Environmental Impact Report is a pack of lies

Regarding "Home Depot environmental document says problems can be resolved" in the Jan. 31 Thousand Oaks Acorn, what a surprise to read that Home Depot claims that the environmental impacts of their proposed store on Hampshire Road can all be fixed.This article just swallows the EIR's bilge without actually checking to see if any of it is true. How disappointing.

Here is the truth:

•The size of the big-box store is larger than the old Kmart.

The EIR splits the actual size in two, the inside square footage and the outside garden center where bags of fertilizers, pesticides and various chemicals are stored. The store will occupy 110,642 square feet, which is more than the old Kmart. The other outdoor activities associated with the store are simply ignored.

•The zoning is incompatible with a neighborhood shopping center.

The attached shops that will be demolished were part of a neighborhood shopping center. The site is zoned C-1, which is designed for the shopping needs of the immediate neighborhood, according to Thousand Oaks planning standards. A C-3 zone is appropriate for a communitywide shopping center, and that's where the other two Home Depots in Thousand Oaks have been built.

•Noise impacts from the store's operations are significant and unavoidable.

A senior care facility and a children's day care are two of the immediate neighbors of the warehouse store. Those senior citizens are living out their last days right next to where Home Depot plans to locate the lumber loading and unloading docks. These seniors and children will also be exposed to excessive diesel fumes from Home Depot's delivery trucks.

I'm concerned that interested members of the public may be discouraged by the Acorn's regurgitating of Home Depot's deceptive EIR. As a former city planning commissioner, I strongly believe that more critical review is needed. Amy Walker-Davis Westlake Village