The Capistrano Insider

Big Crowd Seeks Commission Seats

About 65 people applied for the 29 seats that make up San Juan Capistrano's mostly-advisory commissions. I say "about" because some people applied to more than one panel -- although you only serve on one at a time.

The applicants will be interviewed privately by two council members, who then make a recommendation to the entire council. In the past, the same two council members have interviewed applicants and make recommendations for all of the commissions, but this year I understand different pairs of council members will focus on different panels.

The council debated how to get new blood into the commissions and decided on an informal policy of a 20 percent change among all of the commissioners. That's going to make for some hard decisions: All but three commissioners re-applied for their posts, and one other opening was created when Housing Advisory Commissioner Laura Freese was elected to the council.

Transportation Commissioners Charles Lange and Erin Kutnick are voluntarily stepping down, and there's no application from Housing's Mary-Ann Groover, either.

Here's a list of the applicants for all of the commissions.

Here's the resumes of Cultural Heritage applicants.

Here's the list of Housing Commission applicants.

Here's the list of Parks, Recreation and Equestrian Commission applicants.

Here's the Planning Commission applicants.

Here's the Transportation applicants.

Here's the Utilities Commissioners (former Water Advisory).

I think the appointments will be made in late January.

Service Set for former Vons Checker Brenda Adams...Corrected: Event is Saturday

A memorial is set Saturday, December 27 in Laguna Niguel for Brenda Adams, the longtime Vons checker who seemed to make everybody's day just a bit brighter.

She lost her battle to ALS earlier this year. As you'd expect, her family asks that you wear bright, festive clothing and make any donations to the ALS Association, not flowers.

Click here for more information.

Click here for a story we did earlier. (the link is to the .pdf of the entire paper; the story is on page 15)

More on the Toll Road

Here's the full statement from the Transportation Corridor Agencies:

COMMERCE DECISION ON SR 241 IMPACTS MILLIONS OF COMMUTERS; TRANSPORTATION CORRIDOR AGENCIES VOW TO CONTINUE FIGHT AGAINST SOUTH ORANGE COUNTY GRIDLOCK
Facts from State, Federal Agencies, Outside Experts Support the 241, Citing Benefits for Traffic Relief, Environment, Parks, Adding Jobs

IRVINE, Calif. (Dec. 18, 2008) – The failure of the Department of Commerce to approve the completion of SR 241 is a blow to millions of Southern California commuters, the quality of life in the region and the local economy, according to the Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) and its supporters throughout Southern California.

“This decision is a terrible one for millions of Southern Californians and rewards the anti-road and anti-growth obstructionists who have engaged in an orchestrated campaign of misrepresentation and distortion against the road’s completion,” said Jerry Amante, chairman of TCA. “It is also a major surprise since the facts clearly indicate that there are so many benefits to completing the 241. The strong majority of residents of Southern California, elected officials, labor unions and business organizations all along the route who support the 241 were confident Commerce would reject the bad data and analysis unsupported by facts relied upon by the California Coastal Commission in its decision.  Instead, this decision has caused more delays in building this critically needed road for congestion relief and the free flow of California’s commercial lifeblood.”

The 16-mile final leg of SR 241 will run from Oso Parkway in South Orange County and connect with Interstate 5 about a half mile from the beach at Basilone Road on Camp Pendleton

“We will take a hard look at the legal points in the decision and plan a strategy to overcome the Secretary’s inexplicably anti-commerce, anti-neighborhood decision and continue to push forward on a solution that will provide significant traffic relief while protecting Southern California’s economy,” Amante said.

The TCA sought approval to complete the road from the U.S. Department of Commerce, following a decision by the California Coastal Commission to deny the TCA’s coastal consistency certification.  The Coastal Commission decision was based on analyses unsupported by facts, which was repudiated by outside experts and state and federal agencies.

At a public hearing in Del Mar on Sept. 22, supporters and engineering, environmental, and other experts presented a Commerce hearing officer with a steady stream of facts and overwhelming evidence that the proposed route for the completion of the 241 is safe for the environment, watershed, wildlife, campers, surfing and the beaches, countering the emotional appeals and propaganda from anti-road factions.

“The murky myths raised by road opponents were countered with clear facts, which we had assumed would prevail to the ultimate benefit of the millions of Southern Californians who face growing gridlock in the region,” said Amante.  “We provided abundant evidence that completing the 241 is critical to national interest benefits by relieving Interstate 5 – one of the most important corridors in the nation, moving goods and people and linking the second and third most populous counties in the state.”

Since the Coastal Commission’s denial of TCA’s request for a Coastal Consistency Certification, the Agency has obtained major approvals from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Game certifying that the project complies with state and federal wildlife laws.  Three nationally-recognized, independent peer reviewers analyzed the project opponents’ claims that the project would impact surfing and water quality and found the claims to be without merit.  Most recently an independent review of the opponents’ proposal to widen I-5 – requested by the Environmental Protection Agency -- determined that it was not a feasible alternative.

The timing is also a terrible blow to the Southern California economy, according to Amante. “Our region was set to benefit from the 35,000 jobs that would be created to design, engineer and build the 241, then maintain it going forward,” said Amante. “The regional economy needs the 241.  It is a perfect example of what President-elect Obama means when he speaks about the importance of supporting public works and infrastructure programs. The 241 wouldn’t require the huge taxpayer costs associated with traditional road construction by local, state or federal agencies. The 241 Toll Road completion will be good for the long-term economic health of the region, alleviating traffic, facilitating goods movement and boosting our local economy by providing jobs.”

ABOUT COMPLETION OF THE 241
Extending the 241 will relieve traffic in South Orange County by providing an alternative route to Interstate 5 for the hundreds of thousands of motorists a day who travel between San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles Counties.  With construction of the toll road, two miles of Interstate 5 will be retrofitted to collect and treat runoff, improving water quality in the Trestles area.  Without the toll road, travel from the San Diego/Orange County border to Mission Viejo will take one hour in 2025. With the toll road constructed, the same drive on Interstate 5 will take 25 minutes and it will take 16 minutes on the toll road.

The extension of the 241 is part of a comprehensive regional transportation plan put in place in 1981 to meet the needs of 21 million Southern California residents and those who travel the region for pleasure or commerce. It will save time and money in commuting, plus reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  Public opinion polls of Orange County and San Diego residents have shown overwhelming support for the extension of the toll road by 2-1 margins.

Capistrano Officials React to Toll Road Rejection

We queried San Juan Capistrano elected officials on the federal government's rejection of the toll road appeal for a key permit necessary:

 

The city of San Juan Capistrano has generally supported the toll road, believing it would take traffic off Ortega Highway through town. Officials believe traffic from east of the city that now uses Ortega to get to the San Diego Freeway could jump on the toll road to go north or south, avoiding San Juan Capistrano altogether.

Capistrano’s elected officials on Thursday saw the Secretary of Commerce’s decision as a reason to work on other traffic issues in Capistrano.

“We still need to work on alternative solutions to the traffic congestion that flows through our town on the I-5. This decision does nothing to relieve this problem,” said Councilmember Sam Allevato, who represents the city on the TCA. “Our residents are demanding that we fix the problem and continuing to say “no” to every solution is not responsible governance or adequate planning for the future.

 

Allevato said a new solution must be found.

 

“Widening the I-5 through San Juan and South County can't be tolerated. It would cause the destruction of hundreds of homes and businesses. It is reckless to suggest otherwise,” Allevato said. “I will continue to seek and support alternative routes that divert traffic around our city as per the direction and mandate of our Transportation Master Plan and all the other regional transportation plans that strive to achieve this and the reduction of air pollution for our area.”

Allevato said he did not think the Department of the Navy would allow a different route for the toll road through Camp Pendleton , and that connecting Avenida La Pata between  San Juan Capistrano

and San Clementeis not “a cure-all for this regional traffic program.”

Maybe, councilmember Lon Uso said, but La Pata should go through as soon as possible.

“At the very least this ruling will postpone the 241, at worst it may signal the possible end of this route, forcing the TCA to find an alternate,” Uso said. “This makes the extension of La Pata to San Clemente, sooner rather than later, even more important to the residents of San Juan.”

Councilmember Tom Hribar said it plainly.

“This is a sad day for San Juan Capistrano,” Hribar said. “Without the 241 Toll Road extension, our community will suffer from additional freeway noise, increased air pollution, and a lot more traffic both on the existing freeway, as well as on our city streets. We need to continue to pursue this 241 extension, even if it takes another 10 years.”

Credit Crunch Leading to Tollroad Collision?

Bloomberg has an interesting story on how the credit crunch might impact plans to build the 241-South Tollroad -- if they're ever approved.

The story says the crunch could eliminate the ability to sell bonds for the $1.1 billion to build the extension, or at least force a smaller road with fewer ramps. (Wouldn't that affect traffic counts around the other ramps?)

Interesting.

Here's the story.