Fact-checking online, I do see that there is an old (built in 1958) 20-unit apartment complex at 657 Escuela with 16 one-bedroom units consisting of 490 square feet of living space apiece. The complex is actually shown as named "Camino Palms" purchased in 2000 for 2.1 million dollars. The rents charged are not advertised but the website for the complex does boast that "similar nearby apartments" rent at the "lowest" for $2,145 (1-bedroom) and $2,650 (2-bedroom). Even if the complex maintains the lowest price in the neighborhood, the owner would still be receiving (if all units remain full) $44,800 per month or $539,000 per year. Increasing the rent an average of another $1,000 per unit would fetch another $20,000 per month - $240,000 per year (without any vacancies). Pretty good investment for the owner. Pretty bad situation for tenants.

What has become of our city? There seems to be a total disregard as to what developers and city government view as architecture. There are no esthetically pleasing buildings being constructed in Mountain View, only boxes stacked one upon the other. Developers are taking advantage of every last square inch of property to the detriment of our eyes.

In a recent Mercury News report, The San Jose/San Francisco/Oakland area ranks sixth in a list of the U.S.'s dirties cities, and yet we keep flooding our city with massive living and working structures. Coupled with our drought situation, one must wonder what this will ultimately mean for our city and its inhabitants.

Another element is where will all the children be schooled? Today, the LASD and the MVWSD are ill-equipped to educate all the children who will live in those apartments/condominiums. What are the immediate plans for this dilemma?

One of my other concerns pertains to our frustrating traffic/transportation situation. Rarely can I drive down El Camino without being pushed out of my lane by all the continuous construction. If this weren't bad enough, those lane invasions will only be enhanced when new residents fill up the unsightly apartments/condominiums.

We have all heard the cry that Silicon Valley needs more affordable housing, but at whose expense? The homeowners who bought into this community years ago, looking for a gentle, cohesive environment that would afford their families a terrific education, wonderful neighbors, happy homes, and beautiful memories will be just that – memories.
Lastly, I am not so niave as to believe that time shouldn't march on. But in a frenzied attempt to expand our city, creative thinking, environmental and social consequences were not made a part of this process.