OC Politics Blog | Category Archives: Development

The Agran City Council team has promoted development and has tax liens

Posted on October 19, 2014 by Editor Posted in 2014 Elections, Development, Irvine, Larry Agran, Mary Ann Gaido, Melissa Fox Leave a comment

By: Irvine Councilwoman Christina Shea (from her Facebook Page)

Yesterday in my mailbox I received another campaign mailer from Larry Agran, Mary Ann Gaido and Melissa Fox. I am never shocked any more by their dishonest campaign efforts. They continue to state they are for slow growth and now they have taken a pledge, not offered to other candidates, by the way, to pledge no more growth, and they want a moratorium on growth .

However, did you know this past month, at the Irvine Planning commission, where most development projects are approved, that Mrs Gaido voted for a large housing project in South Irvine, near the 133 and just this past Thursday, Mrs Gaido, voted for a high density apartment complex? Continue reading→

Dana Point’s Harbor Revitalization Plan advances

Posted on May 15, 2014 by Editor Posted in Dana Point, Development, Orange County 1 Comment

Dana Point Harbor Revitalization Plan

Dana Point Harbor Revitalization Plan Advances

(Santa Ana, CA) — OC Dana Point Harbor has received approval for its years-in-the-making Revitalization Plan from the Dana Point Planning Commission.

The commission’s approval of the harbor’s Coastal Development Permit application culminates 15 years of planning, hundreds of public meetings and extensive community support, resulting in an approved design to rebuild the harbor’s commercial core.

Additionally, the Coastal Development Permit was determined to have met all of the requirements of the Local Coastal Plan, as certified by the California Coastal Commission in 2011. Coastal Commission approval is required for projects within a specified coastal zone. Continue reading→

Toll Road Agency’s leeches exposed as Bartlett contract scheme is outed

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Editor Posted in Curt Pringle, Development, Lisa Bartlett, Matt Cunningham, Orange County, Toll roads 6 Comments

Laura “Mrs. Jerbal” Cunningham got paid too

The Foothill/Eastern toll road agency kept nearly $220,000 in contract approvals hidden from public scrutiny in the past year using a budget loophole that even its board members didn’t know about, records show, according to the O.C. Register.

That loophole allowed the agency to circumvent its own rules and approve or change major contracts with nothing more than the support of its chairwoman, Dana Point Councilwoman Lisa Bartlett, and the signature of its chief executive officer.

And how did the toll road agency spend this money? On a vast collection of leeches that included (courtesy of the O.C. Register and the Voice of OC: Continue reading→

Council Members using FB to promote their loony $22M AV Ranch development plan

Posted on February 15, 2014 by Editor Posted in Aliso Viejo, Carmen Cave, Development, Orange County, Phil Tsunoda 5 Comments

Aliso Viejo Ranch

Operated by the City of Aliso Viejo, the Aliso Viejo Ranch is a rustic ranch situated on seven acres at 100 Park Ave. The ranch is a historocally significant site depicting dry farming and ranching in the community, according to the city’s website. It features a bunk house, barn and historic ranch equipment. While the ranch is not regularly open to the public, it does open for city-sponsored events.

But Aliso Viejo Council Members Phil Tsunoda and Carmen Cave can’t leave well enough alone. They want to spend over $19M to build a Community Building, Full Gymnasium and a Multipurpose room – and guess who is paying for all of this? That’s right – Aliso Viejo’s taxpayers, who have been screwed for years by Cave and company with one assessment after another. This continues even after previous community developments have repeatedly lost money and the city has had to spend thousands more to repair them.

Cave and company have even launched a Facebook page, called “Aliso Viejo Ranch Site” to spin their reasons why taxpayers should be on the hook for this latest pipe dream. And they have put their plans online too, but if you read them you will find this nugget, as to how they plan to pay for this development: Continue reading→

Tsunoda and Cave keep covering up their shenanigans in Aliso Viejo

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Editor Posted in Aliso Viejo, Carmen Cave, Development, Orange County, Phil Tsunoda 4 Comments

Phil Tsunoda and Carmen Cave

After repeatedly denying public records requests, the city of Aliso Viejo has agreed in late December to release portions of a study that officials say shows why an agreement with developer Shea Properties and Shea Homes Limited Partnership makes financial sense, according to the O.C. Register.

Cristina Talley, a lawyer working for Best, Best & Krieger, sent an email Dec. 26 notifying the Register’s attorney that the firm will “review … compile and redact” portions of the financial analysis. Talley said the records will be available Dec. 30.

In a letter sent to the Register on Dec. 11, City Attorney Scott Smith said the document wasn’t a public record because the city didn’t retain the financial consultant – the city’s lawyer did. Continue reading→

RSCCD Trustees vote to stop violating the Brown Act while negotiating a PLA

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Editor Posted in 2014 Elections, Democratic Party, Development, Jose Solorio, Labor, Santa Ana Leave a comment

The Rancho Santiago Community College District’s (RSCCD) Board of Trustees met tonight and the biggest issue on their plate was allegations that they have violated the Brown Act by negotiating PLA terms in closed session.

A PLA is a Project Labor Agreement. These agreements typically ban non-union contractors from bidding on public works – in this case we are talking about the $198M bond measure Q, that was passed last year to fund construction projects at Santa Ana College. (This after millions of our dollars were wasted on the previous RSCCD Measure E – when that money was mostly spent on the campus in the Orange Hills. A PLA delayed Measure E projects and drove them over-budget).

Trustee Phil Yarbrough, who is a Republican, accused the Democrat-dominated RSCCD Board of violating the Brown Act by negoiating PLAs in closed session. Continue reading→