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Never say Affordable & High Density in the same breath Aliso Villas I was built in 1972 by the Mission Viejo Company. Homes were sold to single families at affordable prices, everything was new and no one ever had a problem parking. Planning ahead was unheard of when expecting guests. It is now apparent that this very competent developer did not anticipate or consider how the area would develop and how it would affect the condominium community or the rest of Mission Viejo. Many of the problems we face today could have been alleviated had the developers designed the community to accommodate homeowners needs instead of using every square foot for their own profit. Street parking is at a premium, although each unit has a one-car garage and one assigned parking stall; no consideration was given to growing families and additional vehicles that come with teens and their friends. They built as many units on the land they had to make the most money they could in as short a time as possible. There are 424 units, 106 buildings, 424 one-car garages, 424 uncovered, assigned parking stalls and 14 guest parking slots. Parking for 862 cars total. It is virtually impossible to know what the exact number of residents is today; but a good guess is in the high 2,000s plus, plus. In all probability, it’s even closer to 3,000 due to the high influx of multifamily use. A recent parking survey by the city shows there are 334 parking spaces along Via Nuez, Via Roble, Via Cereza, Via Pimiento and Via Pera, the streets that make up our community. Compute the figures: city street parking, plus our private parking, not even factoring in for guests; 1,196 parking slots is just not enough parking especially when a good number of the multifamily units have five cars or more! We also have our fair share of crime, vandalism, cars broken into and stolen and all because the developers tried to fill as much space as possible with too many homes. Affordable and high-density should not be used together. City employees refer to this area as “Mini Santa Ana” and call it “a blight on the city," and most recently stated they want to “raze this area because of the trash always thrown on the city slopes.” What makes anyone think the Steadfast Project won’t bring the same problems to the city in the future? Don’t allow the Steadfast Project to become another burden to the city because of their greed. Couples have babies, they grow to become teenagers, buy cars, get married and come home to visit, where are they going to park? Protect the future of our city against developers that want to move in and change our city zoning codes to increase their bottom line. Kathy Miramontes |
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