Raise business awareness with events
Letter to the editor

I’d like to see Mission Viejo hold events similar to a street fair at times besides July 4. The July event is successful, but it’s usually too hot to enjoy being there during the day. If the city were either to sponsor or encourage events at some of the retail centers, it would help business and raise people’s awareness of businesses around town.

I’ve been to “A Taste of the Lake,” which was fine, and it could be expanded. People will come out for almost anything, and most of the events I’ve attended have had a good crowd. Events in other communities are very successful, and they’re attracting customers from cities all around them. Letters to the editor have asked for economic development for the city, and it would work if someone would organize it.

Nadine Harder
Mission Viejo

Lawsuit is the council’s legacy
Letter to the editor

The Pacific Law Center filed a lawsuit against our city last week after threatening to sue for months. The current city council has a legacy with the lawsuit, and it’s far worse than that of any previous council.

For several years, residents strongly urged the council to address affordable housing issues in a way that didn’t involve more homebuilding or rezoning of commercial property. Previous councils made huge mistakes by permitting more housing but completely ignoring affordable housing goals. Current council members had a responsibility to address past mistakes, but they instead made more mistakes.

Instead of dealing with affordable housing goals, the current council members were deal-making with developers and accepting campaign contributions. The developer of the former Kmart property put in a token number of one-bedroom, affordable units, which weren’t suitable for families. This developer is off the hook, as the statute of limitations passed, and he can’t be sued. The city, however, has the burden of more housing, more overcrowding and more traffic – plus, the affordable housing goal still looms.

The council next rezoned the commercial parcel next to Unisys and allowed Steadfast to build condos. Again, the developer put in a token number of one-bedroom, affordable units – different developer, same mistakes. This time, however, the Public Law Center sued the city for not providing affordable units for families.

The current council couldn’t learn from past mistakes, and our residents are paying for it. If voters don’t recognize this as a wakeup call, I don’t know what it will take. Instead of responsible leadership on the council, we have a word of the month, “the entertainment feature” at council meetings and a lawsuit. As a related matter, a council majority renewed the contract of a city attorney who responds to questions by talking at length but giving no answers. If his function is to protect the city from liability, why is he still on the payroll?

When council members wheel and deal with developers but fail to serve the needs of residents, it should surprise no one our city is being sued.

Milt Jacobson
Mission Viejo

News brief
Is developer scrapping plans?

The Public Law Center’s lawsuit against the city continues to raise questions. Why did the PLC challenge only the approval of Steadfast’s plan for condos at Jeronimo and Los Alisos? The council approved a similar plan on east Los Alisos – UDR/Pacific’s condos on the former Kmart site. Both developers raised the ire of the PLC by allocating only one-bedroom units for affordable housing, but UDR/Pacific appeared to get a pass.

The council approved UDR/Pacific’s housing plan on Sept. 19, 2005. Steadfast received its approval at the Feb. 20, 2006, council meeting. The statute of limitations to challenge the amendment of the city’s General Plan is 90 days following final council approval.

As a recent twist, UDR/Pacific has apparently indicated its interest in selling the former Kmart parcel. The Buzz months ago revealed the developer’s dissatisfaction over terms of the agreement regarding the city’s requirements of affordable units and developer fees. No further information is available at this time.

Infrastructure renewal is a critical need
Letter to the editor

Mission Viejo, like all other cities, is getting older. With age, the infrastructure – slopes, slopes, streets, curbing – and shopping centers, etc., become worn, dated and in need of renewal. Investment in infrastructure is one of the criticalneeds of our city.

Neglect of this critical item creates blight. Blight creates crime, higher taxes for repairs and loss of revenue to newer and fresher locales in the form of lost business income to our city.

One of our citizens with wise insight to the needs of Mission Viejo suggested that perhaps an infrastructure renewal set-aside could be made regularly by our city. This was an excellent suggestion for the simple reason it addresses our critical needs in Mission Viejo and prepares our city for the future. It certainly prevents a future fire drill and prepares the city for such setbacks as slope failure or other maintenance problems.

Infrastructure renewal is ongoing and is a constant in our city. To deny it exists while funding other projects first or to fail to budget for it only creates a problem later.

James Edward Woodin
Mission Viejo

Fun With Chalk celebrates the arts

Mission Viejo’s annual “Fun With Chalk” street-painting event will be held at the Norman P. Murray Community Center, 24932 Veterans Way (off LaPaz Road), May 20-21, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Free admission and free parking.

The featured artist, Lori Escalera, a nationally recognized street-painter, will create a 12’ x 12’ reproduction of “Boy Bit by a Lizard.” The original artwork was created by Carravagio, an Italian Renaissance painter. Escalera is well known in Southern California for her street paintings of Italian masters and lesser-known Italian Impressionist painters.

The annual Mission Viejo event is now in its eighth year. The Fun With Chalk/Fine Arts Festival features hundreds of artists of all ages and skill levels creating masterpieces directly on the asphalt. Local fine artists display their oil, watercolor, sculpture and photographic works at the festival to celebrate the arts. Free entertainment, music, and great food at moderate prices will cater to every taste. Art workshops are available.

Street painting is a 400-year-old type of performance art, which began in Italy as a means for artists to make money. Today, large temporary artworks are created in a short time – a matter of days, and street painting is experienced by the public as "process" art.

This award-winning festival benefits fine-art programs in Saddleback Valley and Capistrano Unified School Districts and provides scholarships for graduating high school seniors. It also enriches the lives of children living in domestic violence shelters. To participate as a Festival Sponsor, volunteer or artist or for general information, call the Festival hotline, 1-877-932-4255, or email motv8@pacbell.net.

General Website: http://members.cox.net/design.etc

Fine art Website: http://members.cox.net/lori.art

Council meeting summary, May 1
Editorial staff

The May 1 council meeting was a quiet one. The “elephant in the room” – the lawsuit against the city over affordable housing – went unmentioned except by a resident during public comments and a reference by the city attorney to the closed-session discussion.

Items pulled by the public included an amendment to the Marguerite Recreation Center (YMCA) contract. During public comments, a resident asked why the city would change the 30-year agreement regarding capital improvement projects or terms of operation. He said the 30-year contract should limit the city’s cost to $1.5 million and stop the “perpetual mechanism to tap the city.” Mayor Lance MacLean didn’t acknowledge the comments, and the item was carried over to the next meeting without action.

Another item pulled by the public was the replacement purchase of five police motorcycles. A resident suggested the use of motorcycles should be reevaluated for safety concerns and asked about the recent accident involving one of the city’s motorcycle patrolmen. The motion to replace motorcycles passed 5-0.

MacLean opened a hearing on an urgency ordinance extending the prohibition of establishing marijuana dispensaries in any zoning district within the city. No resident spoke on the issue, and the item was carried over to the next meeting.

Another hearing addressed ordinances amending municipal code regarding 1) massage establishment regulations and 2) nuisance abatement. A resident at the public microphone asked why nuisance abatement was lumped with massage regulations. She said the nuisance issue arose from a single complaint from a resident about a neighbor’s skateboard ramp. She suggested creating ordinances is not the best means of dealing with an individual’s complaint against a neighbor. The motion to amend ordinances passed 5-0.

The council voted 5-0 to proceed with the audit of Capistrano Unified School District taxes and 5-0 to proceed with the elimination of permit fees for energy-efficient construction improvements. The council also received the Community Services Master Plan.

Regarding the Fiscal Year 2006-2007 budget review, Council Member John Paul Ledesma suggested priorities for the budget revision program of fixing potholes, building a restroom facility at Melinda Park and grading Oso Viejo Park for a soccer field. Councilwoman Trish Kelley added the $200,000 cost of a senior transportation pilot program. Councilman Frank Ury said he didn’t think the council should list projects, but Kelley read the second sentence of the agenda item to him, which asked for priorities. The council approved the revisions and suggestions for priorities 5-0.

Two residents at the public microphone asked for restroom facilities at Melinda Park during the discussion of the restroom master plan item. In contrast with the city’s estimated cost of $500,000 to $600,000 per facility, a resident provided information on a prefabricated restroom costing $13,000 to $50,000. He suggested the city hadn’t done its homework. The council agreed Melinda Park was the top priority and asked staff to pursue the prefabricated restroom designs.

City council race – lowdown on the showdown
Staff editorial, May 2

The November council race is shaping up early. If candidates establish themselves quickly, latecomers who file at the midsummer deadline will be eating dust.

Jim Woodin, a 35-year resident, was the first to announce his intention to run. He’s not part of any political clique, which could be an advantage, and he appears to have a better grasp of the city’s finances than some of the council members.

Second to jump in was Councilwoman Trish Kelley, who said in 2002 she’d serve only one term. She’s broken all her other campaign promises, and counting isn’t her strong suit. The city can do without Kelley’s hypocritical “word of the month,” and the word for November should be “goodbye.”

Diane Greenwood, who is closely tied to Councilman Frank Ury, was third to announce. Greenwood brings comic relief to the city circus. As a leader of the failed attempt to give the new power lines a decent burial, Greenwood should have buried the hatchet and gone home. Instead, she’s donned a tinfoil hat and joined the brigade of barking moonbats. Her important mission seems to be lambasting Southern California Edison and everyone else but Ury.

Who’s next? Most palatable of the incumbents up for reelection is John Paul Ledesma and least palatable is Lance MacLean. Ledesma opposes high-density affordable apartments, and MacLean wants more housing – an issue that could become the litmus test in this election. Ledesma pushed for protection of residents from eminent domain and an audit of taxes going to Capistrano Unified School District while MacLean argued both were unnecessary.

Potential candidates appearing regularly at council meetings include Bill Barker (friend of Ury) and Steven Guess, a throwback to the old regime of former City Manager Dan Joseph. Neither Barker nor Guess is likely to attract much of a following. Barker tried unsuccessfully for years to get an appointment to a city commission. In 2002, he worked briefly in MacLean’s campaign – long enough that MacLean after winning a council seat appointed him to the Community Services Commission. Barker would be running against the only person who would appoint him to a commission and taking a chance both he and MacLean could lose.

Steven Guess is the former Saddleback College student who seemed to idolize Dan Joseph. Back then, some said Guess was related to the Josephs – the nephew of either Dan or Ivy. When Dan Joseph left City Hall, Guess disappeared … until lately. If Guess runs, perhaps he’ll get advice (and cash) from Uncle Dan, who came in last – even behind Nancy Howell – in the 2004 council race.

The mention of Nancy Howell gives chills to some residents, particularly members of the Oso Valley Greenbelt Association. Howell and her husband Hamid Tavakolian are blamed for a great deal of the HOA’s turmoil and legal expense. Her 2004 campaign cost $42,000, a modest amount considering she had a bazillion signs. She might have enough signs left over to run again.

At last report, former Councilman Bill Craycraft was still conducting his listening tour while covering his ears and loudly singing, “La la la la la – I can’t hear you!”

Ury, who can’t get a second to his motions favoring special interest, has stated his intent to “knock out all three incumbents” – Ledesma, Kelley and MacLean. He’s got Greenwood and Barker, sort of, and appears a bit desperate. At political events last week, Ury was introducing a 20-something political hopeful as a city council candidate. The young man piped up, “Mission Viejo needs new blood.”

If Ury were to succeed in getting three votes on the council, Mission Viejo would need a transfusion.

The Buzz column, May 2

A reader reacted to the Pacific Law Center’s lawsuit against the city, saying it was poetic justice against Steadfast. Steadfast was the likely suspect in launching the initial complaint against Mission Viejo to the Dept. of Housing and Community Development. Other possible sources were former City Manager Dan Joseph and Councilman Lance MacLean, who were promoting Steadfast and its affordable housing project next to Unisys. Now that the city has been sued, Steadfast’s project, along with the Target store, will likely be delayed.

***

As another angle, consider the relationship between Steadfast, its community resource foundation and the Pacific Law Center – they’re all connected. The underlying objective of the lawsuit might be to “force” Steadfast to build the large affordable-apartment project it’s been dreaming of for three years. The lawsuit is delaying a project that wasn’t Steadfast’s first choice. Either way, Councilman MacLean wins with more housing, and the residents lose … until November.

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MacLean had another fundraiser on Thurs., April 27, at the Mission Viejo Country Club. After using the same guest list for the third time in six months, how much more are city vendors willing to pay to spend an evening with the mayor, and what’s he selling?

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What MacLean hasn’t sold in his 3 1/2 years in office is the city of Mission Viejo. He has repeatedly run to the L.A. Times, calling residents “racists” and “elitists.” When MacLean doesn’t get his way, council members, planning commissioners, residents and the city get slammed in the newspaper.

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Neil Kelley became Orange County’s Registrar of Voters on April 25 after serving as interim registrar since August 2005. He was promoted despite complaints filed with the D.A. against his office regarding the petition drive to recall Capistrano Unified School District trustees. Recall organizers discovered a high percentage of RoV errors, including registered voters who were wrongly disqualified. Volunteers working in Newport Beach’s Greenlight Initiative also complained after purchasing RoV data to verify voters and finding a high percentage of errors. Kelley will be paid $130,000 a year for losing track of voters.

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Councilman Frank Ury came into office with no ideas, and he still has most of them. He’s lately having a hard time spitting out the name of “idea-man” Curt Pringle, Anaheim’s mayor. During the May 1 council meeting, Ury avoided mentioning Pringle’s name, referring to him as “a city official in another city” who had an idea. The Buzz has reported Ury’s pattern of putting items on the Mission Viejo council agenda, trying to do whatever Pringle does in Anaheim.

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Ury referred to the “statesmanlike” Irvine council when he criticized the Mission Viejo council in the April 9 Orange County Register. Supv. Bill Campbell commented in the May 2 OCR about the Irvine council’s recent power grab, breaking promises and taking financial control away from the Great Park’s board of directors. The Irvine council’s decision was made late at night during a long meeting without many people watching. Are these Ury’s role models?

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Councilwoman Trish Kelley’s campaign strategy should be the right to remain silent. Wanting to talk but having nothing to say, she made a strange comment May 1 during the discussion of restrooms in parks. About the complete lack of restroom facilities, she said, “I raised three children who used the parks, and my husband coached 30 teams and no one ever had to run to the [non-existent] restroom.” How many games did they win, running with their legs crossed?