East Orange v Orange Park Acres v Villa Park v Anaheim Hills v Cowan Heights Crawford Canyon v Silverado/Modjeska Canyon Areas v North Tustin


A Monthly Community Newspaper Est. 1969 Building industry is


big "K" donor Campaign finance statements


submitted by the committee lead- ing the “Yes on K” charge reveal that contractors, consultants and architects are spending big bucks to get the measure passed. Community


Advancement


through Renovation for Educa- tion (CARE) reports that of the $112,000 raised to date, nearly $75,000 was donated by compa- nies who stand to gain financially if the school bond measure pass- es. If the measure is approved by 55 percent of the voters within the Orange Unified School District, property owners will be levied an additional tax ($39 per $100,000 of assessed value) to pay off a $296 million bond. The bond funds will be used to modernize OUSD’s four high schools. Three of the four architectural


firms hired to create master plans for the high schools are among the biggest donors to the “Yes on K” effort. LPAconceptualized a new Villa Park High School and then contributed $15,000 to CARE. The firm gkkworks envisioned a future for Canyon High and came up with $7,500 to help pass the measure. Lionakisdonated$5,350 after its plans for Orange High were introduced. Those archi- tectural firms, along with Harley Ellis Devereaux (El Mo), already received a share in $900,000 for their master plans and subsequent phase one projections. A bevy of construction compa-


nies, management firms and con- sultants delivered an additional $47,100 to support Measure K. Few, if any, have a stake in the fu- ture of OUSD schools, other than the promise of contracts.


NEWS INSIDE Shoot-out at


the “K” corral Supporters and opponents sound off to fulfill or kill the school bond. See Letters, pages 6, 7 and 17


Don’t fence me in


Photo by Tony Richards


Orange hopefuls (l. to r.) Ray Grangoff, Fred Whitaker, Kim Nichols, Jon Dumitru, Tita Smith and Eugene Fields prepare to face off at the Candidates Forum. See the video at foothillssentry.com.


Candid candidates discuss city issues at East Orange forum


By Tanner Woodward and Tina Richards


Candidates running for office


in Orange weighed in on topics ranging from property rights, par- tisan politics, and the strength of the general plan, at a forum held Oct. 1 at Salem Lutheran Church. The forum, sponsored by the


Foothills Sentry and Orange Park Association, focused on issues of specific interest to East Or- ange voters. Questions asked by Moderator Kim Haman, a Sentry staff writer, specifically targeted inappropriate development and the value of neighborhood input regarding city policy. Asked about the balance of homeowner rights vs. those of


developers, Kim Nichols noted that all property owners should be considerate of each other and the surrounding community. “I liken it to someone buying prop- erty next to you and building a Disneyland,” she explained. “No one would want that.


It’s irre-


sponsible. That’s why we have a general plan, it takes into account the concerns of all property own- ers.”


He can’t say “no” Ray Grangoff noted otherwise.


“I believe that when somebody who owns a piece of property has something they want to do with that property, the city has an ob- ligation to work with them. If we keep saying ‘no, no, no’ all the


time, then we are not going to get any interest in any part of our city for development.” Incumbent Fred Whitaker told


the audience that the Orange General Plan is a reliable guide- post, but is subject to amend- ments. “There are times when the General Plan does not fit the com- munity or what is going on with land uses. There are times when there are multiple land uses on one property. When that happens you will see amendments.” Mayor Tita Smith, running for


her second term, agreed that the plan was a living document and could be changed, but “not while


See "Candidates" continued on page 8


Villa Park council candidates face full house at forum It was SRO at the Villa Park


Candidates Forum, Oct. 1, as residents turned out to meet the six candidates vying for three city council seats. Joan Hake, from the League of Women Voters, Central Orange County Area, was the moderator. Candidates drew numbers for seating positions, and each was allowed an opening statement of three minutes and a closing statement of two minutes. In between, candidates fielded questions from the audience. The only glitch in the otherwise


smooth-running program was that one candidate violated the “rules” by putting out his materials and desserts at the entrance before the program; candidates had been asked to place campaign materi- als on tables outside the room af- terwards.


Burning questions The issues in “safe, quiet” Villa


Park are few: traffic and parking around the city’s four schools; Measure K; selling of safe and sane fireworks; CalPERS. Traffic flow and parking when


An out-of-character concrete wall is okayed by city, but is counter to code and local guidelines. See Block fences, page 9


Back to the drawing board


OUSD admits master plans cannot be built with Measure K funds, presents scaled-back versions. See High school, page 12


Poll positions pointed out


Candidates for TUSD and Serrano Water District introduce themselves to voters. See pages 11 and 14


Gathering of equals


Camaraderie is the catchall for fall festivities. See Foothills, page 20


Tuesday, October 14, 2014


school is in session, and on the weekends when sports teams use the Cerro Villa field have been an on-going issue for residents on Featherhill and Dodson. This is a major campaign issue for Bob Collacott, who noted that a senior on his street (Featherhill) could not get medical services to his home because of school traffic; he has initiated a neighborhood petition to ban parking. Bill Nel- son and Karl Kreutziger favored a “hard-line” approach withOUSD, with businessman Kreutziger planning to go “directly to the decision-maker.” Stephen Mill- er noted that schools, weekend sports and events are three dif- ferent issues, and may need to be


handled separately. Jay Khetani favored permit-parking. Diana Fascenelli recommended a more realistic approach: working with OUSD to alter school boundar- ies so that fewer students would travel into the city; and request- ing that OUSD restrict parents from parking and walking their students into class each day. (At the September city council meet- ing, the council voted for a 90- day trial of permit-only parking on Featherhill and Dodson.) Much to the disappointment


of Measure K supporters, five of the candidates voiced their lack of confidence in the fiscal man- agement of the OUSD board, and would not support the bond. Only


Khetani favored Measure K. Sparks don't fly The selling of safe and sane


fireworks, said Fascenelli, will be settled at the ballot box. Kreutz- iger suggested the compromise of a community fireworks display. Other candidates voiced a con- cern for fires, though no incidents were reported during the two years of sales. The current city council initi-


ated steps to terminate involve- ment with the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. When questioned, Miller said he


See "Villa Park" continued on page 4


INSIDE


Letters To The Editor Page 6,7,17 Canyon Beat


Guest Commentary Page 13 Prof. Directory Classifieds


Services Directory Page 18-19 Real Estate Obituaries Sports


Page 17 Page 21


Page 21 Page 22-23


Page 10 Page 17


Sentry has Moved The Foothills


The Sentry's new address is 2592 Santiago Blvd., Suite A, Orange 92867. Phone number and email addresses remain the same.


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