Planning Commission Preview: Dogs and Kids

By Jim Gardner

The Planning Commission meets this week and there is only one item on their agenda.

DOGS AND KIDS

The one item is a use permit to build a two-story 20,000 sf Montessori Preschool and Doggie Day and Night care facility on 1.25 acres at 20602 Prism Place (right across the street from the City’s Nature Park on Dimension).

The kids will get more space than the dogs – 15,000 vs. 5,000. The Montessori school will serve up to 160 children from 6 months through 6 years and employ up to 21 people. Drop off is between 7 and 9 am and pick up is between 3 and 6 pm. In addition to the classrooms there will be a 7,200 sf outdoor play area. Adjacent to the kids’ outdoor play area will be a 2,000 sf outdoor play area for the dogs.

This looks like a great project and should be approved.

WHERE IS THE PLANNING?

Thursday night’s meeting should be a short one. So why hasn’t the Planning Commission set aside some time to do some “planning?” After all, it is a “Planning” Commission! And despite the false claims of Andrew Hamilton and Jolene Fuentes that the “Planning” Commission can only do what is put in front of them, there is ample legislative support for the “Planning” Commission to do some actual planning.

What might they consider?

Let’s consider some of the major problems facing the City – water and electricity. Of course these issues are not only a problem for Lake Forest, they are regional problems. The drought and the failure of San Onofre have brought the issues to the forefront, but what are we as a City doing to help?

One thing we’re doing is approving 5,000 new homes which are only going to be a big draw on the already stressed water and electricity systems.

The “Planning” Commission should be considering ways in which the City can “plan” to reduce our overall consumption of water and electricity. How could they do this? Consider the current project – the Montessori school. They are going to use a large amount of water in this project, especially in the outdoor activities. Have we hooked them up to recycled water instead of potable water? How about electricity? Have we asked them to adopt solar electricity for their electricity needs?

SOLAR POWER

About a year ago I converted to solar electricity. It cost me $0 to install and $0 to maintain. I’m saving more than 10% on my electricity bills, and as SCE raises our rates in the near future, my savings will be even higher. More importantly, I’m using less electricity from the grid, so there is more electricity for everyone else to use. Why don’t we plan to ask all new buildings in Lake Forest to incorporate solar electricity in their design? Wouldn’t that be a worthwhile issue for the “Planning” Commission to consider, instead of going home early?

RECYCLED WATER

The City Council recently discussed the Village Pond Park, and not a word was said about recycled water. Why are we using potable water in the Pond? In fact, why are we using potable water in the City landscaping projects throughout the “old” parts of the City? Could the “Planning Commission” not spend a little time considering how to reduce the water use for the City? And while they’re at it, perhaps they could consider partnering with Lake 1 and Lake 2 and use recycled water in those lakes which are a prime feature of the City we call “Lake” Forest.

LET’S HAVE PLANNERS WHO PLAN

If Commissioners Hamilton and Fuentes are uncomfortable with the idea of using the “Planning” Commission to actually do some planning, perhaps they should resign and let some more proactive people join. When we replaced the last 3 PC members there were more than a dozen residents from Lake Forest who applied for a position on the Commission, and these people had excellent qualifications to lead a city that wanted to plan for its future.