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


Tuesday, November 3, 2015 Some


residents see red over VP greenbelt


By Andie King The unassuming and somewhat


boring swath of grass, aka the greenbelt that runs between Ka- tella and Collins, alongside Wan- da, caused uproar and contention at a community workshop, but the momentum sputtered out at the Villa Park City Council meeting. The City of Villa Park spends $27,000 annually to keep


the Photo by Tony Richards


Orange County Sheriffs K-9 Oscar rests amidst adoring fans after demonstrating his ability to sniff out whatever his handler asks him to find. The seven-year-old Belgian Malinois was a highlight at the annual FCA picnic, Oct. 11. Oscar is wearing a cast to protect a pulled muscle.


Petition certified: voters overrule By Tina Richards


Orange Unified constituents, unhappy with the board’s selec- tion of an interim trustee, gath- ered 3,670 signatures on a petition to force a special election; the OC Registrar of Voters certified, Oct. 27, that there were enough valid signatures to call the election. The petitions needed to be


signed by 1.5 percent (1,576) of registered voters within OUSD boundaries. With more than twice that number collected, the goal was well within reach. The Orange County Department of Education will now direct OUSD to hold and pay for a special elec- tion, allowing voters to fill a va- cant seat on the board of trustees.


unpopular OUSD appointment and present district employees, a college professor, a retired police captain and well-known district volunteer Andrea Yamasaki. Ya- masaki was the overwhelming choice of district constituents. Despite the public’s clear pref-


Interim Trustee Greg Salas will be told to step down. The demand for a special elec-


tion was driven by the OUSD board majority’s selection of Sa- las over a field of more qualified applicants seeking to fill the seat vacated by Diane Singer. Singer, representing Trustee Area 1, had to resign when she moved out of Anaheim Hills (Area 1) into Or- ange (Area 3).


Trustee not trusted The board opted to appoint an


interim trustee instead of holding an election because the ballot ex- ercise would cost the district just under $500 thousand. Nine Area 1 residents submitted applications for the position; among them, past


erence for Yamasaki, the board majority – Tim Surridge, Rick Ledesma, Mark Wyland, John Ortega -- voted for Greg Salas. Salas has lived in Anaheim Hills for just two years, has no children in OUSD schools, and admits having little knowledge of district issues. People familiar with the board’s dynamics believed Salas was chosen because he would


See "Petition" continued on page 6


grass on the two-plus-acre parcel green, and city workers manually turn on the sprinkler valves. To save water in the drought-ravaged state and update the landscaping to make the area more inviting, the Community Development Committee, headed by Council- men Bill Nelson and Bob Col- lacott, proposed and hired, with council approval,


landscape


design firm Asakura Robinson Company to revamp the area. The word “inviting” seemed to


set off ire. Homeowners, repre- senting approximately 15-20 out of the 2,000 residences in Villa Park, showed up at a community meeting, Oct. 14, to protest the proposed design. They did not want to make the area attractive to “undesirables,” gangs, and the homeless, and have trash, night- time music and parking there. The landscape designer was not allowed to discuss the design ren- derings that included shade trees, separate bike and walking paths, hedges to cover mis-matched fencing, and drought-tolerant plantings. Opponents vehemently protested flush toilets, tearing down and rebuilding homeowner fences, and using matching grants – none of which had been pro- posed or even considered.


Below the belt When a resident claimed the


Volunt lunteers gathe gathered 3,670 signat signatures on a petition demanding a special election to seat titio de ndi ecial electio at a suitable itabl Area 1


trustee on the Orange Unified School District Board. OUSD parents and students delivered the petitions to the OC Department of Education, Oct. 19. Seen here: Eileen Hartfelder, Lee Lombardo, Carole Miller, Andrea Yamasaki, Diane Singer, Farah Javadi, and (in front) Blake and Garrett Hartfelder.


city council had lied about in- stalling a “meandering” sidewalk on the greenbelt – 31 years ago – Wayne Silzel, a former city coun- cilman, spoke to the history of the greenbelt. It had been an eyesore, with gravel, poles, and boron in the soil after the railroad tracks were removed.Aresident planted trees that, surprisingly, grew in the tainted soil. The city was en- couraged to rake the gravel, add topsoil and plant grass. In 1984, the city installed a sidewalk for children walking to school, plac- ing it closer to the fence line, and farther from the street. Work- ing around the existing trees, the sidewalk did not “meander.” Only a few in the audience indicated they walked along the greenbelt, which connects to the Santiago Creek Trail, and is con- tinuously in use by walkers, jog-


See "VP greenbelt" continued on page 9


NEWS INSIDE


The party’s over


Well, not yet. But Or- ange wants to crack down on unruly Chap- man students who carouse in the streets. See Orange ready, page 2


A closed call


Orange City Council approves gated Mary- wood development, leaving many neigh- bors wishing that Mary wouldn’t. See Hilltop, page 4


The road not taken


A bikeway route that avoids Peters Park wins public acclaim, but county officials won’t endorse it. See Jamboree, page 5


The pipes are calling


North Tustin neigh- bors weigh in on pros/ cons of agencies vying for Area 7 sewer sys- tem. See Guest com- mentary, page 8


Queens for a day


Homecoming courts dress up the fields at area high schools. See Community Sports, page 19


INSIDE


Letters To The Editor Canyon Beat


Services Directory Prof. Directory Classifieds Soups On Real Estate Obituaries Sports


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