Foothills Sentry March 2023

Page 3 Foothills Sentry March 2023 7540 E. Chapman Ave. Orange, CA 92869 (714) 639-9792 MEAT&DELI, PRODUCE, BAKERY, FRESH FISH, GIFT BASKETS, WINE MON-SAT: 8am - 9pmSUN: 8am - 8pm www.Pac i�i cRanchMarket.com $ OFF Excluding alcoholic beverages and tobacco products. With coupon only. May not be combined with any other offer or discount. Limit one coupon per customer. Valid only at P aci�ic Ranch Market. When You Spend $25 or More * EXPIRES: 3/31/23 5 OC’s Premier ProduceMarket Progressive Thinking Catholic Worship Sunday Mass 9:30am www.holyangelsOC.com Priest: (657) 282-9009 Office: (714) 584-8078 19211 Dodge Ave. North Tustin, CA 92705 SACRAMENTS FOR ALL Baptisms Confirmations Weddings Funeral Services Quinceañeras Special Masses English Spanish Chinese Italian Ash Wednesday Service February, 22 7:00 PM  Enter your prized plants, flowers, or flower arrangements in our professionally-judged show.  Shop vendors’ booths, including our Sweet Shoppe and Plant Booth.  Pause and refresh at our Garden Cafe. Pick up a light luncheon or a beverage & dessert. Information&Entry FormsAvailable at: eWoman’sClubofOrange 121 S. Center St. More Info: www.womanscluboforange.org or call 714-836-5919 All net proceeds bene  t WCO Charities  Enjoy the plants and floral arrangements on display from local gardens. ~ F A ~ O A G – N E F E Woman’s Club ofOrange 84thAnnual Spring Flower Show O ¡¢ ursday, April 13, 2023 12 Noon to 4 PM Old Towne Blooms Village At Orange property owners short-circuit public meetings, file preliminary development plan By Tina Richards When Village At Orange neigh- bors convened for the final public meeting on the future of the mall property, Jan. 26, most were un- aware that development plans had already been submitted to the city. Integral Communities, owner of the JC Penney site, and mall owner TRC had filed preliminary plans for 297 housing units and 75 accessory dwelling units on the previous day. The plans were submitted un- der an obscure clause in Cali- fornia’s Housing Accountability Act (see Builders, page 1), which gives a builder “vested rights” if the project complies with the planning standards in place when the preliminary plan is submit- ted and includes 20% affordable housing. Worth a try The city is prohibited from ap- plying new ordinances, policies or standards to the project there- after. Whether Integral/TRC’s pre- liminary application will stand is, at this point, unknown. If challenged, the city must prove that its housing element identi- fies adequate sites with zoning and development standards to ac- commodates its share of regional housing needs for low and low- income categories. Empty words With its preliminary develop- ment plans already filed with the city, Integral's and TRC’s Jan. 26 presentations to residents were primarily recaps of what the property owners have been say- ing since the first public meeting last September. That is, malls are failing along with large retailers; restaurants and “daily needs” businesses (salons, dry cleaners, barber shops) attract customers if they have storefront visibility and pedestrian traffic; a residen- tial component is essential for the future success of the mall’s retail businesses; and 297 units are the minimum to make the project ec- onomically feasible. Integral’s Pete Vanek told the audience that the company’s orig- inal plan for 500 apartments has been scaled down, that Integral was “listening to the community.” The community was shocked, however, to learn that the planned 297 townhomes also included 75 ADUs to meet the state’s afford- able housing requirements. Those ADUs, bringing the unit total to 372 and requiring no additional parking, did not appear on site plans displayed at the meetings. Doug Hamilton, president of North Tustin Street Preservation Group, noted that inadequate parking will force cars to park along Canal Street, unchecked traffic will plug up Tustin St., and the community needs a more comprehensive plan to see how everything relates, i.e., Walmart’s planned expansion, housing, re- tail, infrastructure. Empty debate While some public speak- ers supported housing on the site, others advised that Orange needs retail/commercial outlets that generate sales tax, not hous- ing units that cost the city more money than property taxes gener- ate. “Once retail is gone, it’s gone forever,” one resident said. An- other asserted that TRC “bought the mall when you knew malls were dying. Orange needs quality retail; it’s a benefit to the commu- nity.” “We should not be driven by a developer,” another insisted. “This is the tail wagging the dog. The mall property offers an op- portunity to create a ‘destination.’ Right now, East Orange has noth- ing.” The consensus among the neighbors in attendance was that Doug Hamilton and son Matt are doing a good job keeping residents informed, creating a dialogue, attempting to find com- mon ground and representing the community. No meeting of the minds Councilwoman Kathy avou- laris, the meeting co-organizer with Councilwoman Ana Gutier- rez, had the last word. Referring to the photos of trash, tents and piles of detritus surrounding the TRC property (shown in an earli- er presentation), she said that she respected the company’s property rights, “… but you have to re- spect Orange. It’s hard to defend you. If your neighbor did that to you, you wouldn’t lik it. You’ve been here seven years, and now you want more.” Gutierrez suggested that TRC and Integral did not understand the city. “We are family here,” she said. “You bought in Orange because you thought you could grow it. We are 140,000 residents who care about our city and want to see that area revitalized. We were hoping you would come to the table with the community and have a serious conversation. We hoped you would understand that.” Nonetheless, Tavoularis told the property owners, “Your plan will get a fair hearing at the city council.” Orange Park Association board members are, from left, David Hillman, Nancy Flathers, Laura Thomas, Kate Bonnaud, Kelley Chaplin, Sherry Panttaja, Jim Jackman, Cindy Reina and David Clemson. OPA elects board officers at annual meeting The Orange Park Association’s annual membership meeting, Jan. 28, featured talks by local elect- eds, updates on issues of interest to the community and the election of three board members. Board members Cindy Reina and Kate Bonnard were reelected; Dave Clemson was newly elect- ed. Each will serve a three-year term. Attendees were updated on the status of the Hurwitz site, the as- sociation’s 26-mile trail system and OPAWomen’s League activi- ties. Supervisor Don Wagner re- ported that the homeless count in Orange County is down by about 15%, and that federal money that “rained in” during the pandemic OPA Women’s League President Emilia Sugiyama and Member- ship Vice President Carolyn Ali- otta staff a table at the annual meeting. is going away, but the $1.2 bil- lion received puts the county in a “good position.” Mayor Dan Slater assured the audience that the clean-up of the Sully-Miller site has the city’s complete attention, and that it intends to look after OPA’s inter- ests. Councilman John Gyllenham- mer, representing District 6, is spending his early days on the council connecting with people and learning more about the his- tory of the community. He plans to base his decisions on three things: does it make the city saf- er?, does it improve the quality of life? and is it financially solid? Longtime OPA resident Julie Maurer was presented with a cita- tion recognizing the breadth and depth of her contributions to the community over the past 35 years (see OPA, page 10). Photos by Tony Richards