Jess Ruf, the owner of the Do It Center, says his Measure B is intended to "control traffic" and "protect our way of life."
But the real reason Ruf wants Measure B passed is to impede the installation of a moderately sized Home Depot at the intersection of Highway 101 and Hampshire Road, just blocks from his nearby Do It Center.
The abandoned Kmart site at this location is the worst example of urban blight between the San Fernando Valley and Oxnard. What kind of "way of life" does that represent?
It is hard to believe that a site a couple of hundred feet from the freeway, already zoned for a big-box retailer such as Kmart, would generate a burdensome amount of traffic on surface streets. We didn't have it when Kmart was there, so why should it exist with a Home Depot?
It's really Ruf's "way of life" that is threatened by the potential installation of a superior retailer in his monopolistic backyard.
This measure is no favor to the citizens of the Conejo Valley, who have to waste time and gasoline driving to Newbury Park or Woodland Hills to find a full-service home improvement retailer.
No, it is a thinly veiled effort to prevent superior competition from encroaching on one person's monopoly from Woodland Hills to Newbury Park.
Ruf is abusing the referendum mechanism for his own personal gain. We have an elected City Council and Planning Commission to handle these matters rather than encumbering such entities as Los Robles Hospital with ballot-box uncertainty. How many among us are really qualified to assess traffic issues?
Have faith in our democratically elected government, and vote no on Measure B.
-- Michael W. Murray, Thousand Oaks