City Cancels Commission Meeting

The City cancelled this week’s Traffic and Parking Commission (TPC) meeting. It’s the second cancelled meeting in the past four months, which is most curious considering the fact that traffic and parking are among the most worrisome issues facing the city. In the 2018 “satisfaction” survey, the #1 problem for residents and businesses alike was “reducing traffic congestion” (See Figures 33 and 34).

DO NOTHING

Cancelling the Traffic and Parking Commission (TPC) makes sense if you put aside the fact that it’s the major problem identified by residents and businesses alike.

After 4 months this council has not introduced a single new project or idea and on nearly two dozen projects that were unfinished in November, only 2 have come to fruition, and one of them was late. The absentee rate on this Council exceeds that of any other Council in our history.

ISSUES NOT BEING DISCUSSED

There are many significant issues that need to be addressed.

• Revisions to permit parking
• Review of Traffic Signal Master Plan
• Evacuation plans
• Review of CIP (Capital Improvement Program)
• Traffic signal operations
• Traffic implications of I-5 Interchange modifications
• Inadequacies in proposed General Plan

With so much to do, how is it possible that City staff cancelled this month’s meeting?

ABOUT THE BROWN ACT

The purpose of the Brown Act that governs how Cities perform was to increase the ability of people to participate in their government. Though there is no prohibition against cancelling meetings, it’s obvious that cancelling meetings could be considered way of circumventing the Brown Act’s intention of keeping the people informed.

In November 2018, 3 residents spoke during the Public Comment section of the meeting and during the rest of the meeting there were 6 more comments. In October, 3 more residents spoke out during public comments and 2 more spoke during the rest of the meeting. In August, 3 people spoke during public comments. So it’s obvious that residents have something to say. Cancelling meetings puts a muzzle on the people.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Jim Gardner was on the Lake Forest City Council from 2014 to 2018 and Mayor in 2018. Under his leadership the City became the first debt free city in the U.S. with a population over 25,000 people and the first city to live broadcast City Council meetings that allowed residents to participate online (Click Here). Dr. Gardner is one of the organizing members of Lake Forest Community Action Network. You can check him out on LinkedIn and/or Facebook and you can share your thoughts about the City at Lake Forest Town Square on Facebook