Without Housing, Cisco Means Sprawl

In response to the Mercury News editorial "Cisco is good forSan Jose" (Sept. 17), Gary Patton, executive director of LandWatchMonterey County, counters that the Cisco project "perpetuates a patternof urban sprawl that is undermining the quality of our environment, andthat is damaging the foundations of our economy and the integrity of ourfamily and community life." Central to Patton's contention with theCisco project is the complete lack of nearby housing, which damagesquality of life with long commutes and increased air pollution. Whilethe projected 20,000 new jobs and increased commerce will generate taxrevenue, Patton states, the project will ultimately undermine theregion's economy as spiraling housing costs and long commutes forcebusinesses to go elsewhere. Patton recommends an alternative approach inwhich nearby housing is developed in conjunction with the creation ofnew jobs, especially with the large-scale development that the Ciscoproject entails.