Dear Editor,

In the story "In Ballard, a wave of townhouses densifying the neighborhood,"Mr. Valdez is attempting to mask his greed with feel good thoughts on density and affordability.

Where does Mr. Valdez live? What does he consider affordable?

Density brings higher crime and conflict, which I think Ballard is beginning to see.

How about aesthetics? How about less green space? What happens when the backyards are filled with housing which looks like so many stacks of boxes? What happens when skinny houses take up the majority of the property footprint and the neighborly activities of gardening and chatting disappear? People will cocoon and not know their neighbors -- they will cease watching out for each other.

What happens when you have an area of Ballard dominated by rentals and transient populations? What happens when this is just another community indistinguishable from so many others?

Does Mr. Valdez think ahead beyond a month, year, or his own lifespan? Or his own pocket book? Will people travel to Ballard to "ooh" and "ahh" over the architecture? A community filled with cute cottages is sinking into history.

Too bad. Money talks.

Thank you, Carla Madrigal

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