Opposing a Call for Higher Density

Re: Your article in the Westside Digest (Times, May 3), Daniel S. Levitan of Price Waterhouse Real Estate Consulting Group should be sent to live in New York. He states that “a vertical city can be just as livable as one that is horizontal.” Bull! Anyone can see the difference between the “Golden Ghetto” that developers have inflicted on Wilshire Boulevard versus the beauty of Cheviot Hills.

Mr. Levitan’s call for citizens to tell their elected officials to allow high-density development is a transparent attempt to cater to the profit motives of his clients at the expense of livability for everyone else. Hasn’t he been reading The Times’ stories on water shortages? Higher density means denser smog, denser traffic, higher water use and a lowering of the quality of life for everyone.

Of course there are millions of Americans (and non-Americans) who want to own a home, but too many of them who want to live in Southern California. California’s resources are limited. The only fair way to decide who will get ownership of a scarce resource is price, Mr. Waterhouse. I’m glad to be one of the lucky ones who couldn’t possibly afford to buy the house I now own. I call it “success.”

CHARLES A. LEE

Cheviot Hills