Mission Viejo Buzz - 11/24/07

The Buzz Column – Nov. 24

Public comments during the Nov. 19 council meeting addressed the ongoing congregation of day laborers near Los Alisos and Jeronimo. A resident of Lake Forest suggested the Mission Viejo council should stop the law-breaking by reporting it to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Why does it take a resident of another city to remind the Mission Viejo City Council to enforce laws? The city pays the Sheriff more than $1 million per month, and residents (and city visitors) repeatedly are at council meetings to ask for law enforcement. Residents can bypass political buffoonery by calling ICE directly: 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or1-866-347-2423.

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It was interesting to hear the news that Mission Viejo is the nation’s safest city of its size at about the same time an OC Register story covered gang activity in Mission Viejo. Here’s the politically incorrect truth: a large portion of crime in this area – including gang activity – is due to illegal immigration. According to the Dept. of Homeland Security, ICE arrested 3,563 gang members and their associates in Fiscal Year 2007. Under Operation Community Shield, ICE has arrested more than 7,655 gang members, charging 2,444 with crimes and 5,211 with immigration violations. Mission Viejo is a safe place because of the nature of its law-abiding, peace-loving residents. If council members would stop rezoning commercial property, which enables their developer friends and financiers to build future homes for illegals, Mission Viejo residents could rest easier.

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A Mission Viejo resident making public comments at the Nov 19 council meeting cited the council’s voting record of undermining the city’s Master Plan, making way for more electronic signs, ignoring the wishes of residents regarding high-density zoning, placing parks and recreation centers on the open market for cell towers and destroying the city’s visual environment. The solution is not to promote council clones such as some of those who challenged incumbents in the 2006 city election. Two of the top three challengers were Diane Greenwood and Bill Barker, who were largely undistinguishable from Lance MacLean and Frank Ury. Both Greenwood and Barker benefited from developer dollars, with Greenwood promoting the rezoning of commercial property at Marguerite and La Paz.

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Mission Viejo has likely spent more money to avoid building a dog park than the city of Laguna Niguel spent to build one. According to some dog-park enthusiasts, the cost of Laguna Niguel’s Pooch Park with chain-link fencing, wood-chip groundcover, shade structures and double-gated entries was $75,000. The annual maintenance cost is $6,000. Several years ago, a Mission Viejo city staffer gave a PowerPoint presentation at a council meeting after he spent an enormous amount of time researching the subject. Recently, Mission Viejo blew another $40,000 to work up concepts for two inappropriate locations. Despite a criterion that the park shouldn’t be near homes, the city geniuses have settled on two sites (adjacent to Alicia Park and Oso Viejo Park), which border residences. To state the obvious, the city staff doesn’t want a dog park, and it has spent approximately five years thwarting the efforts of those who do. Mission Viejo has estimated the cost of its dog park at $1 million, and it already owns all the sites being discussed.

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Consider Gertrude Stein’s remark, “Money is always there, but the pockets change.” With the homebuilding market drying up, how will council incumbents fund their reelection campaigns? The need for housing hasn’t diminished, and residents should watch for developers who will instead focus on building apartments or other types of rental units. Keep in mind that Steadfast’s original plan for the parcel at Los Alisos and Jeronimo was a 800-unit apartment project, 100-percent welfare housing.

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Buzz readers have asked for an update on Modjeska Ranch Animal Rescue’s recovery from the Santiago Fire. One of the Mission Viejo volunteers reported that approximately 80 percent of the animals (including horses, goats, cats, dogs, pigs, birds and iguanas) have returned to the shelter. Some animals with health issues, including respiratory problems, are still at veterinary hospitals or in foster care. Newcomers at the shelter include llamas that lived on a nearby property, which lost its structures in the fire. Modjeska volunteers also credit the shelter’s owners with having an emergency evacuation plan, enabling them to get all the animals out safely before the mandatory evacuation.