I applaud the Lake Oswego City Council for moving forward on the Foothills development plan. The long-range benefit is good for the citizens of Lake Oswego. It provides for:

Expansion of the city tax base;

Increased Lake Oswego School District enrollment;

Inventory for growth as mandated in Oregon;

Options for growth other than flag lots and partitions;

Opportunity for revenue to downtown businesses;

Opportunity for public service employees to live in Lake Oswego;

Opportunity for our retirees to downsize in spite of housing and stock market devaluations.

A statement made by Councilor Mike Kehoe in the July 26 Review said Lake Oswego is a place where people “work hard” to earn a chance to live here. Taken in context, I find this statement is elitist and as such, not reflective of the majority of the citizens of this community whom Mike represents. I hope Mike will reconsider his position.

Lake Oswego is not Beverly Hills or Rancho Santa Fe. It is more comparable to San Francisco Bay Area’s upscale Los Altos - Los Altos Hills, where I lived more than 25 years ago, and saw affordable housing built. As I recall, this was the result of a plan mandated for the San Francisco Peninsula’s communities, which have a limited amount of available land for growth, like those communities in the Metro boundaries. Lake Oswego and Oregon are behind the learning curve.

Affordable housing can be successfully built in this community, and need not be a “Vinyl Village.” The city has demonstrated great vision in developing Lake View Village under previous leadership. The plans drawn for Foothills have been attractive. There is nothing to fear with “affordable housing,” other than fear itself. Fear of change and of embracing the differences that make a community a great community of hard-working people who all deserve a chance to live here.

Barbara MacIntosh, Lake Oswego, is an alumnae of Lake Oswego School District Foundation Board and a board member of North Shore Country Club District Neighborhood Association.