Foothills Sentry July 2020

Foothills Sentry Page 5 7 1 4 - 2 8 9 - 1 0 3 1 7 4 4 6 E . C h a p m a n A v e . • O r a n g e , C A 9 2 8 6 9 Now Open 7 days a week 7 AM - 2 PM Zone • Behind Pacific Ranch Market • Stay Connected: Wi-Fi & Cappuccino • Breakfast, Lunch, Acai Bowls • Restaurant seating inside & out Your neighborhood cafe in Orange has an extensive breakfast and lunch menu, full coffee and tea bar, açaí bowls and pastries. Come in and enjoy our homemade pastries, sauces and our specialty - our salsa! Serving food 7 days a week, 7:00am - 2:00pm Located next to Da Bianca Trattoria behind the Pacific Ranch Market. BRING IN THIS AD AND RECEIVE 10% OFF A LUNCH ENTRÉE IN JULY July 2020 JOHNSON MOTORCARS 29 Years of Specializing in the Service and Repair of Mercedes-Benz Gary Johnson 714-997-2567 982 N. Batavia # B13, Orange, CA 92867 gary@johnsonmotorcars.com Circulation … 43,400 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 2020 Publisher/Editor Anita Bennyho 1969-2013 Editor Tina Richards editor@foothillssentry.com Sports Editor Cli Robbins sportseditor@att.net Graphic Design Aimee Armstrong graphics@foothillssentry.com Advertising Sales Andie Mills advertising@foothillssentry.com 714-926-9299 O ce Manager Kathy Eidson o cemanager@foothillssentry.com Match point Dear Editor: My family has lived within a short walking distance of Tustin Hills Racquet Club for 41 years. My wife and two sons have al- ways used the club as our main source of recreation. Besides tennis, we have used the facility for exercise workouts, swimming, and attended many events there. We have celebrated birthdays and anniversaries at the club. It has been our singular source of community recreation since it is the only land zoned for recreation in North Tustin. We are opposed to rezoning the property for high-density hous- ing. Ninety-six more residents will mean nearly 200 more cars on the surrounding narrow roads. Our community is zoned for sin- gle-family homes on half-acre lots, and a proposed change to al- low multi-family housing is four times the density of the surround- ing community, unprecedented in North Tustin. Property values will be adversely affected. The loss of the club will benefit only the developer. It is impera- tive that the North Tustin com- munity preserve its current zon- ing laws and our singular source of local recreation. Rusty & Patty Gaffney North Tustin Dear Editor: We value change and encour- age development for the better- ment of the area, improvement of lifestyle, and revenue to city and county. But, changing what is, and could be, an even more fan- tastic social and sports commu- nity-gathering place is a travesty. The area is comprised exclusively of custom single-family homes on half-acre lots. For decades, the Tustin Hills Racquet Club has provided enjoyment and network- ing to its members and families around it. The ex-owner took the money, and now there is a developer hop- ing to put his fangs into this lus- cious land for purposes totally out of its intended use. We have better ideas: ideas to enrich our community, our neigh- bors, city and county officials and charitable endeavors. It will all be part of the Tustin Hills Racquet Club revision with summer eve- nings at the club, pickle ball and tennis, a workout area and gym. We have a vision. We have the re- sources to make sure the sly fox does not rob our henhouse. This was a sale born of greed and a lack of decency. Please help us get this applica- tion for a zoning change denied to stop a horribly planned con- dominium complex in an area of half-acre home sites. It’s not about not welcoming change, it is about not changing what is al- ready truly a highest and best use: the Tustin Hills Racquet Club. Jennifer Esser North Tustin Dear Editor: We are writing to express our opposition to the proposed Ranch Hill Community development. It is a proposed housing Ievel- opment to be built on the site of the ustin Hills Racquet Club. It would change the current a-1 zoning (agricultural) to r-2 (5000) multi-family, with 5,000-sq.-ft. lots. Thirty-seven homes would be built on this site. Let’s think of the impact on our community. All of the existing facilities of the tennis club would end up in a landfill. One of the few remaining open spaces in our community would be covered with cement and buildings. How much more water would be required for 37 addi- tional households? Visualize, if you will, the in- crease in traffic to our already overloaded streets. Think also of the years of con- struction that would lie ahead for local residents. Heavy construc- tion vehicles lumbering down Browning Ave. would become the norm. What of the safety of the elementary school children attending Tustin Memorial Acad- emy? Why should all of this environ- mental pillaging be allowed in the name of profit? We urge our fel- low citizens to rise up and oppose this affront to our community. Nancy and Dan Chapel North Tustin Dear Orange Unified Com- munity: It’s hard to believe that the end of the school year is al- ready here. The past three months have presented unique challenges and changes un- like any we have seen in our lifetime, and I am extremely proud of our staff, students and community for their resilience, perseverance, and support, as we have navigated the changes necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. While we work on plans to reintroduce on-campus instruc- tion in the fall, I would like to take a moment to provide a few updates. We have been order- ing supplies, including sneeze guards, hand sanitizer, disin- fectant wipes, masks, and oth- er items to support increased health and safety measures in our schools when they reopen. The Reimagining Schools Task Force has been using data from the Family Survey to inform educational options to support our student groups and families in the new school year. The task force presented its recom- mendations to the Board of Education on June 25. Our facilities remain closed to the general public, but low- risk sports teams started train- ing and practicing together in June, with some programs to resume in August. These activi- ties will be in accordance with the OUSD Return to Play plan, which is based on guidance from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) and Sports Medicine Advisory Committee (SMAC). Nutrition Services will contin- ue to serve Grab-N-Go meals throughout the summer. We anticipate distributing another 350,000 meals to students in need between June 15 and Aug. 24. Information about nutrition services and other resources for families is available at or- angeusd.org/resources. Thank you for your partner- ship, as we reimagine what teaching and learning look like to maximize the safety and well-being of our students and staff. We are excited to see the smiling faces of our students in the fall. We miss you all, and wish you a healthy, happy sum- mer! Gunn Marie Hansen, Ph.D. Superintendent of Schools Orange Unified School District The Sully-Miller site on San- tiago Canyon Road, home to mounds of construction waste, has been labeled an Inert Debris Type A Disposal Facility by the county and issued a permit to op- erate, June 22. The property, owned by Mi- lan Capital, has been used as a dumpsite for a decade. The last permit it had for any activity at all expired in 2014. Residents of nearby Mabury Ranch and The Reserve have complained to the City of Orange about the noise, dust and resulting eyesore for years with no relief. Sully-Miller dumpsite legitimized by county permit Milan wants to build a housing development there, now stymied by a citizen-invoked referendum and pending legal action. It told the community that if it didn’t get its houses, it would continue dumping. Inert Debris Type A includes concrete, cured asphalt, crushed glass, fiberglass, brick, slag, ce- ramics, plaster and clay. The county’s Solid Waste Local En- forcement Agency reports that it issued the permit because it, not the city, is responsible for that ac- tivity. The site will reportedly be periodically inspected.