To the Editor:

Regarding the Wednesday, July 15 issue, we find the page one article “Tear-Downs Indicate Healthy Home Sales Market” disconcerting and shortsighted.

Kevin Wilkes of Princeton Design Guild disparages the “tiny kitchens” and “cramped” features of earlier built homes. According to him, “Families today want an open first floor plan with kitchen and dining and family living all woven into a fabric of collective family enjoyment.”

Really? It seems to us that many Princeton folks raised happy families in those modest homes with spaces he describes as “discrete little boxes.”

Neal A. Snyder, CTA tax assessor for the municipality states that, “When a small house is torn down and replaced by a bigger one, there is an increase in assessment of the home.” Does this mean that only the rich will be able to live here and pay the higher taxes?

Finally, the replacing of modest homes with much larger structures requires the removal of a substantial number of trees, which is not only unsightly but is destructive to our environment.

As longtime Princeton residents we are thankful to live in this beautiful town, but we believe that not all changes merit applause.

Stewart, Mary Ann Solomon

Grover Avenue