They’re On a Roll
Staff editorial

A brief review of 2007’s first half reveals the Mission Viejo City Council’s true nature. The council consistently votes for bigger government, more bureaucracy and more spending on pet projects. Have residents benefited from such council decisions? Usually not. Whenever residents show up at meetings – in large numbers or small – the council almost always votes on behalf of out-of-towners who speak against residents.

January: the construction project at Los Alisos and Jeronimo looks like a strip-mining operation. All five council members last year overturned commercial zoning at this site to build more housing (despite 7,000 signatures against Steadfast’s housing project, which council members passed 5-0).

February: the council voted 5-0 to spend $14,750 on an Urban Land Institute study of the retail center at La Paz and Marguerite, which is private property. In May, the council decided to pursue the “concept,” which includes apartments on top of retail stores. No public input was invited, and storekeepers strongly objected at both the February and May meetings. Nearly all public comments were against the proposed ideas.

March: the council voted 4-1 (Reavis dissenting) to spend $375,220 on a toilet in Melinda Park. This expenditure ironically evolved from residents’ requests that laws be enforced against park users who were relieving themselves in bushes. Council members made no comment when a report surfaced about the high number of vehicles stolen at the mall during the previous summer. The bad news, if released, would have trumped the happy-face stories promoted by the incumbents prior to the November election. What happened to police reports on all the stolen vehicles?

April: the city lost a lawsuit (costing more than $1 million) regarding affordable housing. A combination of incompetence and inaction on the part of all five council members led to the lawsuit. Council members misrepresented the affordable housing mess as “the state made us do this.” The state intervened only after the council deliberately threw away its plan-in-progress. On April 30, more than 100 residents attended a planning commission meeting to object to the city’s Wireless Master Plan, which was previously moved forward by the entire council. Over strong objections from many in the neighborhood, the council also approved the conversion of a single-family home on Calle Hogar to an obvious board-and-care facility.

May: fatal freeway crash near the Oso ramp emphasizes the dangerous traffic backup when city thoroughfares stop during rush hour. Highway patrol records show 2,281 crashes occurred near this site since 1997. (A councilman previously said the backed up traffic isn’t a problem because it will discourage drivers from cutting through Mission Viejo.) On May 7, the council voted to rezone four commercial properties, which could add up to 800 new apartments or welfare housing units. On May 16, the majority of MacLean, Ury and Kelley (MUK) voted to prevent the public from pulling agenda items for discussion during council meetings, thwarting public debate.

June: majority of MUK approved spending more than $143,000 for an electronic message board for the corner of La Paz and Marguerite. During the July 2 meeting, the majority of MUK voted to move forward on the sign with almost no support from the community and strong opposition – approximately 45 public comments, written comments and emails from residents.

This summary glosses over some of the worst problems, but it mentions a few well-known ones. Isn’t it interesting that the council transacted very little business during months leading up to the November 2006 election? Bad news (such as auto thefts) didn’t surface, and the council didn’t mention their fondest dreams (electronic sign, rezoning commercial property, plans to interfere with business owners’ properties at La Paz and Marguerite, the Wireless Master Plan giving a consultant a bonus for placing cell towers in city parks, etc.).

Three council members – Kelley, Ledesma and MacLean – are secure in their seats, despite a close election last November. The other two – Reavis and Ury – won’t face voters until November 2008. Perhaps all of them think they can do whatever they want. Isn’t it pathetic – with no election on the horizon – what these five are prone to do?

The Mission Viejo Company had a unique vision – the city’s Master Plan, which most residents want to preserve. Those with opposing views – Council Members Frank Ury, Lance MacLean, Trish Kelley, John Paul Ledesma and Gail Reavis – have 16 more months to wreak havoc before voters have another chance to remove any of them.