Foothills Sentry January 2023

Page 5 Foothills Sentry January 2023 Circulation … 41,750 Published on the last Tuesday of each month and distributed to residences, businesses, libraries and civic centers. Printing by Advantage, Inc. 714-532-4406 Fax: 714-532-6755 foothillssentry.com 1107 E. Chapman Ave., #207 Orange, CA 92866 © Foothills Sentry 2023 Publisher/Editor Anita Bennyhoff 1969-2013 Editor Tina Richards editor@foothillssentry.com Sports Editor Cliff Robbins sportseditor@att.net Graphic Designer Stephanie Gundran graphics@foothillssentry.com Advertising Sales Andie Mills advertising@foothillssentry.com 714-926-9299 Office Manager Kathy Eidson officemanager@foothillssentry. com and construction debris unfit to be labeled inert. The piles need to be moved to a landfill for proper disposal. So far, nothing has hap- pened. In 2016, Chandler purchased the land adjacent to Blue Ribbon Nursery on Santiago Road, and applied for a permit to allow them to fill in the wetland and habitat with inert fill. Well, isn't this a convenient set of circumstances that Chandler and Milan have set up? They remove the mounds of waste from Sully-Miller, and they dump it on a property a thousand feet away. Should we allow a known permit avoider to monitor itself and haul its construction waste into another hole, even closer to a creek that spills into settling ponds for the aquifer? Should we protect a site that serves as a wetland for animal species, and also acts as a relief valve when the creek floods over its banks? There is a simple answer: the wa- ter board can simply deny the re- quest. Let's hope that is the case. Paul Andrews Orange Dear Editor: In East Orange, behind Blue Ribbon Nursery (1425 N. Santia- go Blvd.), OC Reclamation LLC (Chandler Sand & Gravel), the company that illegally dumped on the former Sully-Miller prop- erty, is proposing to dump truck- loads of waste for five years into a state-recognized wetland, willow woodland and coastal sage scrub habitat area within the Santiago Creek flood channel. This precious open space is a wildlife refuge for state and fed- erally protected species, includ- ing Least Bell’s Vireo, California gnatcatcher and coastal cactus wren. It is currently designated as a regional park in the City’s Gen- eral Plan. Without directly notify- ing adjacent residents, the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board released a Notice of Public Hearing and Opportu- nity for Public Comment and No- tice of Intent to Adopt Mitigated Negative Declaration for the OC Reclamation Inert Waste Disposal Operation Project. With a public comment deadline of January 10, it is clearly designed to fast-track this destructive proposal during the holiday season. As a professional naturalist and habitat restoration specialist who has spent the past 22 years con- ducting education, research and restoration within the Santiago Creek Watershed, I am concerned about the significant impacts of this proposed project. It would potentially replace mature wild- life habitat and world-class out- door recreational opportunities with a landfill. According to the California Resources Agency, 85- 90% of California’s original en- dowment of wetlands have been lost – the highest percentage of any state. In the midst of the holiday sea- son, we are forced to comment on the false and inaccurate state- ments compiled by inexperienced consultants who were paid by a company that already degraded our neighborhood with mounds of illegal waste on the Sully-Miller site. We can’t afford to lose any more of our wetlands, especially when the proposed mitigation includes the installation of plant species that are not locally appro- priate to the Santiago Creek Wa- tershed and the restoration of an offsite property known as "Saddle Creek," located in an entirely dif- ferent watershed behind Cook’s Corner in South OC. It appears that we have nothing to gain and everything to lose. If you agree that nature has sufficiently reclaimed this land, and it doesn’t need to turn into a dump site, please submit your comments to Claudia Tenorio at Claudia.Tenorio@Waterboards. ca.gov. Joel Robinson Orange Dear Editor: Concerning the OC Reclama- tion Mine Project/Inert Material Disposal Operation at 5341 E. Santiago Canyon Road: It has come to my attention that the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board intends to adopt a Mitigated Negative Dec- laration (MND) with regard to the above-named project at the Board's public hearing on Feb. 3. The project proposes to "fill in an abandoned open pit mine with inert material and grade the site to an elevation equal with the adjacent parcels.” That land now houses a vernal pool and nesting sites for the endangered Least Bell’s Vireo and the threatened Coastal California Gnatcatcher. It also calls for a realignment of Santiago Creek along with neces- sary retaining berms. The owner of this property is OC Reclama- tion LLC, managed by Chandler’s Sand and Gravel, LLC. Public comment period for re- view of the Initial Study/MND began on Dec. 2 and ends a month later. It almost seems like that re- view period was specifically cho- sen, hoping the project would fall through the cracks during this very busy time of year. Now, half- way through the review process, I'm just learning of it, and that the Water Board intends to allow this "inert material" dump to hap- pen without a complete and full environmental impact review and vetting process. "Inert material" dump is a term familiar to everyone who lives in Orange. We have another "in- ert material" dump just down the street on Santiago Canyon Road at the Sully-Miller site. The MND did not define "inert ma- terial" but simply says that "the facility will prepare a Waste Ac- ceptance Plan which details the type of inert material allowed to be used in the fill, material sam- pling frequencies and acceptance criteria." There is no mention of what will be dumped, This pro- posal should be stopped. It is not good for the environment or the City of Orange. Chandler Sand and Gravel should be a familiar name to us, since they are one of the entities responsible for the illegal dump- ing on the Sully-Miller site. Based on Chandler's prior practices, we know they don't follow the rules. We don't need another dumpsite in Orange and we surely don't need to reclaim what nature has already reclaimed.. Sharon Seelert Orange Tustin and Orange Democratic clubs merging Democrats in Tustin and Or- ange have long shared values, friendships and a commitment to supporting each others’ commu- nities, and now they are making it official. A “Get to Know Each Other” pizza party will be held preceding the general meeting in January. The pizza party will be at 6 p.m., followed by the general meeting at 7 p.m. The general meeting will feature Democratic Party of Orange County Executive Direc- tor Ajay Mohan on the state of Orange County Democratic is- sues, followed by a general dis- cussion of goals and plans for Tustin Orange Dems in 2023 and beyond. The meeting will also in- clude an election of new officers. Meetings are held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Tustin, St. Paul’s is located at 1221 Wass St.; it is not affiliated with the Tustin Orange Democratic Club. Shop with a COP By Bill Neessen "Shop with a Cop" is a holiday program that allows needy chil- dren, ages 5 to 18, the opportunity to build a rapport with a police of- ficer while shopping for clothing, toys or other necessities. Sixty kids received a T-shirt, had dinner at Wild Wings, took a photo with Santa, and rode the train before entering Walmart to spend $100. The Orange Elks, a sponsor of this community event, donated $1,000 and members showed up in support and to hand out T-shirts. The event was a suc- cess, thanks to the City of Or- ange Police Association, Orange County Probation Department, Walmart of Orange, Buffalo Wild Wings, Village at Orange, Wil- son Automotive Orange, County Peace Officers Association of Orange County, the Law Enforce- ment Emerald Society, Kay Jew- elers and the generous residents of the City of Orange. By Tina Richards In its final act as a sitting city council, the departing electeds, along with those slated to remain, approved a commercial develop- ment on Chapman Ave. that will include just two parking spaces and demolish a “contributing” historic building. The Old Town Gateway project, wherein two historic buildings at 410 W. Chapman and 135 N. Atchison would be rehabilitated, and two other structures demol- ished and replaced with two new commercial buildings, had been approved at the Nov. 15 council meeting. It was on the Dec. 13 agenda for a second reading. While such a development would normally require 20 park- ing spaces, the city waived that requirement because developers Al Ricci and Leason Pomeroy agreed to dedicate land for a pe- destrian walkway between Atchi- son and Cypress St. The pathway would link to an existing passageway from Cy- press St. to Lemon St. The new corridor is a segment of the city’s planned pedestrian connection between the train depot, the Plaza and the Lemon St. parking struc- ture. The rest is history Prior to the November hearing, the city concluded that no envi- ronmental studies were required because the structure at 112 N. Cypress had been incorrectly classified in Orange’s historic re- sources inventory and in the Na- tional Register. The buildings destined for de- molition had previously been Outgoing Orange Council approves problematic development deemed contributors to the his- toric district. When the project came back for final approval in December, the city had received a letter from Preserve Orange County. It chal- lenged the city’s determination that the buildings to be torn down were noncontributors. “The city does not have the authority to exempt from CEQA [California Environmental Quality Act] re- view a project that will affect a structure listed as a contributor to the National Register of Historic Districts. All resources listed on the National Register, includ- ing those identified as contribu- tors, must be treated as integral parts of the historic district under CEQA.” Is there a problem? That letter got the attention of Councilwoman Ana Gutierrez; she asked the city attorney about the city’s liability. “We don’t want to create a problem for the devel- oper or ourselves,” she said. At- torney Gary Sheatz explained that he was “not concerned” about it, that the city’s determination was based on analysis and peer re- view. “The letter is more of an opinion,” he said. Asked if the city was plan- ning an environmental study, Sheatz said no. “When you do an analysis, that’s complying with CEQA.” Arianna Barrios asked that final approval be continued to a future meeting because there were is- sues, she believed, that had not been addressed. For example: “Atchison is a one-way street, Cypress is small. Where are truck deliveries made? How will an 18-wheeler turn around? How are we looking at this in terms of loading and unloading?” She was assured that traffic an- alysts had looked at the site and the clearances were deemed ok. Moving on Noting that the project was on the agenda for a second reading only, Mayor Mark Murphy mo- tioned to approve it. Kim Nich- ols seconded and approval of the Gateway development was confirmed, 4-2. Gutierrez and Barrios voted no, as they had in November. The remainder of that final meeting was given over to out- going Mayor Mark Murphy and termed-out Councilmember Kim Nichols. Both were applauded for their service to the city, as members of regional boards and volunteers in community organi- zations. Murphy was originally ap- pointed to the city council in 1993, serving as a councilmem- ber and five terms as mayor in the years hence. Nicols had served on the council for eight years. Chip Monaco, who chose not to run for reelection after com- pleting one term in office, did not attend the Dec. 13 meeting or the session in November. The new city council is inher- iting a city without a permanent city manager, community devel- opment director or financial ser- vices director. City Attorney Gary Sheatz is retiring Jan. 10. Melissa Manchester featured at Crescendo Speakers Series Singer/songwriter Melissa Manchester will be the guest at the Crescendo Chapter’s Celeb- rity Speakers Series, Jan. 12, en- tertaining with “Conversations and Song.” Manchester’s successful solo career brought her critical and commercial acclaim. In 1980, she became the first recording artist in the history of the Acad- emy Awards to have two nomi- nated movie themes in a single year, and performed them both on the Oscar telecast. Her songs have been recorded by Barbra Streisand, Roberta Flack, Dusty Springfield and many others. The event begins at 10 a.m. at the Bowers Museum, 2002 N. Main Street. Parking is $6. Gen- eral admission tickets are $35. Museum members may buy one discounted ticket for $30. For ticket information, contact Mag- gie Hart, (714) 356-6720. The Crescendo Chapter is part of the Guilds of Segerstrom and fundraises to support community engagement and arts education.