Recent letters in opposition to the proposed senior center at Goldenwest and Talbert dwell on the fact that the perceived flaws in the city's sports complex are somehow related to the senior center.
This is a faulty argument; the two projects are unrelated. Well over half the cost of the sports complex was due to the remediation of the contaminated soil on the site. The sports complex site was unusable for any purpose without remediation. Today, the sports complex remains essentially open space and is available for recreation, much like the Frisbee golf course across the street.
The proposed senior center site is not a grassy, tree-shaded meadow as some would have you believe. Though uncontaminated, it is a weed-covered vacant lot that was a borrow pit for dirt used to construct the San Diego Freeway. The senior center will be an environmentally sensitive building, whose landscaping will be an extension of Shipley Nature Center.
