February 6, 2008

LETTERS2theEDITOR

Council decisions should be factual, not emotional

Editor,
I wish to offer the following comment to City Council-member Oliverio about his recent article about Tomato Thyme.

Council decisions need to be based on the city’s ordinance and facts, not emotion. There is no question that Tomato Thyme is a popular restaurant and folks would like to see it expand.

So too, I think, would Councilman Oliverio. He made a motion to respect the property rights of the adjoining owners who have the necessary parking spaces (for the record, I represent one of those owners and was a resident of Willow Glen while growing up), in granting approval.

Unfortunately, Tomato Thyme did not have sufficient parking on its own parcel. If the councilman did not balance the interests of the applicant and owners, he would have endorsed the city taking parking from one owner for the benefit of another without compensation, which is a violation of the constitution. Hard decisions require balancing of interests and good judgment.

Thanks,

Norm Matteoni
San Jose, Calif.

Property rights crucial to our freedom

Editor,
I just read a column you wrote for the Willow Glen Times titled “May I park in your driveway everyday...for free.”

I thought it a very good explanation of how things are not as simple as they seem and how property rights are crucial to our freedom. People were clamoring for approval of that patio behind Tomato Thyme (I was neutral on the issue), but now we can see where the sticking point was truly placed.

This was one business owner trying to get the city to help it avoid working with the other businesses. People so often say it is just about money or land, when that is almost everything. Other than taking your life or locking you up, government’s control over the individual is limited to controlling your money and property.

Thanks for seeing that and taking steps to see those rights protected.

John M Pisacane, DMD
Willow Glen Dentistry
Willow Glen

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