Foothills Sentry October 2021

NEWS INSIDE East Orange • Old Towne Orange • Orange Park Acres • Villa Park • Silverado/Modjeska Canyons • North Tustin A Monthly Community Newspaper October 2021 *********ECRWSSEDDM**** Residential Customer Letters To The Editor Page 5 Canyon Beat Page 6 Service Directory Pages 11-13 Prof. Directory Page 13 Classifieds Page 13 Real Estate Page 14 Sports Page 15 The Best News In Town Since 1969 VIEWS FROM THE RIDGE Folks on OC’s rural border are as varied in their outlook as the landscape they inhabit. See Canyon Beat, page 6 FOLLOW US at Foothills Sentry BOOTS ON THE GROUND Orange Park Acre’s annual western-themed BBQ raises funds and foments frolic. See OPA, page 6 OF MIGHTS AND MEN City councilwoman says all male planning commission membership could better reflect Orange districts and demographics. See Orange council, page 4 THE REIGN OF SPAIN Local history and development is steeped in Hispanic heritage. See Area's, page 10 SAVOR THE FLAVOR Orange food fest returns to Old Towne with music, munchies and merchants. See Street fair, page 8 See "Mary's Kitchen" continued on page 4 Court order keeps Mary’s Kitchen alive – at least for now By Tina Richards Mary’s Kitchen won a last- minute reprieve when OC Judge David Carter issued a restraining order against the City of Orange’s demand that the facility move by September 18. In his Sept. 17 ruling, Carter found that Mary’s Kitchen was denied procedural due process before the city terminated its lease, based on its property inter- est. Due process is required when the government seeks to termi- nate a public benefit conferred by a government entity. Lacking due process In addition, Judge Carter ruled, “Plaintiff’s current license to operate creates a constitution- ally protected property interest. Plaintiff has invested substantial resources in its current location over several decades, including physical infrastructure that can- not be moved. Such investment bolsters Plaintiff’s vested prop- erty interest and entitles it to pre- deprivation due process. Finally, a temporary restraining order here would be in the public interest. It is always in the public interest to prevent the violation of a party’s constitutional rights.” Mary’s Kitchen, operating at 417 Struck Ave., feeds the home- less three meals a day, and pro- vides showers, laundry, clothing and a mailing address. It has op- erated on city property under a license agreement with Orange since 1994. Originally intended to feed the less fortunate residents of Orange, the soup kitchen has become a destination for homeless from all over Southern California. Over the last few years, the city has ex- pressed growing concerns about the influx of people and increased crime and drug use. A growing concern Last June, the city sent Mary’s Kitchen a termination letter, ad- vising President Gloria Suess,that it was giving the facility 90 days to vacate. The letter set off an avalanche of protests from Mary’s Kitchen patrons, volunteers, contributors, other charities and supportive cit- izens. In addition to letters, phone calls and emails, hours-long seg- ments of the last three city coun- cil meetings were given over to throngs of supporters expressing outrage, sadness, disappointment and disbelief. Volunteers at Mary's Kitchen were delighted to learn that a restrain- ing order enabled the enterprise to remain at its Struck Ave. location beyond the Sept. 18 deadline to quit imposed by the City of Orange. From left, Bob Lavoie, Jin Doerrer, Donna Dannon, Justin Metcalf, Gus Vasquez, Jacob Dunn and Gloria Suess, Mary’s Kitchen president. The kitchen is looking for volunteers for four-hour shifts. Voters prepare to take on state zoning legislation with ballot initiative By Tina Richards Local proponents of single- family zoning and neighborhood ambiance are joining a statewide effort to amend the California constitution via a ballot initiative. The Californians for Community Planning initiative would lock in local control of land-use deci- sions. The bipartisan initiative is a re- sponse to Senate Bills 9 and 10, passed by state legislators in Au- gust. Those bills effectively over- ride single-family zoning state- wide, supersede city and county General Plans, take development decisions away from local juris- dictions and put them in the hands of builders and investors. SB9 rezones virtually all par- cels within single-family residen- tial zones to allow up to six units on each. It preempts local zoning, prohibits public hearings and dis- cretionary decisions on split-lot housing, and exempts those de- velopments from environmental review. Developers are not re- quired to contribute to infrastruc- ture or provide parking. Expect the unexpected While local General Plans once gave property owners a road- map for what would and would not be acceptable in their neigh- borhoods, i.e., single-family or multi-family homes, lot sizes, set- backs and open space, SB9 leaves everything to chance. The home bought in a single-family neigh- borhood today might be next door to a house that, next year, will be demolished and replaced with two duplexes, an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) and a ju- nior ADU. Neighbors, HOAs and local governing bodies could do nothing to stop it. SB10 gives city councils and county supervisors the ability to arbitrarily rezone properties for 10-unit buildings plus two ADUs and two junior ADUs. The bill does not reconcile the impacts on infrastructure. It invalidates Cov- enants, Conditions and Restric- tions (CC&Rs), and allows local governing bodies to overturn zon- ing restrictions enacted by voter initiative. While both bills claim to ad- dress the state’s housing short- age, neither specify affordable housing, noting new construction would be sold or rented at market rates. Planning ahead The Community Planning ini- tiative will amend the state con- stitution to ensure zoning, land- use and development decisions are made at the local level, and to stop the state legislative bills that override municipal and county control. Specifically, it provides that any county or city ordinance “that See "State zoning" continued on page 2 The registration and permit- ting process for short-term rentals (STRs) in Orange was unveiled at the Sept. 14 city council meeting. Based on a previous council de- cision, the city will issue a maxi- mum 125 permits and business licenses for STRs in Orange. The registration process began with letters to known STR owners and those on an interest list, requir- ing registration via a website that went live Sept. 15 and remained active for 10 days. Priority will be given to Orange residents and owner-occupied properties. Permits are limited to two per owner, and properties must be in an area where zoning allows. Mobile homes are ex- cluded. Permits will be granted to in- dividuals or personal trusts only; corporations, LLCs or business trusts will not be eligible to op- erate STRs in Orange. LLCs held by individuals, and meeting the requirements of a personal trust, will qualify. The city will collect $250 for Orange opens registration, permitting process for STRs a permit and $250 for a business license from each STR. Transient Occupancy Taxes (TOTs) will be collected, commencing Oct. 1. Registration and fee payment is via the website only. Once the permitting process is complete, a hotline will be es- tablished to field residents' com- plaints. Complaints will be dealt with via code enforcement or a police response to noise ordi- nance violations. The city has agreements with known hosting platforms, such as VRBO, Airbnb, HomeAway, wherein violators will be removed from the site. The platforms will also require STR operators to provide proof of a city permit to maintain their listing. City personnel handling reg- istration say they know the “bad actors” -- properties receiving consistent complaints – and are cross-referencing them with the applications received. “We are prepared to act on bad actors,” City Manager Rick Otto said. “We want to shut them down.”