Support Is (Almost) Unanimous
Staff editorial

With the Mission Viejo Right To Vote Initiative, residents’ opinions will count. Patterned after successful initiatives in other cities, the Right To Vote will give residents the final decision in any major land-use change. In the event a council majority rules in favor of a developer (for example, if Sunrise gets three votes to rezone the Casta del Sol golf course to housing), residents could overrule the council’s decision with a popular vote. It’s a simple remedy that most voters understand.

Rezoning proposals are already looming, and the Casta del Sol Golf Course is just one of the targets. The concerns of Casta residents are justified that the entire golf course will be carved up by Sunrise and sold to other housing developers. Sunrise has floated rumors it would use only a small portion of the property and preserve the remainder as an 18-hole course. The rumor defies logic, particularly the aspect that Sunrise wouldn’t resell the rest of the property with a potential market value of $50 million after it’s rezoned. Anyone who has followed the recent lawsuits against Sunrise in Laguna Hills may have seen the allegations that Sunrise endangered the lives of its residents by understaffing its facilities to save money. Families of two deceased residents of Sunrise facilities each received a million dollars in settlements. Regardless of Sunrise’s positive or negative image as a caring and magnanimous corporation, the claim of preserving the golf course is a trick, and residents should know better.

How far will a developer go to get property rezoned over the objections of neighbors? Steadfast provided an example in its relentless effort to rezone its parcel at Jeronimo and Los Alisos. It started with a proposal for 800 apartments and changed the plan numerous times before partnering with Target. As part of its hoax, Steadfast heartlessly led some people to believe they could get a job at Target and buy one of the “affordable” condos that Steadfast planned to build next door. Steadfast’s PR scheme included presentations in which neighbors could get a free lunch if they listened to a sales pitch about the project. Several gullible residents not only ate the lunch, they swallowed the bait and signed statements saying they approved of the housing project. Steadfast succeeded in finding several residents – most of them renters – who turned against homeowners trying to protect their property values and preserve their quality of life.

Council members are gullible as well, particularly Councilwoman Trish Kelley who focused on Steadfast’s promise to give $1 million to the city as a “park fee.” Kelley was all excited about spending the fantasy money on “projects around town,” and she alluded to the community center expansion. To the contrary, taxpayers funded the expansion, and Steadfast left town, paying nothing. Where’s the million dollars? Meanwhile, the vacant property next to Target was oddly reshaped into a Matterhorn with slopes that will continue to be an eyesore. No affordable units have been built, those with low incomes didn’t get dream jobs that would enable homebuying, and the city didn’t get its $1 million for “projects around town.”

With a 5-0 vote, the council sold out residents – especially neighbors of the project – in exchange for chump change as campaign donations from the developer. No one benefited financially from Steadfast’s donations except the campaigns of five council members.

Other controversies that would be affected by the initiative include but are not limited to the former Kmart property on east Los Alisos (a switch from condos to apartments), a discussion of switching from condos to apartments at Jeronimo and Los Alisos next to the new Target store, a desire by the owner of the Unisys site to have his property rezoned to high-density housing, rezoning the retail center at La Paz and Marguerite to raze structures and rebuild with 350-450 apartments on top of stores and the proposed housing on the south side of Casta Drive (behind the Marguerite rec center adjacent to Casta del Sol homes). That’s not the entire list. In addition to three other parcels the current council rezoned for potential affordable housing, residents should be aware of many other targeted properties. Some of the sites are within gated areas, including HOA land inside Quail Run at Oso and Felipe that was identified by the state for a potential affordable housing project. With the current council’s record for ignoring the will of the people, no neighborhood has immunity.

Residents should expect negative campaigning against the initiative, funded by developers and promoted by their shills who intend to benefit.

Make-work Projects Ruin the City
Letter to the editor

Two letters to the editor (Evelyn Olson, May 30, and Margo Kutner, June 6) made me wonder if city employees are soliciting letters to compliment themselves. Why else would any resident profusely thank city staffers for throwing away our tax dollars?

Our taxes are not only being wasted, they’re being used to ruin our beautiful city. I don’t know where anyone finds such ugly banners to stick on otherwise attractive light standards. The muddy colors clash with everything God created – blue sky, lush greenery and other natural surroundings. The Great Walls of Crown Valley Parkway are the color of cow dung, and the “tasteful” electronic sign is garish and unreadable.

The city spends a fortune to create make-work projects because it has too many employees. It keeps people busy by installing trash on our streets and mailing out slick magazines as if the city were trying to sell something.

Keep in mind that Rancho Santa Margarita has only 20-some employees while Mission Viejo has more than 140. The beautiful aspects of our city are being obliterated by employees with nothing to do.

Elizabeth Mimm
Mission Viejo

Easelgate Update
Editorial staff

A blog reader commented last week, “City hall got busted. They threw away the easels and got caught. If the city had owned up in the first place, it would have been forgotten by now.”

A city employee made a big mistake in having workers dump approximately 200 broken easels on a hillside in plain view of anyone driving behind the Michaels store. A second mistake was spawning a story about how the easels were broken. Evelyn Olson’s May 30 letter to Saddleback Valley News about the easels being “vandalized by someone on a bike” lacked credibility.

City hall’s current dilemma is a resident’s request for public information about costs of the photo display. The initial request was filed on May 23, and the city legally had to respond within 10 working days. Instead of providing the documents in a timely manner, the city sent the resident a form letter saying 14 additional days would be needed to comply “because of the voluminous amount” of information that had been requested. After another 14 days (on June 17), the resident received another form letter stating an additional 14 days would be needed.

What’s the basis of the delay? It shouldn’t take 38 days to “find” the paperwork for easels, cameras, photo development, lamination and info about who took the pictures. That’s not the extent of information requested, but the delays call into question whether the city kept track of costs. It also causes speculation that costs may have been obscured as routine maintenance of city property. The request for information also asks why city property was discarded and where all the items from the display ended up.

Those following the issue have stated the city manager likely went over the limit of $30,000 – the amount he is authorized to spend without a vote of the city council. Some of the costs aren’t showing up in the city’s check register in ways they can be identified. Isn’t it curious that those looking through the check register can’t find the materials used in the display except for 500 disposable cameras?

In a concurrent matter referred to as Firegate, city staffers apparently gave themselves permission to spend approximately $35,000 in city tax dollars on county property. A city staff member acknowledged the cost of improving the county property at Fire Station No. 24 on Marguerite Parkway near Oso, plus $8,000 in yearly maintenance of landscaping. As with Easelgate, things don’t add up, and a resident has requested public records. As a related issue, how many other staff-generated projects have been kept out of public view with the false impression the cost would be under the $30,000 limit?

Something else is missing. Does anyone remember the extra-tall signboards that were used in such displays as the Veterans Day event? A resident estimated the city had at least 75 and maybe a lot more of them. Where are they today? Were they also “vandalized by someone on a bike” and taken to a county dump? The city staff appears to have empowered itself to create large-scale theatrical sets, some of which have a one-time use.

A blog reader commented about the money and labor going into these projects, “The 20th anniversary and some of the other events are similar to a senior prom. At the prom I attended, everyone raised funds and then spent a month building an elaborate set that was thrown away the next day.”

The city council should tell certain city staff members that their high school prom is over.

Reader Comments

Friend Applauds Community Activist

As a longtime friend of Bo Klein from childhood on, I am honored to say we met
in elementary school, went on to high school together and finally college. Few people can say they have been friends that long. Bo stood out from the beginning as a person who cared about his friends and neighbors. He cared for his neighborhood and the people in it.

When there was backbiting going on, Bo rose above it. He took a stand for what he believed in. If he was on your side, you knew it. Moreover, he had a knack for determining who was on the side of the people and who was on their own side, and he let them know it. He was never afraid to speak his mind. For 38 years, I'm glad to say he was and still is a friend.

I wish Bo luck in whatever endeavor he decides to pursue, and the people of Mission Viejo should recognize the fact that they have someone who can and will get things done in whatever he decides to pursue. Good for you, Bo.

Charles Barnett

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City Ignores Some Parts of Town

I've wanted to start a Website called the "Slums of Mission Viejo!" It seems to this reader that the north side (older side) of Mission Viejo is forgotten. We don't have associations, and the city is responsible for enforcing codes and addressing violations. But, good luck getting those people to do anything!  I've taken pictures to prove code violations, but the city workers are downright rude!  They've never enforced anything over here...in fact, four doors down, the house has had Christmas lights for three years – never taken down. 

My brother lives in Norwalk, and says he's always amazed that our neighborhood looks worse than his! How about 10 cars per house? Try getting the city off their butts to help with multiple families in single-family dwellings! And don't get me started on the barking dogs and the lazy animal shelter that touts itself as the best, when in fact, YOU have to do all the legwork, but nothing will be resolved.  If you live in Fullerton, after one phone call, a dog problem is taken care of! 

How about bringing some of those Christmas lights on La Paz, leading up to....CITY HALL, back to the intersection of Jeronimo and Alicia?  How about maintaining the slopes over here off Alicia? And what about the horrible traffic at Alica and Jeronimo?  And why build a super Target two miles from another Target and add some low-income housing on the north side! OH and don't forget the cell tower going in right behind my house, in the middle of the neighborhood!  Can't wait for that eyesore!

I applaud this Website.  I'd wanted to do it for years!

Debra Twardowski
Mission Viejo

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Traffic Flow Takes a Step Backwards

In regard to the "non-progress" of the Crown Valley Parkway widening, I'd also
like to point out the INEFFICIENT new sequencing of the traffic lights between the mall and Bellogente. Instead of improving overall traffic flow, the signals at these intersections now run through their ENTIRE cycle EVERY TIME. It's one thing to do this during peak traffic hours, but at 11 pm on a weeknight, nobody should have to wait through an entire cycle just to make a left turn. I hope the city corrects this absurdity so that the signals revert to a "smart" cycle during non-peak hours.

Aren't these intersections equipped with "sensing" equipment under the roads to detect if a car is waiting? It seems silly to wait for the signals to run through their entire cycle when there are no cars waiting at signals perpendicular to me. Yet, the signals are currently programmed to give these "empty" sides of the intersection a full and elongated "green" all day, every day. Is this a topic the city plans to correct before the project is finished? Can I bring it up at a Planning and Traffic Commission meeting? I have lived just off Crown Valley for five years, and the nonsensical new sequence these lights have is driving me crazy (pun somewhat intended). Thank you!

Ryan
A Concerned Crown Valley Resident

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Road Widening Stalls, Pillars Erupt

[Response to June 21 Or. Co. Register photo of pillars along Crown Valley Pkwy.] I have been driving Crown Valley for years, and I should now say I’ve been stopped in traffic on Crown Valley for years. I have plenty of opportunity to see the standstill of the road widening. In the Or. Co. Register, the city mistakenly said the pillars are “pilasters.” No, they’re not. They’re pillars. Ask someone who knows their ars from their asters.

Anonymous
Mission Viejo

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Choosing New Sheriff Was Politics as Usual

We keep hearing that everyone will get to vote for a new sheriff in the 2010 election. What about the “election” that was held on June 3? Three supervisors made the decision “on behalf of” three million Orange County residents. People in Mission Viejo have supported most of the current supervisors and worked to get them elected. On June 3, they caved in to political insiders who were engaged in arm-twisting. I thought the supervisors indicated they would resist lobbying, but the facts are coming out. The new sheriff, Sandi Hutchens, would not have been in the running in a real election.

Anonymous
Mission Viejo

Parents Advocate League Update
by Julie Collier

Following is my summary of the June 16 Capistrano Unified School District board meeting. The big issue was approving the final budget. While it would keep our wonderful teachers, it is cutting needed classified jobs, which we WILL notice next year. One classified worker turned Trustee Marlene Draper's words of sorrow as to why Draper approved cutting the classified workers into why the worker was going to vote Yes on the recall. Another classified worker questioned the need for giving raises to the upper administration when needed classified jobs were being cut.

Following is a summary of other items: 1) Danny Christensen is the new principal of Capo High. 2) The sale of district property in Aliso Viejo was approved. 3) The board approved (7-0) Shepherd of the Hills’ leasing the district’s Paseo de Colinas property. 4) Supt. Woodrow Carter's Reorganization Plan (reorganizing the administrative staff) was approved 7-0. Constituents should take time to review the charts to identify the responsibilities and roles of the administrative staff as presented in the June 16 board agenda at www.capousd.org. Also on the district Website is information regarding the San Juan Hills High School pipeline risk analysis. Additional information can be found at http://groups.google.com/group/cusd. 5) Trustee Anna Bryson wants the district to reconsider the need for so many district consultants due to the expense. She suggested the money saved could go toward rehiring the classified employees. 6) Carter stated again that the budget next year will be worse than this year (brace yourselves!).

The article from the Register below explains other details readers will find interesting. Don't forget to read the comments below the article, and feel free to add anonymous comments:

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/education/article_2070092.php

On another note, I received many comments from PALs members suggesting I include all viewpoints. Some people applauded me, and most felt that I am very clear in my emails that I am only stating my opinion. They thought I was doing enough by offering sites where all readers can do their own research and come up with their own opinions. Most readers already know I am voting YES on the recall based on my own observations during the 2007-2008 school year. If I consider all the other issues that have taken place prior to this school year, it only solidifies my decision. Here are some sites to review the opinions of others regarding the recall. Readers should take time to look at ALL the sites regardless of their opinions.
http://www.makam4cusd.com

http://www.kenforourkids.com

http://www.electsuepalazzo.com/Sue%20Palazzo.html

http://www.cusdrecall.com

http://www.cusdnoonrecall.com

The OC Registrar of Voters’ site has information on where to vote and how to get the results on election night: http://www.ocvote.com Many of the people whose Websites are listed above are easily accessible for questions. They welcome questions, and anyone with concerns should ask them. Gary Miller, a candidate who is running for office in the recall election, does not have a Website, which is why I did not include his information. Also, trustees who are targets in the recall, Marlene Draper and Sheila Benecke, do not have Websites. Their respective 16 years and 20 years on the CUSD board should speak for themselves. Readers can view Draper and Benecke’s votes on school issues at the district website (listed above) in the board minutes.

A PALs member, Dan, wrote the following: “I'm glad to hear that the CUSD foundation reached their goal! A good source for background on the issues you could send to people would be Leslie Dutton's coverage at http://www.fulldisclosure.net/cusd.html . It seems one-sided, but that is because everyone at the district refused to respond to her requests for information. She had won an Emmy Award for her journalism, so I would consider her a credible source.”

 Please take time to make informed choices for your vote in the Recall Election on Tuesday, June 24.

The Buzz

What happened to the Orange County Register’s online discussion board about the Capo school district recall? The board occasionally is taken down when the Register receives complaints about posted comments, and that’s what happened a week ago. Personal attacks are commonplace, but seriously libelous comments (a basis for lawsuits against the Register) are a different matter. Last week, the Register shut down the site for the seventh time since its 2005 inception, ending access to comments previously posted. The board is back up again in its eighth “edition,” and it can be found at http://talk.ocregister.com/showthread.php?t=36469&page=1&pp=15

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What were the libelous comments that caused the Register to end Thread No. 7? One of the board’s devotees offered an opinion: “Both sides (those supporting the recall and those defending the Fleming-era trustees) were firing shots. What I saw on the board shortly before it went down was the mention of names – a certain high-profile old-guard supporter allegedly having an affair with a certain highly compensated administrator who retired abruptly.”

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A headline in the June 21 Register asks, “What are those towers on Crown Valley Parkway?” A Register reader contacted the paper and wanted to know the purpose of the pillars along Crown Valley down to the Kaleidoscope. According to the article, a city employee said the city “is trying to create an entryway or a gateway into the Crown Valley business district.” Is this not another example of city employees creating make-work projects for themselves because they have no real jobs? As part of the “project,” some of the pillars will have changeable artwork. The changeable artwork should provide job security to those with nothing to do – finding artwork and changing it.

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A Casta del Sol resident who signed a petition against rezoning of the Casta golf course asked why she needs to sign the Right To Vote Initiative. The petition circulated by the Casta HOA asks the council to preserve the golf course. The voter initiative places rezoning issues on the ballot. Instead of allowing the council to have the final authority to rezone a parcel, the initiative will give Mission Viejo’s 61,347 registered voters final authority. If council members could be trusted to represent residents, an informal petition might sway them. As an example of why the initiative is needed, in 2005-2006, residents gathered more than 3,000 signatures in opposition to rezoning Steadfast’s property at Los Alisos and Jeronimo. The council voted 5-0 in favor of rezoning despite overwhelming public opposition.

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Tuesday, June 24, is the big day in Capo USD. A victory party for volunteers is being planned by parents who have been central figures in the recall effort. Unless the outcome of the special election surprises everyone, Trustees Marlene Draper and Sheila Benecke will likely be recalled. Parents who have attended recent school board meetings have said Draper and Benecke seem to have accepted that their reign is ending.

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Some residents have asked why Mission Viejo doesn’t already have a Right To Vote Initiative to address land-use changes. The initiative has been three years in the making, and the process has been a deliberate one. Development of an initiative involves research and legal review, which are time-consuming and expensive. All of the blog staff members applaud Dale Tyler for starting and overseeing the process. The initiative is still in an early stage, with signature-gathering as the next step. Anyone interested in circulating or signing the petition should respond to this blog by filling in their information here .