Calaycay Admonishes Resident for 'Third World Country' Comment During Wilderness Park Discussion

Striking a passionate tone, Claremont City Council Member Corey Calaycay spoke critically of a resident living near the Claremont Wilderness Park who had likened the large number of park-goers walking and driving down Mills Avenue to "looking like a Third World country."

According to the council member, who spoke during Tuesday's city council meeting, the resident's comment during a previous meeting had a negative impact on the city's negotiations with the Pomona Valley Protection Association, which owns the property adjacent to the park.

The city and the PVPA have been negotiating over a proposed pedestrian pathway that would lead through the Thompson Creek Spreading Grounds and which would alleviate the pressure on Mills Avenue from people using the street to get to the park.

Calaycay said members of the PVPA told him they heard about comment and did not appreciate it.

Calaycay said he realized the residents in the neighborhood nearest the park had reasons to be frustrated. He noted that in his own walks up Mills Avenue, he'd recently seen graffiti on a tree.

"There are problem people up there and there are reasons for the neighbors to be upset," Calaycay said. However, he said that "it's not constructive or helpful to [the neighborhood's] cause if you're making these harsh remarks."

The Claremont Wilderness Park has experienced a huge growth in the number of visitors, members of the council said.

Council Member Sam Pedroza said a survey of park rangers conducted by city staff found that about 300,000 people had visited the park in 2011. That's compared to the 30,000 who had visited the park just five years ago, according to a city spokesperson.

Residents of the neighborhood on Adirondack Lane, which backs up to the park, have felt the pressure of the increasing park attendance. Speaking at the meeting, several said they've grown frustrated with the city's failure to alleviate that pressure.

"Everyday we have a parade under our bedroom window, its a loud and noisy parade," resident Avi Hershokovitz said. "There's no place in Claremont that the residents were left to lose their quality of life so dramatically."

The council has planned to build a pedestrian pathway to the park that would start somewhere near the intersection of Mills Ave. and Mt. Baldy Road. The pathway would potentially take the people walking all the way up Mills and divert them away from the neighborhood.

The PVPA has already denied the path that would take pedestrians through the Thompson Creek property.

Several of the council members said this path would have been the most preferable, but would be impossible to build without the PVPA's support. 

Pedroza threw in a dig at the PVPA during the meeting after commenting on the association's liability concerns over pedestrians using the rocky road on their property: "Well thats Golden State [Water Company] for you. Oops, I mean PVPA."

The Golden State Water Company, a subsidiary of the American States Water Company, owns a share of the PVPA. Claremont has been in negotiations with the GSWC over acquiring the water system in the city.

Also in the works is a new parking lot closer to the entrance of the park. Bidding to build the lot started this week.

Correction, June 28, 10:13 a.m.: The article was corrected to say that the comment by the resident had been made in a City Council meeting, not in an email exchange with Council Member Calaycay.