In need of oversight

Regarding “Is fire risk too great to allow development?” (Front Page, March 11) and “Build in cities, not the hinterlands” (Editorial, March 11): Two articles (one on the front page, the other in the editorial section) characterize the proposed development in Lake County as a “housing” project. It is not; the addition of highdollar domiciles to the landscape alterations surrounding a collection of extremely highdollar resorts, hotels, golf courses and lifestyle amenities is not a “muchneeded housing” boon for our county. The bones of contention over defensibility of the fireprone environment there gloss over the difficulties of sustaining finite volumes of water supplies and delivery of those supplies to firefighting forces at the site on a narrow, twolane “highway” with wellknown traffic-flow impediments, many miles from Cal Fire and local fire protection facilities. The proposed project claims to include a fullblown fire protection service on site, but also seeks to develop water supplies that may impact the central commercial zone called Middletown.

Water rights that were adjudicated up through the state’s Supreme Court, protecting the preexisting residential and business operations, may be the decisive factor in the scale and type of construction that is ultimately allowed. We appreciate the oversight of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra in this matter.