Editor,
Mr. Swaminathan’s letter relies on a familiar rhetorical shortcut: dismiss legitimate concerns about infrastructure, quality of life, and fiscal sustainability by framing them as hypocrisy. That argument may be emotionally satisfying, but it is intellectually weak.
No one is arguing that California — or communities like San Mateo — should freeze in time. The real issue is whether growth is being planned responsibly. Today, we are attempting to layer additional density onto already strained systems, often without a credible funding mechanism to support it.
Telling residents to “get creative” about traffic is not policy. It is avoidance. Mode-shift assumptions and aspirational planning do not replace the need for realistic modeling and enforceable performance metrics.
There is also a fiscal reality. Cities like San Mateo already face budget pressure. Growth that is not fiscally accretive risks worsening deficits, shifting costs onto residents through reduced services or higher taxes.
With upcoming city council elections, this issue becomes even more consequential. Some candidates have embraced the label “YIMBY” as a blanket endorsement of accelerated development. Voters should look past slogans. Unconditional pro-growth positioning — without a parallel commitment to infrastructure funding, service capacity, and fiscal discipline — is not forward-thinking; it is risky governance.
In an environment where municipalities are already struggling to fund basic services, advocating rapid expansion without a clear plan to pay for it is not visionary — it is irresponsibility.
As for the turning California into a “playground for the wealthy”: Poorly executed growth — without sufficient infrastructure and services — is what drives up costs and erodes livability for our middle-class families.
Rich Kranz
San Mateo
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(1) comment
Nice piece. Well written Mr. Kranz
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