Reality check needed

June 28, 2006

EDITOR: In the June 25 Parade magazine, included with most Sunday newspapers, I read that the international homebuilder Centex Homes hires actors to "live" in its model homes and pretend to be regular family members during potential homebuyer walk-throughs. This is the same Centex that recently purchased the empty Casa Grande parcel from Petaluma City Schools. I have not read that any flat, usable space has been earmarked for sports playing fields in this multi-million dollar deal. If this is true, then this purchase by Centex will worsen Petaluma's already-deficient parks per residents ratio.

It's pretty humorous that Centex hires fake families as a marketing tool for new home sales. If quality of real community life was weighted more heavily by Centex, it might recognize that its land/housing development in Petaluma impacts real families with real children whose quality of real life will improve with real sports playing fields in their neighborhood. The real moms and dads with the real jobs who will live in these Centex homes will experience real commuter congestion problems, created by this too dense housing development.

Let's replace the real Petaluma City Council members who voted in the majority on this issue, a majority in favor of Centex' density requests, and the real Petaluma City Schools finance managers who acted to maximize proceeds from property sales and future sales tax, with actors to pretend to negotiate a more community-friendly deal with Centex. Our real public officials might develop better negotiating skills from watching fake public officials pretend to use their leverage for the community's common good.

LINDA SEXAUER, Petaluma