OC Politics Blog | Category Archives: Development

Cave says she is not lying but isn’t that why Menifee fired her?

Posted on September 22, 2013 by Editor Posted in Aliso Viejo, Carmen Cave, Development, Orange County Leave a comment

Aliso Viejo Council Member Carmen Cave

Bryan Streelman, who has lived for a year at Vantis, a housing and commercial area near Aliso Viejo Parkway and Enterprise, told City Council members Wednesday night that he has tried repeatedly to contact the city about potential changes at Vantis but has gotten no response, according to the O.C. Register.

So how did Aliso Viejo Mayor Carmen Cave react? In typical fashion of course. “The city is not trying to pull the wool over any owner’s eyes, and we are following a legal process,” Cave said. “Please rest assured that the city of Aliso Viejo … is not intending to mislead or otherwise lie to the public.”

Really? Then why has this issue been a subject of closed-door talks since April involving the city’s Vantis and Other Housing Opportunities Ad Hoc Committee – with NO reports to the public and no public input? Continue reading→

Developer caught funding campaigns of three Cypress Council Members

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Editor Posted in Cypress, Development, Orange County 1 Comment

Cypress investigation

Campaign Cash Draws Scrutiny to Trucking Center Plan

By DAVID NAZAR of PBS SoCaL and NICK GERDA, Voice of OC

Los Alamitos officials and residents, along with Cypress activists, are taking aim at the Cypress City Council, arguing that a proposed truck terminal is leaving them with traffic and pollution impacts while Cypress reaps the tax revenues.

Because the truck terminal was pitched as senior housing during a successful ballot initiative in 2012, the project is also drawing accusations of bait-and-switch tactics used by Cypress leaders. There are also rising questions about the lack of disclosure of developer campaign contributions. Continue reading→

Petition seeks to Save Lake Forest by stopping an irresponsible development

Posted on September 5, 2013 by Editor Posted in Development, Lake Forest, Orange County Leave a comment

Mayor Pro Tem McCullough, Councilman Herzog, and Former Mayor Rudolph all sign the referendum to stop Brookfield

Two developers – Brookfield and Trumark – contributed nearly $100,000 to elect 3 of the current City Council members in Lake Forest. In turn, these 3 council members have voted extraordinary and unprecedented exemptions to these developers to re-zone a commercial area and put in 240+ new homes. The citizens of Lake Forest, the City staff, and the Planning Commission have all opposed this project, but the City Council nonetheless has ruthlessly rammed through the approvals.

Objections to these homes have included the use of tandem parking, the lack of amenities for children, the dangerous location with respect to traffic, as well as aesthetic aspects of the homes themselves. Continue reading→

Politicians bought and paid for by developers keep pushing for a 241 extension

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Editor Posted in Development, Mission Viejo, Orange County, Toll roads Leave a comment

OC Toll Roads

Directors of the 241 toll road Wednesday voted unanimously to appeal the latest setback to their controversial expansion plans, keeping open the option for a 5.5 mile push to extend the road toward San Juan Capistrano. “We are weighing all of our options,” Transportation Corridor Agencies spokeswoman Lisa Telles said, according to the O.C. Register.

In June, the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board denied the permit with board members saying the proposed extension was really a fraction of a larger effort to extend the road further into environmentally sensitive coastal habitat. Claiming they did not want to approve the project piecemeal, the board rejected the 5.5 mile Tesoro Extension toward San Juan Capistrano, according to the RSM Patch. Continue reading→

Would you pay $80 to listen to the CEO of the embattled OC Toll Roads?

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Editor Posted in Development, Orange County, Toll Lanes, Women 1 Comment

Well this is a bit awkward. It is going to cost you as much as $80 to attend the Advancing Women in Transportation, Orange County Chapter’s “Welcome Reception Honoring Neil Peterson, CEO of the O.C. Transportation Corridor Agencies,” which is set for Wednesday, July 24, 2013 from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm, at The Center Club, which is located at 650 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa.

What is awkward about that? Well according to Bloomberg, the O.C. Transportation Corridor Agencies may default on $2.4 billion of bonds unless a planned restructuring takes place, according to a report from state Treasurer Bill Lockyer. Whoops! Will anyone attending this reception dare ask Peterson about that? Continue reading→

Special interest fave Frank Ury to run for Pat Bates’ Supervisorial seat

Posted on July 13, 2013 by Editor Posted in 2014 Elections, Development, Diane Harkey, Frank Ury, Mission Viejo, OC Board of Supervisors, Orange County, Pat Bates 3 Comments

Frank Ury is pictured above, smirking on the left

They just can’t help themselves. Mission Viejo Councilman Frank Ury – a truly despicable and compromised development hack and favorite of the usual OC special interests, and Diane Harkey, whose husband Dan was ordered this week to pay $4.5 million to dozens of investors for breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract, are both showing an interest in running for the O.C. Supervisorial seat held by Pat Bates, who is termed out, according to the O.C. Register.

The Register just loves Ury. Apparently they appreciate his commitment to over-developing Mission Viejo. But do the residents of that city appreciate the horrible traffic that Ury’s developments have created? To back all this development when we have no extra water and an energy shortage is just plain irresponsible. Continue reading→