Foothills Sentry - July 2022

Foothills Sentry Page 2 July 2022 LET RING freedo Protecting your family, home and business from burglary, fire and medical emergencies. 714 282 0828 | jadtec.com aco# 4202 jadtec.com $ 15 95 /mo SECURITY JADTEC "Tustin Street" continued from page 1 to three stories. The North Cor- ridor zone is intended to be a walkable environment with up to three-story commercial, mixed- use and residential buildings. The Village Core zone is also planned to be walkable, with up to four- story commercial, mixed-use and residential buildings. Two- and three-story overlays will limit the height of new buildings adjacent to existing residential neighbor- hoods. Mixed mass At buildout, the Tustin Street corridor will accommodate 1,858,520 sq. ft. of retail/com- mercial space (less than the cur- rent 2,118,604 sq. ft.); 138,177 sq. ft. of office space; 117,892 sq. ft. of hotel space and 4,211 dwelling units (2,106 more than at present). “The reality,” Ortleib advised, “is that change is out there. Our intent is to make this a place where you want to be.” After fielding complaints about the inadequate meeting announcement, Ortleib was pep- pered with concerns ranging from traffic to density to the homeless. “You have to address the home- less before walkability,” one com- menter noted. “The buffer zone you’ve proposed between the shopping center and Canal Street is going to be a loitering zone,” another pointed out. “You’re making it more inviting, creating an environment you can’t control. It will be a disaster for the neigh- borhood.” Regarding the proposed multi- story housing units on a portion of the mall property, one resident implored the city to “not allow large massing in the face of the single-story neighborhood.” Don’t dense me in “I want to keep the area’s sin- gle-family charm,” said another. “No four-story apartments, no college student housing.” “It seems like the city is in- centivizing people to sell their property to make room for more development,” one speaker sug- gested. “The mobile home park, for example, is home to seniors, low-income families and handi- capped people. Where are they going to go?” “It seems like you’re pushing us out,” a homeowner said. “You want us to sell our house and leave.” “The city’s objective,” Ortleib emphasized, “is to make the cor- ridor better, to improve property values. No one, not a homeown- er or business, is being asked to move. The city is not taking prop- erty. It’s a market-driven plan. The property owner decides. And the Specific Plan can restrict uses.” Drive time Matt Hamilton reports when he was going door-to-door, a com- mon concern was traffic. It also came up at the meeting. “The whole street (Tustin) is backed up during rush hour,” an audience member emphasized. “We don’t have enough re- sources to handle it. Drivers revert to Cambridge, and it’s backed up too.” “Drivers going to the car wash spill out onto the street,” another resident pointed out. “And so do cars lined up at Burger King and Chick-fil-A. If you want to do something for this corridor, solve that.” "Measure S" continued from page 1 Measure S was approved, will most likely result in the annual assessment remaining at, or be- low, the voter-approved $29 per $100,000 of assessed value in the near term, and possibly the long term as well. Taxpayers have been paying on the $188 million Series A bond since the 2018-19 tax year, with levies decreasing from about $26 per $100,000, to about $16 per $100,000. The county tax asses- sor has not yet determined what the impact of the second bond sale will be on individual prop- erty tax bills, but will likely know by later in the summer. Whatever the revised assess- ment, taxpayers will get a pass on the Series B payment for 2022, because OUSD is using J.P. Mor- gan’s premium payment to cover the Aug. 1 installment. “The Measure S bonds have outperformed baseline assump- tions,” Assistant Superintendent, Business Services Dave Rivera, reports. “Interest rates are lower, property values have increased. The bond sale did well because the district has an AA credit rat- ing, strong reserves, policies and practices.” Campus modernization Phase 2 is expected to take 2½ - 3 years to complete. Plans for El Modena High include two modular classroom buildings; two connecting aerial walkways and elevators; expansion and modernization of existing general classrooms and the administra- tion building; new asphalt and concrete paving, landscaping, se- curity gates and fencing. At Villa Park High, Build- ing 500 will be demolished, and a new classroom building with staff lounge and meeting room constructed. Buildings 100/200 will be upgraded for greater ac- cessibility with new stairs and elevator; new restrooms, and new fences and gates to secure the campus perimeter. Canyon High’s biology, chem- istry and math classrooms will be renovated to accommodate 10 general classrooms, two living skills classrooms, a quiet room, testing suite and refurbished re- strooms. At Orange High, enhancements will include new classrooms, ad- ministration and student services buildings. An Environmental Impact Report will be written for the North Tustin Street Specific Plan rezon- ing. The area has been divided into “corridors,” with most commercial zoning changed to mixed-use and residential to multi- family.