbye Farmland, Hello Pollution

Re “O.C. Farmland Will Yield to Offices,” May 24:

It is inevitable that the city of Irvine and its “rich uncle,” the Irvine Co., rezone for commercial development. It makes no sense for a “company” to maintain open space when there is money to be made. The only surprise is how outlandish the reasoning becomes to justify their capitalistic actions.

P. Richard Edmondson

Laguna Beach

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Readers could not help notice the connection between the story today on the pollution of kiddie beaches in California and the story on the decision of the city of Irvine to allow commercial development of 10.2 million square feet of Orange County farmland.

The development not only will increase local traffic congestion and air pollution, it will also contribute directly to the pollution of our ocean and beaches. The development not only means more pollutants but also a greater volume of runoff into the ocean.

With less land to absorb rain, more of it will run off quickly into the ocean. We must find some way of making governments and agencies accountable for sponsoring this kind of damage to the environment.

William DuBay

Costa Mesa

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Why doesn’t the city of Irvine, in conjunction with all the other cities in the Los Angeles basin, demand a reduction in auto emissions before any new development takes place? Something like buildings with bike parking only, or tax credits, or buildings that reduce auto commutes and increase bicycle, pedestrian or public transportation commutes should be considered. Development could become a more meaningful term as we developed new ideas instead of developing dirtier air.

Mark Tabbert

Newport Beach