The debate over public pensions continues on these opinion pages, and it is a discussion that we welcome and encourage. We think the exchange between the Ventura County Taxpayers Association and public-safety officials has been useful, civil and informative.

However, the recent rebound in the housing markets reminds us that there is another dimension to this problem. Part of the drive for higher and higher public benefits stems from the fact that housing affordability in our coastal zones is a chronic problem. Nobody wants to force a police officer or public servant who has worked hard and raised a family to retire to another state because the price of housing is so high that a pension won’t pay the mortgage.

Business groups and public employees have common ground in the quest for more common sense when it comes to housing availability and home construction. That’s something both sides should keep in mind as the debate continues.