Holmdel chair, not CILU, engaging in scare tactics In his recent letter arguing that "Holmdel must accept some residential units at Lucent [site]," Holmdel Republican Chairman Tom Scarano asks us to believe that his party's majority on the Township Committee will bring "responsible leadership" in addressing this issue, yet he ignores a track record of Republican support for extensive development within the town over the last two decades. While Citizens for Informed Land Use (CILU) does not claim to speak for everyone - especially not developers - the organization has expressed an "informed" opinion by residents with environmental sensitivity who know that "ratable chasing," particularly via residential units, is a losing proposition. In the case of Lucent, preserving the office/lab commercial zoning represents a long-term, strategic approach to balancing the town's overall tax base, while avoiding a heavy reliance on residential property taxes. Preserving office/lab zoning on the Lucent property also helps to ensure that the entire southern slope portion of Holmdel will not be exposed to overdevelopment (recall, for example, the all-Republican Township Committees of the mid to late 1990s who pushed for the mass sewering of southern Holmdel and the construction of 650 houses on the former Chase Tract, which fortunately was preserved as farms and open space instead, thanks to the efforts of CILU and many concerned citizens). By implying the Holmdel taxpayer is in for a hit if the zoning is not changed without data to support that contention, it is Mr. Scarano who is engaging in scare tactics, not CILU. Tony Orsini Holmdel Democratic municipal chairman