Foothills Sentry - September 2022

Page 7 Foothills Sentry September 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 Guest Commentary Ill-conceived zoning undermines historic homes By Tara Klasna I live in a quiet, mostly un- heard-of neighborhood in Old Towne Orange called Nutwood Place. Locals may not know that these homes are also part of the historic district – and represent the oldest housing tract in the City of Orange. Over 120 years ago, investors subdivided the acres of orchard land, hoping to create a new neighborhood that offered both status and family appeal. The low-key nature of this serene neighborhood may have contributed to the current threat that the residents are now facing. Without much notice, an investment group purchased two historic homes on South Grand Street. The street provides the main access between Old Towne Plaza and Hart Park, and the grandeur of these homes may be one of the reasons that this street was originally named “Grand.” Of course, the real estate in- vestment company is not inter- ested in these historic details. It’s business, after all. But, there is one detail that interested them very much: the fact that this his- toric district area remains des- ignated as R-2 zoning, unlike most of the historic district that was re-designated as R-1 several years ago. This distinction makes all the difference – at least in fi- nancial terms for investors who want to build larger rental units with far more square footage than an ordinary Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU). One of the projects includes a proposal for both a rental unit (that is similar in bulk and mass to the original home) and a separate ADU. The consequences of these two proposed projects seem obvious: increased traffic, increased parking problems (on a narrow street that allows parking on one side), and increased noise. But unlike many rental units built on historic properties, this homeowner will not be living on the premises, or anywhere near the property. In fact, I doubt that the neighbors will even have a way to contact these investors who simply view their historic home as a revenue stream. As a person who once owned rental property in Big Bear, I un- derstand that real estate is a vital financial investment that contrib- utes to long-term prosperity. I also recognize the need for affordable housing in an increasingly ex- pensive rental market. However, these projects are different; they are not reasonable real estate in- vestments that consider the neigh- bors’ quality of life, and they are definitely not affordable housing units for hard-working families. In fact, the artist renderings of one of the projects depicts a stu- dent -- adorned with a backpack -- walking up the sidewalk to the backyard unit. Given the nearby location of Chapman University, it’s not a leap in logic to conclude that both of these projects will ca- ter to Chapman students. These students (and their parents) may appreciate the charm of these his- toric homes, but it’s much more appropriate for Chapman to pro- vide enough on-campus afford- able housing for its students. To the misfortune of Old Towne resi- dents, Chapman University ac- commodates less than 50% of its total population of 8,700 students (with plans to add an additional 1,800). The average Orange County resident may think that this is an isolated issue, a local con- cern. Yet, new state legislation and the current economy will only increase the likelihood that your neighborhood may be next. Thankfully, there’s an opportu- nity for Orange residents to in- crease the volume of their con- cerns by voting in the November election for new city council and mayoral candidates who refuse to sacrifice the integrity of the his- toric district in order to appeal to business interests. Tara Klasna is a longtime Old Towne resident. Dear Editor: As I attended theAug. 9 Orange City Council meeting, it struck me that Councilmember Jon Dumitru has a misunderstanding regard- Sticking Point ing what we residents of Orange desire from our representative government. In what seemed to be a defense of the cringe-worthy tirade by Councilman Chip Mo- naco in July's meeting, and in ap- parent opposition to the respond- ing proposal by Councilwoman Ana Gutierrez to establish better- defined Rules of Decorum for council meetings, Dumitru spoke at length about First Amend- ment rights regarding freedom of speech. He quoted several lawsuit precedents regarding the right of city officials to speak poorly of others in the legislative body and of the general public. I am a fan of research, so I appreciate what was clearly some lengthy discov- ery by Councilman Dumitru into the letter of the law regarding speech on the dais. However, as a resident of the city, I am not par- ticularly interested in the fact that a councilmember may legally al- low himself to act with anything other than model decorum; I am interested in responsible leader- ship that chooses to hold itself to a higher standard than the barest of basics, as set forth in the Con- stitution. For Councilman Dumitru's next research project, I suggest he mines the depths of the phrase "earned legitimacy." This is a concept that is particularly sa- lient to government officials in the United States. Officials must establish that they are worthy of elected leadership on the basis of their conduct, character and lead- ership ability, not solely on the soundness and technical legal- ity of their policy proposals. Of course, legality matters; I'm not suggesting it doesn't. I'm simply saying that there are better stan- dards to which we would hope that our elected officials aspire -- such as the City Council Rules of Decorum as proposed by Guti- errez -- than what is narrowly al- lowed by legal precedent. Toward the end of the meeting, Councilwoman Kathy Tavoularis said, "It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ... makes Orange weak." While she was speaking on another topic at that moment, I think that her words are fitting for this one, as well. I hope that each resident of the City of Orange will vote in upcoming elections and ensure that we are being governed by officials who value our represen- tative democracy and who are aware that their conduct, not just their ability to propose and vote on policy, matters to the citizens of our fair city. Karen Reill Orange Dear Editor: After Chip Monaco's disre- spect for his fellow city coun- cil members and his tirades to the public, we asked the city to adopt a code of conduct. Coun- cilmembers Dumitru and Nichols had to deflect and make it about the First Amendment. That's not what a code of conduct is about. Not very long ago, Councilman Dumitru felt he was disrespected when somebody used the word “gypsy.” He was offended, and let the public know it. All the public was asking for, was a mu- nicipal code that would give the public a course of action that has consequences for disrespecting the public and/or council mem- bers. The mayor and city council should be held to a higher stan- dard! I was personally attacked, and it is very apparent that Chip Monaco has contempt for Orange Park Acres. OPA and I deserve an apology from the city. Mayor Mark Murphy has shown his leadership has no respect for the residents of Orange. Mr. Murphy, this is an election year. Dru Whitefeather Orange Dear Editor: As a follow-up to Councilmem- ber Chip Monaco’s deplorable ti- rade at the city council meeting in July, I spoke, along with many others, at the August council meeting. We expressed our disap- pointment in Monaco’s behavior and, since Mayor Mark Murphy seems to condone this behavior, it was asked that a code of conduct be adopted with consequences of violation. It was interesting that Monaco did not speak at this meeting in his defense. However, two of his cronies (Dumitru and Nichols) tried their best to deflect the seriousness of this issue by saying it was his First Amend- ment right to speak and do what- ever he wants. Though I agree the First Amendment is very im- portant, this issue had nothing to do with it. It was about bringing back decency, courtesy and re- spect from city council members toward each other and Orange residents. These are elected seats and they should be held to a high- er standard. On Aug. 12, Chip Monaco publicly announced he would not seek election for District 4. Now the residents of Orange have a rare opportunity, this elec- tion year, to turn this city around. We need to break the cycle of re- tread, regurgitate and recycle for- mer council members. Do your research to choose carefully and wisely. It’s long overdue to get Mayor Murphy out of office. He has no respect for the City’s General Plan, its residents or the future of Orange. He teams up with ir- reputable out-of-town land inves- tors that want to change the City’s General Plan, make their millions and move on. Dan Slater listens to his constituents, and he is what this city needs to bring back and preserve Orange. Laurel Maldonado Orange Conservative Patriots of Or- ange County will kick off its fall season with a roundtable work- shop on Thursday, Sept. 15. Top- ics will include election integ- rity, how to volunteer and vaccine mandates. The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. with a buffet dinner for $30 per person. Purchase tickets on- line at conservativepatriotsofoc. org, or make an advance reserva- tion by calling Peggy Baranyay at (714) 828-1289. The meeting will be at the Santa Ana Elks Lodge, 1751 S. Lyon Street. CPOC to meet in September The Orange Public Library Foundation will honor organiza- tions contributing to STEAM ed- ucation at its Full STEAMAhead 2022 Library Legacy Awards and Celebration on Sunday, Sept. 25. Honorees include Southern California Edison, Rotary Club of Orange, Chapman University Stemtors and Keck Center for Science and Engineering Faculty, CARE, and Clockwork Oranges, the BSA Venture Robotics Com- petition Team. The event begins at 3 p.m. at the Orange Public Library and History Center, 407 E. Chapman Avenue. It features dinner, drinks, des- sert and a silent auction that in- cludes a ride for two on the Good- year Blimp. Proceeds benefit the Library Foundation. Tickets are $100; a sponsorship table for 10 is $1,000. Call (714) 288-2470, or email OPLibrary- Foundation@gmail.com for in- formation or to purchase tickets. Library Foundation to celebrate STEAM education