Vote To Protect Neighborhoods

Residents are stirred up with new activity regarding the parcel next to Target at Los Alisos Blvd. and Jeronimo Road. An even greater number of residents will be stirred up when they see the high-density housing project being built. However, the city council made the decision years ago, and residents’ battle to preserve the site as a business park is over.

Council members voted for more traffic and overcrowding. Wait a minute! Was any council member representing the majority of residents when voting for the zone change from a business park to high-density residential? Well, no. The property owner at the time (Steadfast) was savvy enough to fool only a few residents who lived nearby. Steadfast used a direct mail campaign to invite neighbors to a “free lunch” to learn about the project. The pitch was all about the affordable high-density homes that would be right next door to employment and shopping opportunities at Target. Did naive participants believe they could buy a home by getting a job at Target? Maybe not, but some of them attended the free lunch because they wanted one of the much-heralded “affordable” units. They were willing to jettison the prospect of real jobs in a business park for a chance to join the line for welfare housing. The number of taxpayer-subsidized units turned out to be 22.

Steadfast found three or four neighbors who then appeared at council meetings to support the zone change. The council approved the zone change with a 5-0 vote against overwhelming objections. Four council members had accepted “campaign donations” from Steadfast. The fifth council member, Trish Kelley, made a big production of not taking Steadfast’s money prior to her vote. Instead, she took their money after the vote.

Steadfast wasn’t able to build its housing project, but Target built a new store approximately 1.5 miles from its old one on Alicia Parkway. Another builder, Lennar, now intends to build the housing project council members approved for Steadfast.

When ex-councilman Lance MacLean was criticized during the campaign to recall him, he denied that he favored special interest, overcrowding and high-density housing development. He said, “The council has approved zone changes, but no housing has been built.” Somehow, residents weren’t supposed to notice that he took special-interest money, sold constituents down the river and voted to change the character of their neighborhoods. After all, the housing slump had delayed construction of projects he voted to approve – at least until after the Feb. 2 election to recall him. What timing!

A similar developer campaign occurred with the Casta del Sol Golf Course. When Sunrise Development got a bad reaction to its housing plans during a community open house, it next met with representatives of the three adjacent homeowners associations. Two of the three HOA presidents were smart enough to say no to housing of any kind on any portion of the golf course, but one of them fell in with the developer. Homeowners in Casta del Sol, Finisterra on the Green and Cypress Point overwhelming supported the Mission Viejo Right-To-Vote Initiative signature drive, and they overwhelmingly voted on Feb. 2 to recall MacLean. Homeowners understood even if their so-called representative on the HOA board didn’t get it.

Mission Viejo voters will have an opportunity to pass the Right-To-Vote Initiative in the June Primary. By doing so, they’ll take away the council’s power to rezone such property as the Casta golf course without a popular vote. Outside interest is already lining up to oppose the initiative. Residents should anticipate another flood of money similar to the deputies’ union to try to confuse residents into voting against their own best interests.

CUSD Update

Ex-superintendent James Fleming will answer in court for misappropriation of public funds, the most serious of charges against him. On Feb. 26, an Orange County Superior Court Judge dropped conspiracy charges against Fleming and a former assistant superintendent, Susan McGill. Fleming and McGill were charged in 2007, and the trial has been postponed nine times. Another hearing is scheduled for April 2.

After the Capistrano Dispatch posted an article about court proceedings on Feb. 26 http://capistranoinsider.typepad.com/beyond_the_blackboard , both sides proclaimed the court decision a victory in their online comments. Fleming supporters were pleased that conspiracy charges were dismissed. Others said it was a victory for the prosecution because Fleming had tried to get all charges dismissed.

Posts can also be found on the Capistrano Dispatch about the plans to recall two CUSD trustees, Ken Lopez-Maddox and Mike Winsten. Several organizations have passed resolutions against the recall, including the Orange County Republican Party, Saddleback Republican Assembly and California Republican Assembly. Those opposing the recall say it is a union-backed effort

Initially, recall supporters said they have 3,000 signature gatherers, and they expected to get all the signatures within nine weeks in order to qualify the recall for the November ballot. Last week, recall supporters posting on blogs said they have “hundreds” of signature gatherers, and they will stop the recall effort if they don’t get the signatures in time to qualify for the November election. With the recall effort now down to eight weeks to qualify, no reports have been heard of the petition being circulated as of this writing, Feb. 27.

Rough Roads Ahead

Mission Viejo residents are increasingly aware of the poor condition of streets throughout the city. This blog has published articles and letters to the editor, including an estimate of $85 million to bring all city streets up to good condition. In addition to dodging potholes on arterials, some residents are watching streets deteriorate in front of their homes.

Read a detailed letter this week on Mission Viejo Dispatch about the city’s declining streets and slopes. Allan Pilger’s letter to the editor can be found at http://missionviejodispatch.com/?p=15137 . Pilger estimates the current need for street repairs at $100 million, and city watchdog Joe Holtzman has estimated $17 million to repair and restore city-owned slopes.

As Pilger points out, the city is neglecting infrastructure while continuing its spend-a-thon on nonessential projects. In the city’s 2009 Annual Report (the corporate-style brochure residents recently received in the mail), only $14.9 million is budgeted for maintenance. Perhaps this explains why pavement repairs look like a patchwork quilt instead of streets being resurfaced. As a whole other problem, residents who have reviewed the city’s check register and invoices indicate that expenses associated with festivals, parties, a Rose Parade float, 500 custom-built easels and other throwaways have been charged to “maintenance.”

In an article about the condition of San Diego roads and streets http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2010-02-08/politics-city-county-government/pocket-change-politics-city-county-government-news/pocket-change-potholes-a-plenty , writer Steven Bartholow says driving a vehicle on the rough roads of his city costs car owners an additional average of $664 per year in repairs.

Residents might also consider how street conditions affect the value of their homes. Prospective buyers are likely to notice if the street in front of a house for sale has cracks two inches wide or Band-Aid patches every few feet.

The Buzz column, Feb. 28

Ooops! Supporters of the effort to recall two Capo school district trustees say the union isn’t in back of the recall. When organizers of the recall held a training session on gathering signatures, who sent out the invitation to the event? Copies of the email intended for union members were forwarded to others who noticed the sender was CUEA – the teachers’ union.

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Residents recently received City Hall’s mailer, “City of Mission Viejo Annual Report 2009.” A Buzz reader says that residents should have a choice about receiving such high-priced, taxpayer-funded materials. Instead of getting something like that in the mail, can residents get a check from the city for the cost of the mailer? The annual report was obviously expensive to produce, and how many people put it directly into the recycle bin?

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For those who might have read the annual report, did anyone find a mention of the city’s $60 million debt? As another matter, the inside back cover states that the city ended the fiscal year with “$30.1 million in discretionary reserves.” What does “discretionary” mean to the occupants of city hall? To the rest of the world, it means money that isn’t already spent, obligated or encumbered. Only in government can the same money be spent more than once.

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South Orange County 912 is hosting a general meeting on Thurs., March 11, at 7 p.m. RSVP on SOC912 Facebook or on the website noted below.  For those who are not members of SOC912, first join at www.meetup.com, and then search for SOC912 (South Orange County 912). Join and RSVP to find out about more meetings and events. The March 11 meeting will be held in the CUSD office, 33122 Valle Road, San Juan Capistrano. Guest speakers will be Lee McGroarty and Chris Riggs.

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The Mission Viejo Chapter of ACT for America will hold its general meeting on Mon., March 8. The group will meet at the Norm Murray Community Center, meeting room Sycamore-B. Doors open at 6:45 p.m. The meeting starts promptly at 7:30 p.m. and ends at 9:30 p.m. Film producer Cyrus Nowrasteh will speak for approximately 45 minutes, followed by Q&A.