Golf Course Remains at Risk

As an ongoing public relations problem for the MUK majority (MacLean, Ury and Kelley), the Casta del Sol Golf Course is still for sale. Despite all the denials from city hall, a housing developer could buy it at any time. In 2007-2008, Sunrise Assisted Living was trying to buy the property and get it rezoned for housing. Sunrise planned to use only 10 acres on the south or southwest side and negotiated with American Golf to purchase all 72 acres – the entire golf course.

The MUKsters now say they have always been dedicated to preserving the golf course. Did someone forget to ask them who would operate and maintain the golf course if Sunrise had bought it? Did anyone think caregivers from the Sunrise assisted living facility would double as golf course employees? American Golf would have left town, and the golf course would have been closed.

The MUKsters indicated the golf course was never at risk, but their preservation scenario was a hoax.

Did Sunrise indicate it would become the new operator of the course? (No. Sunrise stated it didn’t want the golf course.)

Did Sunrise pretend it had an interest in leasing out the remaining 62 acres as a golf course? (No.)

Did the MUK council members identify (after claiming the remaining acres would remain a golf course) who would operate the course if Sunrise bought the property? (No, they didn’t have to. Their followers never figured that one out.)

If the MUK majority’s rezoning craze hadn’t been interrupted by the Land-Use Initiative, and if Sunrise hadn’t become financially hamstrung, what would have stopped the new owner from closing the golf course? (Nothing. With the entire 72 acres rezoned to allow housing, Sunrise could have sold the remaining 62 acres to another housing developer.)

If the MUKsters had any explanation of how a golf course would continue functioning without employees, funds, maintenance, etc., what was it? And what were the chances that Sunrise could have found a buyer for a golf course missing a 10-acre chunk including its clubhouse?

The MUKsters are engaged in the fight of their political lives against those wanting to recall MacLean. A key objective of the recall group is saving the golf course. The first step was placing the Mission Viejo Right To Vote Initiative on the ballot, and the second step is removing MacLean from office.

Recall Update

As of May 31, proponents of the MacLean recall have 86 days to complete the signature drive. The current count is between 7,000 and 8,000 signatures, and the deadline to gather 9,350 valid ones is Aug. 25.

A Mission Viejo resident who signed the petition at a storefront last week said, “Wow! You’re everywhere!” He referred to MacLean as a “time bomb” when he signed the petition in front of Ralphs on Santa Margarita Parkway. Among other locations, recall teams have gathered signatures in front of two Albertsons stores, three Ralphs stores, Pavilions, Trader Joe’s, Henry’s, CVS, coffee shops, schools, restaurants, meetings of all kinds, the library, a concert at the lake and Stater Bros. in Lake Forest.

Particularly vexing to MacLean supporters, the signature gatherers are courteous, friendly, well informed, respectful and law-abiding. MacLean’s supporters generally are rude, angry and argumentative. Initially, those opposing the recall asserted that the effort was driven by a “handful of gadflies” who attend council meetings. More than 50 people initiated the recall as proponents, and many more are actively involved in gathering signatures.

The most frequent comment from residents during the past week: “Why don’t you recall all of them?” (This is consistently the No. 1 question every week). Residents are lately having the strongest reaction to MacLean voting to double his council salary and trying to get lifetime healthcare benefits after three terms.

Blog readers often ask where the recall groups will be working. The blog hasn’t announced a schedule because it would increase the chances of MacLean’s supporters showing up to interfere with signature gathering.

Here’s an update from a petitioner on the recall battlefront: “We didn’t run into as many wacky MacLean supporters this week. We did see former city manager Dan Joseph at a storefront, and we had another Lance sighting at Trader Joe’s. I heard he got a job, so maybe he has better things to do than harass us. We’ve talked to parents involved in sports who know Lance as a coach or volunteer. They tell us about his bad temper and yelling at their kids. The feedback is nearly all negative.”

Reaction to May 29 SVN Story
Letter to the Editor

Interesting that Chuck W. doesn't have the manpower to check up on abandoned houses in Mission Viejo. I guess everyone (all 153-plus employees with health and pension benefits) down at city hall is too busy planning parties, celebrations and free meals for the usual suspects. 

Such a shame the city spent all that money on the float and the Artes de la Vida/ Earthday planting fiasco and other non-essentials. Now they don't have enough left to do anything but put a plastic tie on abandoned property. Might as well put out a welcome mat for errant kids, squatters and miscellaneous others in want of shelter.

The non-resident administrators strike again!

Lisa De Paul-Snyder
Mission Viejo

The Buzz

Email from a volunteer who was getting recall signatures at a storefront on May 24: “We encountered a young man, ‘Scott,’ who said he works for a PR firm that represented Sunrise. He wasn’t interested in talking about the recall, but he had a lot to say about the Casta del Sol Golf Course. He said all three presidents of HOAs adjacent to the golf course met with Sunrise, and all three approved plans to build housing on the golf course. Scott seemed to believe the HOA presidents were representing their HOA members. Scott wouldn’t give his last name or reveal his employer. When we asked if he worked for Roger Faubel, he said no.”

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Capo school district trustees anticipate hiring an interim superintendent, Roberta Mahler, on June 8. An online Register article http://www.ocregister.com/articles/district-school-mahler-2433977-superintendent-capistrano makes reference to the district’s search for a permanent replacement for former superintendent Woodrow Carter, who was dismissed for his alleged illegal and unethical acts. Capo residents should hope the district will do a background check this time. After Carter clashed with some trustees and parents during his Capo tenure, an Internet search revealed headlines of his rocky history in other districts. For anyone who checked out Carter, his dismissal and lawsuit against CUSD came as no surprise.

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CUSD’s administrative staff during recall campaigns of 2005 and 2008 took a similar stance to Mission Viejo’s city administrators since the beginning of the effort to recall MacLean. In CUSD, top officials denied financial problems and opened a new $50-million Taj Mahal administrative palace. When the spin ended, CUSD was near bankruptcy. In Mission Viejo, the city manager’s newsletter and press releases to Saddleback Valley News reveal only positive news, including the number of new businesses in the city. Occasionally, a city staffer’s emails escape city hall, including lists of businesses that are closing. The facts are grim. Meanwhile, the council majority continues its spending spree. In the works are a $3.7-million tennis court project and a $7-million renovation for the Marguerite rec center.

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Over Memorial Day weekend, a Sheriff’s Dept. effort to catch drunk drivers netted one arrest in the South County cities of Mission Viejo, RSM and Lake Forest. That’s the same number of OCSD drivers arrested for DUI during the prior 10 days. The Capistrano Dispatch detailed the arrest of an OCSD lieutenant who crashed into the back of another car at Jamboree Road and the I-5. The lieutenant had a blood alcohol level of .14 percent two hours after the collision. Here’s the link: http://capistranoinsider.typepad.com/