The Capistrano Insider

More Salvos at Open Space Committee Work

Residents expressing concern about various proposed open space deals have fired a couple more salvos:

This weekend, some of 6,000 fliers questioning whether the committee has been open enough in its work were distributed in neighborhoods in town. The flier took issue with negotiations by committee members that saw OCTA move forward with an MOU that would have allowed double-tracking from Laguna Niguel to La Zanja in town.

The council rejected that.

And then today, some of the same folks -- but not all -- filed a complaint with the City Attorney's Office, saying members of the group have not filed conflict-of-interest reports as required.

That letter was signed by Jim Reardon, former Mayor Roy Byrnes, Kim Lefner, Lennie DeCaro, Helen Welch and Kevin Murphy. Noteable is that those folks were among Mayor Mark Nielsen's strongest supporters when he was running for office: He's now heading up the Open Space Committee and taking their heat.

Here's the letter.

Here's a link to the group's Web site.

Open Space Committee member Tom Lunnen will be at Coffee Chat on Friday, August 14 to talk about some of the potential deals. Coffee Chat is at Metro Java at 8 a.m. Metro Java is across from Wells Fargo Bank on Camino Capistrano.

If you want to tour the 132 acres the city is negotiating to buy from Rancho Mission Viejo, call Cathy Salcedo at 949.443.6317.

Open Space Committee meets mid August

I expect these to get more interesting with all the debate over the Crystal Cathedral deal...

From the city:

The Open Space Committee’s next meeting takes place on Aug. 17. The committee, chaired by Mayor Mark Nielsen and vice-chaired by Councilman Tom Hribar, is responsible for identifying obtainable open space area, funding tactics and developing strategies for future planning and environmental work and more.

 The committee usually meets the first Monday of the month. Rescheduling the meeting gives the committee, which consists of three subcommittees – Planning, Finance and Public Outreach/Education – more time to complete projects and report back to the community.

The Open Space Committee meets at 6:30 p.m. in Council Chambers at City Hall, 32400 Paseo Adelanto. For more information about open space efforts, visit the committee’s Web site at www.sanjuancapistrano.org  and click on the Open Space Initiative link.

Schelden over at the Register has posted a piece about Councilman Lon Uso's problems with the Crystal Cathederal deal, which Uso has also written about in his column in The Dispatch. Here's that article.

City Attorney: Open-Space Deal Legal

San Juan Capistrano's City Council and Redevelopment Agency acted properly when it approved a development deal that would add more than 100 acres to the city's Open Space portfolio, but also allowed a 750,000-square-foot retirement community in the northern part of town, City Attorney Omar Sandoval says in a letter.

Sandoval wrote in response to three homeowners who questioned whether too many of the details of the plan -- which gives the city an option but is not finalized -- were worked out in secrecy, rather than in a public forum.

The development, on 34 acres, is expected to generate $10 million in taxes, which the city would then use to buy 116 acres from the developer, Continuing Life Communities. CLC would buy the 150 acres from Rancho Capistrano.

The letter, from former Mayor Roy Byrnes, Kim Lefner and Jim Reardon, asks the city to set aside the decision and address the issues in open session.

But Sandoval says that's not necessary, because the law allows real-estate discussions in closed session.

Already, though, the residents have responded, with Reardon contending the city misstepped, and the closed-door sessions are supposed to be limited to price and terms of the deal. He says this agreement went far beyond those limits.

Click here to see Sandoval's letter

Click here to see the response.

Here's the original post and letter.

Homeowners Question Northern Open-Space Deal

Three homeowners -- Roy Byrnes, Kim Lefner and Jim Reardon -- sent the city a letter Wednesday alleging state open-meeting laws were violated in putting together the proposed open-space deal at the north end of town.

That's the deal that would see the city acquire 116 acres of the Cyrstal Cathedral property, after Continuing Life Communities buys 150 and develops a 750,000-square -foot retirement community.

Money for the city's land purchase, the city says, would come from increased tax revenues on the property.

But some critics of the plan say it doesn't work out financially, and the development is too large.

Byrnes, a former Mayor, and Reardon raised concern in the last issue of The Capistrano Dispatch.

Now, the homeowners are saying the tentative deal was reached illegally, out of hte public eye.  The issue is complicated, because it comes up through the Open Space Committee, and members of that committee have been given the power to essentially do some dealing on behalf of the city.

Here's a copy of the homeowners' letter;

Here's a link to Brynes and Reardon's letters to the community; (page 14)

Here's the city's initial news release about the deal:

The San Juan Capistrano City Council announced tonight that the City and Redevelopment Agency has entered into an agreement with Continuing Life Communities (CLC) for an option to buy 116 acres of open space land in the Northwest area of town.  CLC is acquiring a total of 150 acres of development-zoned property from Crystal Cathedral Ministries.  CLC plans to develop 34 acres into a low-impact, upscale assisted living/retirement community while extending the City and Redevelopment Agency an option to acquire the remaining 116 acres for open space preservation.  

This option agreement enables the City and Redevelopment Agency to retain soccer fields, preserve Oso Creek and maintain hillsides, ridgelines and open space areas while generating critically needed revenue for the future.  It also positions the City and Redevelopment Agency even more favorably for potential Measure M matching funds for ecological preservation down the road.  Crystal Cathedrals Ministries will continue to occupy a 20-acre parcel that is currently developed as a retreat center and chapel.

The option agreement will enter into escrow later this week, entitling the City and Redevelopment Agency to purchase 116 acres of land, or 70 percent of the overall parcel, for $10 million. The CLC community development and the actual open space acquisition will take place over the next four to five years.

“The option to acquire this valuable open space land that serves as the gateway to our City is a huge win for San Juan Capistrano and can be funded entirely by new revenue from CLC," said Mayor Mark Nielsen, who also serves as chairman of the City's Open Space Committee.  The new tax revenue stream CLC provides will enable the City and Redevelopment Agency to secure redevelopment bonds to finance the acquisition as well as fund other redevelopment agency projects such as infrastructure and other needed improvements.”

In addition to a much-needed tax revenue stream, project fees will be generated by CLC, which will help restore the City and Redevelopment Agency to a healthy budget position.  

“We’re delighted to take 116 acres of development-zoned land off the market with this option agreement and be able to preserve more open space land for the community’s enjoyment and for future generations to enjoy,” said retired Sheriff Brad Gates, a lifetime San Juan Capistrano resident and chairman of the Open Space Committee’s Finance Subcommittee.  “We’re fortunate to have the deep expertise and vision of residents Tom Lunnen and Dick Paulsen on our Finance Subcommittee, their unique skills made this agreement happen.  The current plan for the Northwest land is far superior to the sprawling postal processing center that was once proposed, and it helps us meet our objective of preserving open space while creating an important revenue stream for the City and Redevelopment Agency.”

In Other News at the Council ... Parking Prohibition and CARE Are Out

The San Juan Capistrano City Council on Tuesday also took the City Attorney's advice and rescinded the effort to ban overnight parking on parts of Camino Capistrano and Alipaz. The council in March put the prohibition in place to improve safety, aesthetics and to battle preceived overcrowding in nearby neighborhoods.

The council -- except Tom Hribar, who opposed it in the first place -- continued to express support for the move, but have backed down after attorney Ed Connor raised the issue of whether proper environmental-protection laws were followed. The city is studying the issue.

Here's Connor's earlier letter.

Several residents spoke, most also in favor of the ban. Many said, however, they understood the city needed to ensure the action is done properly.

But it was also announced Tuesday that the Capistrano Villas neighbhorhood, adjacent to the targeted area, is stepping up its own efforts and ensuring parking regulations in the community are followed and residents keep their garages cleared for cars.

All three associations in the Villas are holding a Spring Cleaning on June 8 -- during which the associations will pay to haul stuff away. Then on June 13, the associations will take a peek in garages.

Stay tuned.

The council also voted to pay up to $30,000 to end it's agreement with Capistrano Animal Rescue Effort, which has had control of a piece of city property on Camino Capistrano north of JSerra for a few years, working to build an adoption center there.

The city is now eyeing the parcel for a dog park, and its agreement with CARE calls for reimbursement of any actual expenses CARE spent on the land. CARE, for its part, is willing to waive the year-long notice requirement and turn over the land as soon as they get a check.

Councilman Lon Uso abstained from the issue because he owns an interest in a building a

Here's CARE's release:

The City Council on Tuesday voted to terminate the lease with Capistrano Animal Rescue Effort (CARE) for a three-quarter acre site north of the intersection of Camino Capistrano and Junipero Serra, where the organization had planned to build an Animal Adoption & Rescue Center.

In consideration for canceling the agreement, the City will reimburse CARE for between $25,000 and $35,000 in costs for work undertaken to improve the site and prepare it for construction.

In 2001, the City Council leased to CARE for $1 per year a small portion of excess property that was acquired as part of the Open Space land purchase in the early 1990s.  CARE began site preparation and fundraising to build a facility on the site to further its mission to rescue and adopt homeless San Juan Capistrano animals and has since raised approximately half of the projected $1 million cost.  CARE, at its expense, processed the required land development permits, had more than $130,000 in site grading and geotechnical analysis and work donated, and fenced and “hydro-seeded” the property to prevent erosion.

In February, the City proposed a Creekside Buffer Ordinance that would have rendered the site unusable for the current plan.  The ordinance is still pending, although the Council advised CARE it should consider other options.

Commenting on the Council’s vote, CARE President Matt Gaffney said:

According to our lease, the City has the right to rescind the lease agreement with 12 months’ notice.  While we are disappointed that we will not be able to fulfill our dream to build a local facility for the animals, the city is within its rights to terminate. 

“We appreciate the work that has been done to move the project forward, but it looks like we will have to explore other options.  Of course our goal remains to serve the animal community in San Juan Capistrano.”

Rather than the animal rescue/adoption center, Mayor Mark Nielsen has suggested putting a dog park on the site. 

CARE was formed in 2000 and has since rescued and adopted more than 1,150 abandoned cats and dogs from San Juan Capistrano that are picked up by Orange County Animal Services.  For more information, visit www.capoanimalrescue.com, or phone (949) 240-1735.