Foothills Sentry - July 2022

NEWS INSIDE East Orange • Old Towne Orange • Orange Park Acres • Villa Park • Silverado/Modjeska Canyons • North Tustin A Monthly Community Newspaper July 2022 *********ECRWSSEDDM**** Residential Customer Letters To The Editor Page 5 Canyon Beat Page 7 Service Directory Pages 11-13 Prof. Directory Page 13 Classifieds Page 13 Real Estate Page 13 Sports Pages 14-15 The Best News In Town Since 1969 VOTES OF NO CONFIDENCE Letter writers lament that good government gets harder to find. See Letters, page 5 FOLLOW US at Foothills Sentry CLASS ACT New fundraising partner promises to raise money for student health and welfare. See OUSD Foundation, page 6 NO END IN SIGHT Permitted parking moves curbside shortage in Orange from one block to the next. See Orange Council, page 3 HANDBALL WIZARD Retired coach uses sports and sponsorship to mentor middle and high school boys. See Handball Challenge, page 14 STARS IN YOUR EYES This year’s musical production in Tustin’s Peppertree Park features a high-caliber cast. See Broadway stars, page 8 Residents rally to ensure city listens to their Tustin Street redevelopment concerns By Tina Richards Residents who live near the Vil- lage at Orange packed the council chambers, June 16, to comment on the planned rezoning of the area. The mall is ground zero for the redevelopment envisioned in the city’s North Tustin Street Spe- cific Plan. The concern first and foremost was, “Why didn’t anybody know about the meeting?” Indeed, the city’s initial notice of the meeting was limited to residents within 300 ft. of the Specific Plan area. It was buried on the city’s website, and even hardcore city watchers were unaware of it. Councilwoman Kathy Tavou- laris, appointed to represent the Third District where the Village is located, announced at the June 14 council meeting that she hadn’t known about the meeting slated for two days later. The day after that council meeting, the city sent out an email announcement about the Specific Plan meeting and posted it more prominently on its website. Residents like to think that they, too, influenced the city’s decision to make the meeting known. Resident Matt Hamil- ton had heard about the meeting by chance. Shocked that none of his neighbors were aware of the opportunity to address the Tustin St. rezoning early in the process, Hamilton spread the word. Groundswell notification “I knocked on 300 doors,” he said. “I told everyone about the meeting, and encouraged them to attend.” Doug Hamilton, Matt’s dad, posted the notice on- line and made copies of the plan documents from the city website. Those copies were distributed to the neighborhood by a disabled resident who gets around on an electric scooter. Principal City Planner Chad Ortleib was reportedly flooded with emails inquiring about the meeting, and enough word got out to fill the room with vocal cit- izens well before the proceedings began at 6 p.m. “They started ar- riving at 10 after 5,” one observer noted. Tavoularis did not attend. “We’re here tonight,” Interim Measure S Series B bond sale completed By Tina Richards The Orange Unified School District received $100 million, June 2, from the sale of Series B bonds that make up the second portion of the $288 million Mea- sure S funding approved by vot- ers in 2016. The first $188 million, issued in 2018, paid for new state-of-the- art science centers at the district’s four high schools. Those facilities are now complete, and OUSD is preparing for Phase 2 school improvements, as outlined in the ballot measure. The Series B bond sale, which was offered through a competi- tive bid process, was awarded to J.P. Morgan, which had the low- est bid, at a 4.133% interest rate, and paid a $2,344,517 premium. Nine financial firms submitted bids to purchase the general ob- ligation bonds. The winning bid was below the 4.25% interest rate assumed when the bond measure was written seven years ago. Levies lower than expected The lower interest rate, coupled with a $700 million increase in district property values since See "Tustin Street" continued on page 2 Cambridge Elementary School had a special visitor, Stormy the goat. Stormy, owned by Verena Sommer, was enthusiastically welcomed and kissed (!) by Principal Dana Encheff, much to the delight of the stu- dents, as a prize for the school’s fundraiser. City of Orange removes Mary’s Kitchen, replaces services With the closure of Mary’s Kitchen, June 10, the City of Or- ange is filling in the gaps with grant funding to provide food, showers, rest rooms and laundry facilities for the homeless. The city is collaborating with local nonprofits, and contracting with several vendors, to replicate the services once provided -- at no cost to taxpayers -- by Mary’s Kitchen. InApril, the city council agreed to appropriate $746,884 from a larger federal taxpayer funded Community Development Block Grant, issued to help com- bat poverty and homelessness. The city says it is committed to provide services to its homeless population for one year. City staff estimates that the annual cost will be $809,222, and expects to seek another funding source next year to cover expenses beyond those provided by the block grant. Orange has partnered with The HUB OC to manage laun- dry, shower, restroom, mail and food distribution, connect the un- housed with access to shelter ser- vices, provide access to phones, facsimile services, and phone charging services, provide and/ or refer individuals to medical, dental and veterinary services, COVID-19 vaccinations, haircuts and clothing suppliers. The city is paying HUB OC $330,000. It has also contracted with a vendor to provide a five-unit washer/dryer trailer for $83,000; another vendor will provide two shower trailers, with restrooms, for $138,382. The city plans to rent additional shower and rest- room facilities in the near future. The portion of Struck Avenue in front of the Orange Public Works Department is now home to trailers and Porta Potties; the sidewalk is lined with tables and chairs, just half a block from the cul-de-sac where the kitchen was. Mary’s Kitchen had been op- erating on city property at 517 Struck Avenue since 1993. In June 2021, Orange issued a ter- mination notice citing repeated nuisance offenses by patrons, and the kitchen’s failure to help transition people into housing or other county-provided resources. The original 90-day period to vacate was extended to May 1, 2022 by court order. A grace pe- riod ensued until June 10. Mary’s Kitchen now has 60 days to find a storage location for the containers and other large items that remain on the property. See "Measure S" continued on page 2 Community Development Direc- tor Susan Galvin told the audi- ence, “to find out what impacts of the rezoning you want us to evaluate in the Environmental Impact Report (EIR).” The re- zoning covers Tustin St., from Eisenhower Park to Katella. The goal is to revitalize the auto-ori- ented corridor, improve livability and create experiential, walkable settings. Change is coming The zoning within the 443-acre project site would change com- mercial designations to mixed- use. Most existing residential zoning will remain; however, mo- bile home residential and limited business zoning adjacent to the 55 Freeway will be changed to multi-family. The Peralta School site zoning will be confirmed as a public institution. Future development will be guided by three regulating zones. The South Corridor is not ex- pected to change substantially, other than to include new com- mercial, non-residential uses up The Hamilton, Duncan and Cao families are uniting with their neigh- bors to voice their concerns about the high-density zoning introduced in the North Tustin Street Specific Plan. Photo by Tim Hamilton