Westminster expansion

Re “Virginia Beach council approves expansion of high-rise senior living community despite objections from nearby condo owners” (Sept. 22): Have we all been bought and sold? The article on the vote for the out-of-scale 22-story retirement home expansion makes me ask this question.

To change our community and its future development on such a large scale with only a couple evening meetings is outrageous. Through our City Council’s callous disregard of previously agreed zoning measures, we are opening up ourselves and our community to unchecked development of new highrises along the beach, subsequently, destroying our culture and restricting our access to the very things that attracted us to the Lynnhaven way of life.

Where are the advantages of such a development to our community?

Councilman Guy Tower’s pathetic assessment of the proposed 250-foot glass tower is meaningless; his supporters must be cringing with embarrassment. Council members Louis Jones, Rosemary Wilson and Jim Wood could not vote due to conflicts of interest. With this being the district Wood represents, I am left unsettled.

I am sure that attorney Jeanne Lauer will find much more support within the community. After speaking to many of my neighbors and people in the community, it is quite evident that the council is not voting with the wishes of the people they represent.

John Samuel, Virginia Beach