Foothills Sentry - August 2022

Page 5 Foothills Sentry August 2022 Circulation … 41,750 Published on the last Tuesday of each month and distributed to residences, businesses, libraries and civic centers. Printing by Advantage, Inc. 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 Stephanie Gundran graphics@foothillssentry.com Advertising Sales Andie Mills advertising@foothillssentry.com 714-926-9299 Office Manager Kathy Eidson officemanager@foothillssentry. com Dear Editor: Once again, we are faced with a development project on the banks of Santiago Creek, seek- ing to rezone open space to com- mercial. This property is located on roughly 8 acres behind Chap- man Hospital. It consists of five 3-story buildings looming over single-family homes. The neighbors who abut this site have asked the city to require “story poles” to be installed, so that the true height, width and length of these buildings will be revealed – not only to the neigh- bors, but to users of Grijalva Park and the Santiago Creek Trail. Story poles are usually required when the project significantly af - fects important public scenery views, and to make the necessary findings regarding appropriate size, bulk, and scale, and neigh- borhood compatibility. The adjoining single-family neighborhood is impacted by this massive project, but users of Seeing is believing Grijalva Park and the trail system stand to lose the open-space ambi- ance along Santiago Creek. These 3-story structures are clearly in- consistent in terms of size, bulk, and scale with other buildings in the surrounding neighborhood and with Santiago Creek. The city’s Design Review Committee should require the story poles to be erected so the true impact of these massive buildings is obvious. Shirley Grindle Former county planning commissioner Orange Dear Editor: A rendering created by a neigh- bor showing a multistory build- ing looming over single-story homes on Wheeler St. gives those residents an idea of what to ex- pect from the proposed 158-unit Stonefield development. It does not provide visual details for any- one else who will be impacted by the project. Slated to be built along San- tiago Creek behind Wheeler and Malena Streets, the development will overwhelm all the single-sto- ry homes in that neighborhood, as well as the line-of-sight from Gri- jalva Park. Park visitors and trail users will also be impacted by the massive structure. It is not uncommon for builders to install story poles indicating the height and footprint of proposed developments. In this case, story poles should be required to allow all effected parties to see what is planned for Santiago Creek, Gri- jalva Park and the surrounding residential neighborhoods. The poles should be adjusted from the build benchmark grade, use the 43’9” elevation height and stake the footprint of all five buildings. That way, there will be no confusion. In addition, all residents and users of Grijalva Park need to be notified about this project. Those who have fought for years to se- cure the trails and the meager amount of park space we have, should be told about the loss of open space and the effects on the park, the trail and the creek. Bill Bouskos Orange Dear Editor: As a lifelong resident of the City of Orange, I found it painful- ly disappointing to have to spend yet another July 4 hunkered down in my home, TV blaring, speak- ers blasting music as loud as one could stand, two white noise ma- chines on full blast, windows shut with curtains drawn, this despite the fact our AC was on the fritz. It was a steamy 86° in my boister- ous home that night. Sadly, this is how my husband and I have spent the past three consecutive Inde- pendence Days -- irony intended. No, the city was not overtaken by insurgents, it was just our pa- triotic neighbors relentlessly det- onating projectile-style fireworks into the night sky, nonstop, for hours on end. These blasts shake our homes, rattle our nerves and windows, and set off car alarms. And that’s just some of the dis- tress it causes. These blasts have a ripple effect on pets and wild- life, which then leads to the death of countless animals, in shelters and on the streets, when fleeing the perceived threat. In the days following the Fourth, I connected with dozens of neighbors, including a war vet- eran, a mass shooting survivor, pet owners, people who struggle Fourth of July fireworks; above the law? with mental health and folks genuinely concerned about the fire risk posed by such flagrant behavior, all of whom shared the same sentiment: how is this al- lowed to happen? I called the Orange Police De- partment twice that night to report a neighbor who deemed it appro- priate to host an illegal fireworks show. All fireworks are illegal in Orange, but these babies were the real-illegal-deal, from sundown until well after 11:30 p.m. For hours, I watched in horror as the missile-style fireworks shot up, and the glowing embers rained down, occasionally checking on my semi-sedated dog in the pro- cess. I pleaded with OPD to come right at sundown, as I just knew what would follow. This neighbor didn’t limit his festivities to just the 4th of July; he’s been celebrat- ing throughout the month of June. The 4th of July was the grand finale, except for a few encore performances in the following weeks. Turns out, OPD showed up, not once, but twice that night! But they didn’t confiscate all of the illegal fireworks, leaving enough for the show to go on. Turns out they didn’t fine the of - fender either, but let him off with a warning. I guess this would lead one to the answer to the question of how this is allowed to happen. City council didn’t seem too interested in the topic, with one councilmember deeming it “im- possible to stop,” proclaiming “the police simply can’t be at all places at all times,” all the while openly dismissing a member of the public’s suggestion to simply post signage around Orange to inform people that fireworks are illegal here. Not everyone knows; check out some of the local social media groups where residents are arguing, one side claiming it’s their god-given right to light ex- plosives, the other side pointing out the invisible law. I do agree it is physically im- possible for the police to be in all places at all times. But when you show up someplace, twice, during a crime in progress, wouldn’t that give you better odds at stopping the crime, at least once? Maybe you’d even make an example of the culprit. Who knows, word might even get out around town that Orange has a zero-tolerance policy toward illegal fireworks. Isn’t that how law enforcement is supposed to work? Kat Marquez Orange A resident overlayed a site plan graphic onto the Wheeler St. cul-de-sac. Dear Editor: There have been some ques- tions as to what has been occur- ring regarding the Silverado- Modjeska Recreation and Park District in the past few months that warrants clarification. The unincorporated canyon communities are a wonderful “jewel” in the heart of Orange County. The Silverado-Modjes- ka Recreation and Park District (SMRPD) was established on March 22, 1961 as a Recreation and Park District under authority of Resolution 61-305 of the Or- ange County Board of Supervi- sors. It is an independent special district, with a locally elected board whose members serve overlapping four-year terms, with elections every two years. Special districts are public agencies cre- ated to provide specific services to a community. The enabling act for SMRPD is the Recreation & Park District law, Public Re- sources Code Section 5780 et seq. The SMRPD is the public agency with the authority to pro- vide local recreation and parks programs and services within its boundaries. Its area encompasses 46,825 acres or 73.16 sq. miles, from the boundary of Orange/ Riverside County in the Trabuco District of the Cleveland National Forest on the east, to Irvine Lake and Loma Ridge on the west. Spe- cifically, SMRPD serves the com - munities of Silverado, Modjeska, Ladd, Black Star, Williams, Hard- ing and Baker Canyons. SMRPD owns and/or operates five facilities: two community parks, two community centers and Park management is no playground a children’s center on land leased from Orange County Parks. Members of the board of direc- tors are public officials, and dis - trict employees are the board’s representatives. Both are bound to uphold the U.S. Constitution and carry out the laws of the State of California. District offi - cials and employees are required to carry out their acts with the highest standards of morality and discharge faithfully the duties of their offices, recognizing that the public interest must be their pri- mary concern. Prior to taking office, each elected or appointed director takes an oath. Preferen- tial consideration of the request of any individual citizen, or group of citizens, shall not be given. SMRPD is a steward of public funds utilized by the park district. The board powers are defined in Article 7 of the Public Resources Code Sections 5786 et seq. In developing district policies, the board: 1. Defines objectives and goals; 2. Carries out its legal respon- sibility and adopts procedures for the operation of the district; 3. Maintains its properties; 4. Contracts with staff/workers to provide management and sup- port; 5. Approves financial plans and budgets; 6. Encourages the development of recreation programs, within budgetary limitations, that meet community needs and demands. 7. Informs and educates resi- dents about recreation and park programs, facilities, and services; 8. Works with community agencies and residents to provide economical recreation; 9. Works with local, state, and federal agencies and organiza- tions on disaster or crisis response on a temporary basis. By Government Code §53234, et seq. , board members are re- quired to take ethics training courses as required under AB 1234 once every two years. The training must cover both ethics laws and ethics principles. In ad- dition, board members, the gen- eral manager and the SCC direc- tor are required to file a Form 700 Statement of Economic Interest every year. The board must adhere to the Brown Act and determine district policy subject to statutory re- quirements. SMRPD coordinates with other local planning authori- ties, parks and recreation depart- ments, nonprofit agencies and community groups to ensure the continued provision for commu- nity parks and recreation while striving to represent the interests of the entire community responsi- bly and responsively. As president of the SMRPD Board of Directors for the last two years, I can attest that I, and my fellow board members, strive to do our best in being stewards of the special district, its facilities and the residents that we repre- sent. If you have any questions, please reach out to us directly. Our contact information can be found on SMRPD.org . Isabell Kerins President, SMRPD Tustin Dems hold bootcamp Tustin Dems are hosting an Activism Bootcamp in August. Local candidates will be there to answer questions about them - selves, their campaigns, and how community members can get in - volved in meaningful ways. Meetings are held on the fourth Wednesday of each month at the centrally-located campus of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1221 Wass St. The August/bootcamp meeting will be Wednesday, Aug. 24 at 7 p.m. Anyone wanting to connect with fellow Democrats, get in - formed and help increase com - munity involvement in civic engagement is welcome to join Tustin Dems. More information is available at TustinDemocratic - Club.org. Candidate filing deadline approaches The filing deadline for can - didates wishing to run for local office is Aug, 12. Filing for city offices should be made with the clerk of that jurisdiction; school board seats should be filed with the county. In Villa Park there are three open council seats. Orange has four open council seats (Districts 1, 3, 4 and 6) and the office of mayor. Orange Unified School District has four board seats open (Dis - tricts 1, 4, 5, 7); TUSD has two (Districts 3, 5). The Silverado- Modjeska Parks and Recreation District has three open seats.