Foothills Sentry May 2022

Page 5 Foothills Sentry May 2022 Circulation … 41,750 Published on the last Tuesday of each month and distributed to residences, businesses, libraries and civic centers. 714-532-4406 Fax: 714-532-6755 foothillssentry.com 1107 E. Chapman Ave., #207 Orange, CA 92866 © Foothills Sentry 2022 Publisher/Editor Anita Bennyhoff 1969-2013 Editor Tina Richards editor@foothillssentry.com Sports Editor Cliff Robbins sportseditor@att.net Graphic Designer Aimee Armstrong graphics@foothillssentry.com Advertising Sales Andie Mills advertising@foothillssentry.com 714-926-9299 Office Manager Kathy Eidson officemanager@foothillssentry. com site. The city is positioned to aid in this bailout by granting the permit to continue the crushing operation. The LEA’s role is to protect citizens, not law-breaking property owners. Residents have been ignored and shut out. Our neighborhoods are at risk.” On April 15, The Santa Ana Regional Water Control Board sent Milan a long list of violations including illegal discharge into the Santiago Creek. Milan was given until April 30 to fix these violations or face $10,000 per violation per day in Commercial enterprises intruding on residential neighborhoods in Old Towne By Tina Richards The Orange Planning Commis- sion approved a redevelopment project in Old Towne that will place a restaurant with outdoor dining directly across the street from residences. The project, located at Maple Avenue and Orange Street, is on property owned by the Presbyterian Church. The church is leasing the project to C&C Development because, it says, it needs the income to survive. The church’s current administration building will be remodeled for the restaurant, which will have a dining patio that wraps around the corner of the structure to face Maple and Orange Streets. A second story will house offices. The encroachment of commer- cial businesses into family neigh- borhoods is driven by Old Towne mixed-use zoning designations established in 1989. The project was originally deniedby thecity’sDesignReview Committee (DRC) because it was found to be incompatible with the neighborhood. The DRC had final approval authority on the project and, after noting privacy concerns, inadequate screening elements, negative lighting and noise impacts, inconsistency with Old Towne standards, and asked C&C to address those issues and return to the committee at a later date. The most glaring issues identified at that time were the restaurant entrance on Maple (across the street from residences) and inadequate accommodations for delivery trucks. A higher power When C&C returned to the DRC in March, the project’s compatibility, privacy and design issues remained. The builder in- dicated he did not want to change anything and requested that DRC deny the project so he could ap- peal it to the Planning Commis- sion. The DRC denied it. Prior to the April 4 Planning Commission hearing, C&C met with representatives from the Old Towne Preservation Association (OTPA) and worked out a com- promise. The builder agreed to move the restaurant entryway to Orange Street (where there are no houses) and restrict commercial deliveries to Orange street. With those changes, OTPA agreed to support the project. Additional late inning conditions for approval included mitigated lighting, sound and visual impacts, and 42-inch screening around the patio dining area. While members of the Design Review Committee spent hours going over the details of the project, the Planning Commission approved it after a 35-minute "County" continued from page 1 discussion that included presentations by city staff and C&C, and four public comments. Planning commissioners were gratified that the developer and the neighbors had reached an agreement. Commissioner Dave Simpson said that “problems had been resolved at that level.” He also noted that many of the DRC comments had been taken into consideration. Home sweet home Some, but not all. The 42-inch “screening” around the dining patio is probably not high enough to adequately filter light and noise. Large second-story windows will infringe on the neighbor’s privacy and the veracity of allowing outdoor dining across the street from homes remains a question. OTPA agreed to the project, but, according to one neighbor, they didn’t have a choice. City staff told them it was a done deal because of the zoning and they should take what they could get. DRC member Ann McDermott reminded the Planning Commis- sioners that the DRC had issued a unanimous denial of the project. “They were unwilling to make further changes,” she said, “and requested a denial with the inten- tion to appeal, so they wouldn’t have to make changes. We had final determinations. It was not supposed to go to the Planning Commission.” “With all respect to OTPA,” she added, “they do not make the final approval determination.” Commissioner Ernie Glasgow reiterated the benefits of “neighbors and businesses coming together." He noted that, the commission looks at a projects compatibility with what’s going on around it, and likes to see residents and businesses working together. “It’s something we always try to do as businesses encroach into residential neighborhoods,” he said. “Not just in Old Towne, but throughout the city.” fines. Here is contact information for those with authority over this site: Chuck Griffin, Santa Ana Re- gional Water Control Board, chuck.gr i ff in@waterboards . ca.gov, (951) 782-4996 Darwin Chaung, Local Enforce- ment Agency, (714) 433-6471 Senator Dave Min (District 37) sena t or.mi n@sena t e . ca . gov h t t ps : / / sd37 . s ena t e . ca . gov / contact, (949) 651-5472 Supervisor Don Wagner donald.wagner@ocgov.com, (714) 834-3330. Serrano Water honors Woody Rickerl Robert F. “Woody” Rickerl was honored for his 35 years of service on the Serrano Water Dis- trict Board of Directors, March 28. During a board meeting at- tended by current and former di- rectors, longtime colleague Jerry Woody Rickerl stands beneath the new signage of the Serrano Water District Boardroom, named in his honor. Honoring Woody Rickerl were former Serrano Water Board attorney Joel Kuperberg, left, and former directors, left to right, Terry Clingan, John Everett, Woody, Walter Howiler, Jr., Larry Pharris, Jr. and Larry Dick. Haight presented an official proc- lamation and commemorative gift to Rickerl. The new name of the Serrano Water District Board- room was unveiled, renamed as the Robert F. “Woody” Rickerl Boardroom in his honor. Rickerl served on the board from 1980 through 2015, and was instrumental in many of the mile- stone achievements of Serrano Water that benefited water users, including the construction and subsequent enhancement of the Walter Howiler Water Treatment Plant, the sale of the Barham Ranch, the sale of surplus water, construction and rehabilitation of groundwater wells and the opera- tion of recreational activities at Irvine Lake, among others. Chad Zimmerman, Youth Services chair of Rotary Club of Villa Park, announced the winners of its annual essay contest for middle school students, “What the Rotary Four-Way Test Means to Me.” Out of 35 es- says, the winners were, second from left, Yahir Flores, first place, $200; Malayna Kiflezfhie, second place, $150; Cambria Misofsky, third and $100; Yanexy Solares and Maile O’Neill, both honorable mention and $50. Leadership Teacher Sandra Geminiani is far left, with Cerro Villa Middle School Principal Madeline Morrison, and Zimmerman to the right of the students, with Rotary President Vito Canuso in rear. Mixed-use zoning in Old Towne allows commercial centers to be located in residential neighborhoods. This proposed restaurant/office complex is on Maple Avenue, directly across the streets from homes.