Foothills Sentry November 2020

Page 5 Foothills Sentry 7 1 4 - 2 8 9 - 1 0 3 1 7 4 4 6 E . C h a p m a n A v e . • O r a n g e , C A 9 2 8 6 9 Now Open 7 days a week 7 AM -2 PM Zone • Behind Pacific Ranch Market • Stay Connected: Wi-Fi & Cappuccino • Breakfast, Lunch, Acai Bowls • Soft Serve Ice Cream & Milkshakes • Restaurant Seating Inside & Out Your neighborhood cafe in Orange has an extensive breakfast and lunch menu, full coffee and tea bar, açaí bowls and pastries. Come in and enjoy our homemade pastries, sauces and our specialty - our salsa! Serving food 7 days a week, 7:00am - 2:00pm Located next to Da Bianca Trattoria behind the Pacific Ranch Market. BRING IN THIS AD & RECEIVE 10% OFF A LUNCH ENTRÉE IN NOVEMBER November 2020 Circulation … 43,400 Published on the last Tuesday of each month and distributed to residences, businesses, libraries and civic centers. 714-532-4406 Fax: 714-532-6755 foothillssentry.com 1107 E. Chapman Ave., #207 Orange, CA 92866 © Foothills Sentry 2020 Publisher/Editor Anita Bennyhoff 1969-2013 Editor Tina Richards editor@foothillssentry.com Sports Editor Cliff Robbins sportseditor@att.net Graphic Designer Aimee Armstrong graphics@foothillssentry.com Advertising Sales Andie Mills advertising@foothillssentry.com 714-926-9299 Office Manager Kathy Eidson officemanager@foothillssentry. com "Construction" continued from page 1 Pickleball Professional Coach Ronnie Nemchock teaches at the Anaheim Tennis & Pickleball Center Call or Text (949) 419-7839 Private Lessons Starting at $60 per person per hour Clinics 4 or more players $25 per person Are you interested in learning the game of Pickleball or are you wanting meet people to play Pickleball? Call or text Ronnie Nemchock today for more information on the game of Pickleball. We have everything you need for the game: paddles, shoes, balls and more. Check out our website www.orangecoastpickleball.com ing that the site has been operat- ing as an IDEFO since 2011. The operator filed an IDEFO notice with the county this past August not because it was starting one, but, according to Milan Attorney Pete Duchesneau, as a “confirma- tion” of what has been going on at the site all along. Duchesneau produced witness- es who attested to the IDEFO’s existence between 2011 and 2013. County records indicate the site was “abandoned” after 2013, but Milan’s Chris Nicholson and Bret Bernard, and Chandler’s John Robertson and Jeffrey Baran testified that the site has operated as an IDEFO since then. Accord- ing to them, the 35-40-ft. mounds are being stockpiled against the day when they are needed to level the site for construction. While there is no evidence to suggest that any grading or compaction has occurred on the site for sev- eral years, that doesn’t matter, Chandler/Milan says, because it will eventually. It came and went LEA agrees that the site did op- erate as an IDEFO between 2011 and 2013. “They did it right,” Kathryn Cross, supervising haz- ardous materials specialist, testi- fied. “They had a good plan, they kept records, they had a grading permit from the city.” But MTS, the company that operated that IDEFO, filed notice in early 2013 that it was no longer responsible for that site. Cross said she notified Milan that she was going to ask the state to close out the IDEFO unless she heard otherwise. Bret Bernard, she said, told her he’d reinstate the IDEFO within six months. He never did. Cross notified the state, and CalRecycle closed out and archived its data base record. The city grading permit expired in 2014. Activity at the site continued off and on, and the mounds of construction debris grew. The 2011-13 IDEFO was apparently forgotten. When LEA inspectors visited the site in January 2020 in response to a resident complaint, the operator did not identify it as IDEFO. When the LEA deter- mined that it was an Inert Debris Type A Disposal Facility, the op- erator sought the required per- mit. Cross testified that during a February meeting between LEA, Chandler and Milan, all parties reportedly agreed with the inert debris facility designation. Rewriting history “The permit was a misstep,” Duchesneau asserted. Chandler/ Milan were simply “being coop- erative” with LEA. The attorney further suggested that his clients had been led astray by the agency that “incorrectly” called it an in- ert debris facility and neglected to tell them about the 2011-13 IDEFO. Kathryn Cross, who has been with LEA for 13 years, remem- bered the IDEFO and says it was mentioned briefly in the February meeting, but not pursued as an alternative. “I knew it had been closed out,” she said. "What’s happening on the site now is dif- ferent.” Cross reiterated the agency’s position that it is, based on regu- latory definitions, personal ob- servation and inspector visits, an inert debris disposal site. There is no grading or compaction taking place. Further, an IDEFO requires clean fill only – uncontaminated concrete, cured asphalt, brick, ceramics, clay products. Chan- dler has been accepting that type of material but has not tracked whether it is contaminated or not. Jeffrey Baran insisted that the de- bris is inspected and separated, but several LEA inspectors, with multiple site visits between them, countered that claim. “The non-contaminated mate- Guest Commentary By Peter Jacklin California law prohibits elec- tioneering from the dais. It’s re- ally simple. Tyrants do not have the right to influence voters on a matter on the ballot – without other voices being heard. Yet, during the Aug. 25 Orange City Council meeting, Mayor Pro Tempore Mike Alvarez took it upon himself to ask the viewing audience to join his colleagues on the dais by voting “yes” on Mea- sure AA. Alvarez violated the law and professional ethics dur- ing the council’s deliberation on Milan’s proposed development north of Santiago Creek. During deliberations, public comment had ceased. A timely moment to make his statement – no one was allowed to object. The City of Orange posts re- cordings of its council meetings See something. Say something. I did. Nothing happened. No surprise. on its website. If you’d like to see the offending remarks and actions, you can view the delib- erations on the city’s website, archived council meetings, begin- ning about 90 minutes into the re- cording. Form your own opinion. It’s worth noting that this is not the first time that the coun- cil, wholly or in part, has ignored state law and city ordinances to move along development on the Milan property. Aided, abetted, and advised by Gary Sheatz, the current city attorney and advocate for the masses, the council has turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to those who do not favor Milan’s past and current development plans. The examples -- far too numerous to mention here -- have been chronicled in the Sentry for years. It’s my opinion, and perhaps yours, that unopposed election- eering is a violation of the public trust and not consistent with the values of the American republic. Done so closely to election day and immediately before mail- in ballots arrived, I felt that this wrong needed to be corrected with due haste. I notified Attor- ney Sheatz of my thoughts and asked for enforcement actions to be taken within two weeks of my notice. After the deadline had passed by a significant margin, and showing that fair electioneering is not a concern to Sheatz, I re- ceived his response. “I disagree with your characterization of the facts … (and) your interpretation of California law …” he wrote. He continued on, stating his posi- tion that “enforcement measures … will not be implemented by this office.” Pardon me for ask- ing. No surprise -- the advocate for the masses knows where his money comes from. As demanded by the State At- torney General’s procedures, this matter has been handed to a higher authority in hope that the matter will be taken seriously and appropriate actions will be taken quickly. Let’s see how high disin- terest, distrust of the affected, un- due influence on public officials and governmental corruption rise in California government. By the way, the iniquitous Mike Alvarez, first elected in 1996, is now running for a council seat for District 3, after having been termed out in his current seat. Sheatz, always the champion of the will of the people, ruled that the current term limit ordinance, passed by 80 percent of the voters in 1996, is no longer in effect. The prohibition has been placed in the garbage heap because it was ig- nored when the council approved the districting ordinances drafted by, guess who, Gary Sheatz. It’s time for changes at city hall. Whoever is elected in No- vember is very likely to be on the dais for a long time. The carousel spins, the same people get off and get on a bit later. The city’s finan- cial condition, the council’s op- pression of opposing thought, the woeful traffic, the ever-increasing housing density, the overwhelm- ing influence of Chapman Uni- versity and the undue influence of real estate developers can be traced to previous city councils whose members continue to serve and serve and serve. Peter Jacklin has lived in Or- ange Park Acres for 50 years. rial has to be separated out for an IDEFO,” Cross explained. “This site is mixing it all together. You can’t unmix it. That material can’t be used for fill, it has to be re- moved from the site.” Hearing Officer Eric Blum will render his decision on Nov. 2. Whichever way he rules, the site’s neighbors are happy that now, at least, someone is paying attention. The City of Orange has ignored the stockpiling and residents' complaints about it for years. Flu shots suggested Flu shots are the must-have ac- cessory this year, but free county- provided vaccines were scooped up in cities throughout Orange County, with long lines hours be- fore the doors opened. There will be a county-sponsored drive-thru free clinic from 8 a.m. -3 p.m. on Nov. 7 at Anaheim Convention Center; register at 360.epiconnec- tor.com/fluvaccines.