The Buzz

When the community began, Mission Viejo Company VP Harvey Steam described its foundation: “What is ‘the California promise?’ You expect, when you come to California, that you’re going to have a certain kind of lifestyle and a certain physical beauty. It’s not available in every place, but it is available in Mission Viejo. And that’s why we call Mission Viejo ‘the California Promise.’ It’s kind of like a promise fulfilled.”

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The Mission Viejo Company kept the promise, and the company’s visionary leaders developed a Master Plan that attracted homebuyers. Who are the promise breakers? After Mission Viejo became a city, a string of council members turned the reins over to the bureaucrats who occupy city hall. Council Members Kelley and Ury, plus ex-councilman Lance MacLean, lined their campaign accounts with developer dollars to dismantle the Master Plan with zone changes. Among parcels now at stake are the Casta Golf Course, the retail center at La Paz and Marguerite and closed elementary schools. MacLean, Ury and Kelley have already shown they cannot be trusted to preserve the Master Plan.

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This blog has pointed to the city staff’s objection to a dog park as a primary reason one hasn’t been built. Last week’s dog park article drew a reader response, “I don’t agree there won’t ever be a dog park. City employees need something to do, and they’ll eventually want a dog park because many of them have no real work in city hall. Just like other city projects, a dog park will take years to build with huge cost overruns. The unstated cost will include 150 city employees all wanting a hand in the project. We’ll have street banners about a dog park, dog-park book markers distributed at the library, character posters about dogs, dog pictures on pillars, city employees wearing dog park golf shirts, a dog park festival with booths for celebrity dogs and telephone surveys polling every resident on what to name the dog park.”

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ACT for America will hold a general meeting on Mon., Sept. 13, in Mission Viejo. Chapter leader Bruce Mayall invites members to bring a friend. The group meets in the Norm Murray Community Center, Sycamore B Room, 24932 Veterans Way, in Mission Viejo. The meeting room is open at 7:00 p.m., and the meeting starts promptly at 7:30, ending at 9:30. Guest speaker will be Deborah Pauley. A $5 donation will be appreciated to cover costs.