Successful urban planning requires honesty, reason, and facts. These items are often missing in meetings about the future of Ventura County.

Consider, for example, The Road Ahead 2005 conference about affordable housing. Here are some facts not sufficiently discussed in the conference:

1. Not everyone who wants to live in Ventura County will be able to live here, even if every square foot of buildable space is used. Limits must be set and maintained.

2. Businesses and real estate developers are not motivated primarily by community welfare. Their central goal is to grow and increase their income.

3. There is no guarantee that the people who buy affordable housing, their families, and subsequent purchasers will in fact work in Ventura County.

Simi Valley City Councilman Steve Sojka described a model of affordable housing. It was a three-story apartment complex near the Metrolink station in Simi. This is an excellent example of how people can live in Ventura County and travel easily by public transportation into Los Angeles to work. This is also the exact opposite result from that claimed by affordable housing advocates who say we need more affordable housing so people can work here.

— Kirkland Gable, Thousand Oaks