Foothills Sentry - December 2023

Foothills Sentry Page 4 December 2023 JOHNSON MOTORCARS 34 Years of Specializing in the Service and Repair of Mercedes-Benz Gary Johnson 714-997-2567 982 N. Batavia # B13, Orange, CA 92867 gary@johnsonmotorcars.com @ ramblingroseoc Orange heights and lows Dear Editor: Regarding the Orange Heights development project, formally called “Santiago Hills Phase II,” proposed by the Irvine Company: I understand and appreciate that this project was significantly re- duced in size and impact from its original, but this reduction is not enough. The area is the habitat for many species of wildlife. It is also a ma- jor foraging area for many species often viewed at Irvine Regional Park and Peters Canyon, includ- ing raptors, birds, and mammals, some of which are protected or even threatened. Many animals need this area for their survival. The direct or indirect negative impacts of the loss of this space are immeasurable. Increased housing also brings increased pollution of all kinds (air, light and water) and in- creased traffic congestion in an already congested area. Note, the last Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for this project was completed in 2005. Many events have occurred since then includ- ing wildfires and corresponding habitat loss. Clearly, an updated EIR reflecting current risks and impacts is essential. Residents of Orange County love our wild spaces and moun- tain views. More housing will impact already busy and over- crowded areas and block the ani- mal corridor between Irvine Re- gional Park and Peter's Canyon Park. These spaces not only sup- port wildlife, but also support us by cleaning our air and mitigating climate change. Further, studies overwhelmingly establish that engaging with nature improves our mental health. More poeti- cally, nature feeds our souls in a way that nothing else can. Please consider the health and well-being of all life in this area. Do not sacrifice our irreplaceable wild spaces for the short-term gain of developers. Sincerely, T. Fannon Speakup for creek Dear Editor: There are at least four Santiago Creek Projects proposed that not only impact the Santiago Creek, but also residents of Orange, Villa Park and local commuters. The City of Orange needs to be actively involved in the review of all of these projects: 1. The Chandler OC Reclama- tion Project proposes to fill the wildlife basin along Santiago Creek west of Cannon along Villa Park Road. The Regional Water Quality Control Board released an Initial Study/Mitigated Nega- tive Declaration (IS/MND) in December 2022 and has yet to re- spond to the over 300 comments against the project submitted in February 2023. This project is NOT needed and would be detri- mental to Villa Park and Orange residents with noise, air quality, traffic, and biological impacts in- cluding State Recognized Endan- gered Species. 2. OC Public Works and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has revised an old project to rem- edy flooding and improve San- tiago Creek from the Santa Ana River confluence to the 5 Free- way, and to stabilize the slopes of the Santiago Basin north of Villa Park Rd. This project was autho- rized in 1986, and the improve- ments in this segment are based on recommendations in 1980 and 1988. Even with the newly released (Sept. 15) Draft Supple- mental Environmental Assess- ment and IS/MND, the improve- ments are outdated and opposed by over 90% of the residents im- pacted by this project. 3. The Smith Basin Improve- ment Project proposed by Orange County Water District is intended to repair and remediate erosion caused by Santiago Creek. An IS/ MND was released in 2020. The project is located in Orange and Villa Park, west of Cannon and north of Villa Park Road. The City of Orange should be look- ing at this for potential impacts to the adjacent Oakridge Private School, residences, streets, bike lanes and trails, air quality, and the obvious conflicts with staging areas and access roads. 4. The Irvine Ranch Water Dis- trict and Serrano Water District are proposing a dam restoration project upstream at the Santiago and Prada Dams to increase the capacity of the existing reser- voir. This five-year project has a high price tag particularly to Villa Park and Orange residents. The price is estimated to be as high as $294 million. An Environmental Impact Report is projected to be released this month. Since all of these proposed projects impact the cities of Or- ange and Villa Park, it is impera- tive the city councils, city man- agement, planning and engineer- ing staff review them and decide if they are in conflict or would damage the preservation of San- tiago Creek. Leslie Manderscheid Orange OC Animal Care doesn't Dear Editor: OC Animal Care (OCAC) is spending a lot of taxpayer mon- ey, but it’s not serving either the animals or the community. Even though fewer animals are coming in than in 2019 (before the pan- demic) the shelter is not adopting them out efficiently. The result? Overcrowded conditions and overworked animal care staff and volunteers. In a letter volunteers wrote to elected officials, they call the cur- rent adoption procedure a “bro- ken appointment system” and add, “Please trust us when we say that this system does not work. Looking at dogs on a website and scheduling an appointment to see a mere two dogs is ridiculous.” What do the volunteers pro- pose? The only program that is universally supported is the full reopening of the shelter to the public. While OCAC leadership continuously touts the ‘concierge service’ they say they are provid- ing to adopters, the fact remains that there are not enough animal care attendants and adoption staff to provide the ‘concierge service’ needed to ensure the right dog is placed with the right family. Dog kennels and play yards are often dirty; dogs don’t always get fed at consistent times; they are not receiving the enrichment they need; and staff is overwhelmed and burned out. The consequence of slow adop- tions is that animals are just piling up. Many dogs are being housed in temporary crates that have to house the dog, its water, food and bedding. The dogs often have no- where to urinate or defecate ex- cept in these small crates. Attempting to gloss over the problem, OCAC came up with a blizzard of fancy-named special programs (with the bill footed by the cities). ‘Pooches on the Patio’ involves half a dozen dogs shown in a yard once a week. The vol- unteers’ verdict? “Ineffective.” Another new program is ‘Ken- nel Connection.’ It’s a mere 2-1/2 hours on a Wednesday and Satur- day, and only about 40 dogs of the well over 200 dogs at the shelter are being seen by the public. The other 150-plus dogs? They are victims of the appointment-only system, which is not working. The ‘fixes’ OCAC leadership is attempting are seen by many as PR stunts. What OC needs is a fully reopened shelter so these wonderful dogs can find their for- ever homes. The volunteers’ letters are available on OCShelter.com. In- formation on contacting elected officials can be found on Open- TheOCShelter.com/take-action. Jackie Lamirande Former OCAC volunteer Class struggle Dear Editor, As a resident and employee of OUSD, I watched the Nov. 16 board meeting virtually because attending in person is no longer safe. That meeting was yet again another low point for this board. I was particularly interested in the debate about Orange County Classical Academy's (OCCA) proposal to "lease" land from Es- planade Elementary. I heard heart-wrenching speeches from students of Espla- nade pleading with the board not to give their school to OCCA. I also heard students from OCCA talk about the values they are taught at their school. I heard many mention the word "virtue." I looked up the definition and found that virtue means, "be- havior showing high moral stan- dards." That's a wonderful char- acteristic that all families teach their children, and I do not doubt is being taught at OCCA. Unfortunately, if OUSD gives in to OCCA's demands, that will neither be virtuous nor moral. Es- planade Elementary is the heart of that community. Esplanade has taught generations of families, has fed needy families with the school's food pantry, and taught families English. If OUSD ac- quiesces to OCCA's demands and lets them slowly displace the students of Esplanade, they will do irreparable harm to this com- munity school. It will also sig- nal to other communities in the district that their school could be next. If OCCA wants your land, the district might give it to them because Rick Ledesma and Madi- son Miner don't represent the stu- dents, families, nor communities in Orange Unified. Michelle Kauten Orange No cleanup in sight for East Orange piles of solid waste By Tina Richards Neighbors of the multi-story mounds of construction waste looming above Santiago Canyon Road in East Orange continue to wait for the cleanup to begin, while the property owner wran- gles with the county environmen- tal health department over details of its preliminary analytical soil testing process. Property owner Milan Capital agreed to a Stipulated Notice and Order, issued by the Local En- forcement Agency (LEA) regard- ing soil testing in June 2022. The notice required Milan to conduct analytical testing of the grade level soil, geotechnical testing to determine the bound- aries of the waste, and analytical testing of the stockpiles to deter- mine if the material is contami- nated or not. Milan was expected to provide LEA with a work plan that fol- lowed the requirements stated in the stipulated notice. It has, over the past 16 months, submitted three. None have been accepted by LEA and each was returned with specific comments and con- ditions that needed to be met. Aggressive soil sampling Because the waste and debris were stockpiled over several years with no records as to where the material came from, who was dumping it, what it contained or where on the property it ended up, the characteristics of the mounds are unknown. LEA required sampling at five-ft. intervals across the site to assess the vertical level of contamination. Soil samplings at every five feet allows for two- dimensional cross-sectioning to clearly understand subsurface conditions. Milan claims that taking sam- ples every five feet is "not techni- cally necessary and is unreason- ably burdensome.” It is willing to take samples at five-ft. intervals in some sections of the property, but at 10-ft. intervals throughout the remainder. The property own- er’s consultant, Leighton Group, pressed for 10-ft. intervals based primarily on a summary geo- technical report produced for the failed Rio Santiago development in 2012. In a response letter dated Oct. 16, LEA reiterated its demand for five-ft. interval sampling, noting that Leighton’s referenced report “was based on assessments con- ducting without the oversight of a regulatory agency 12 years prior and are not based on the current site’s conditions.” LEA wrote that its “ongoing inspections of the site and consultation with CalRecycle” indicate that five-ft. sampling intervals are warranted. Housing not included The original Stipulated No- tice defined sampling and testing protocols based on the property’s eventual use as a recreational site. Since then, Milan has filed an ap- plication with the City of Orange to build houses there. It is now suggesting to LEA that its test- ing methodology and sampling requirements should suffice for residential or commercial use, and that additional assessments should not be necessary. LEA is not wavering from its stance that residential use is not covered under the Stipulated Notice agreed to by both par- ties. “LEA has thus far reviewed the subgrade sampling workplan only for recreational and open use of the site,” it confirmed. “More dense sampling will be required for proposed residential use of the site or selection areas planned for residential use to supplement the sampling result from the forth- coming subgrade investigation.” Residents hope that the sam- pling/testing operation is indeed “forthcoming.” Milan has not yet submitted its fourth workplan for LEA review.