City Council Preview - May 17

This week the City Council will consider a number of issues –

Portola Hills Affordable Senior Housing

This topic was covered previously. Click Here. Councilman Nick and I appealed the decision of the Planning Commission to approve the plans as is, and now the Council will consider them in a new hearing.

General Plan Update

The City’s general plan provides guidelines for how development should occur. The plan is more than 20 years old, but that hasn’t stopped the City from developing over the years.

Now the City Manager proposes to spend $1.5 million to update the plan. Mayor Hamilton and I are more inclined to limit the planning to specific areas that need oversight, rather than spending an enormous amount of money on a general plan when most of the City has already been built-out.

General Plans must address 7 areas -

• · Land use
• · Circulation
• · Housing
• · Conservation
• · Open Space
• · Noise
• · Safety

They may also address Air Quality, Community Design, Economic Development, Recreation, Public Facilities, and Healthy Communities.

State law requires the Housing element be updated at least every 8 years. Otherwise there are no requirements.

FWIW - other cities have conducted general plan updates at significantly lower costs than the City Manager proposes. Irvine, for example, will spend the same amount for a population that is 3 times larger and an area four times larger. Alhambra and Indo, with slightly more people, spent $700,000 each in 2014, which is less than half of what the City Manager proposes.

Portola Park

Following a series of workshops, we’re ready to do the final design on Portola Park. The City proposes to spend $233,855 on RJM Design Group. The plans are expected to be approved within 6 months and construction started in the summer of 2017. The total costs will be $2,631.573, all of which will come from the developer‘s fees.

Though RJM had the highest points in the City’s evaluation (526 vs 512), CWDG proposed to do the work for 10% less ($207,485 vs. $233.855).

Chamber of Commerce

The Lake Forest Chamber of Commerce is once more asking for $15,000 to co-sponsor various events including

• · Shop and Dine
• · New Business Reception
• · Meet the Mayor
• · Secrets and Strategies to Business Success
• · Lake Forest Job Fair
• · Social Media Seminar
• · Various ribbon cuttings

AgeWell Senior Services

AgeWell Senior Services provided transportation for seniors at a cost of $138,000 for 3 years, beginning in 2012, and now the City seeks to extend the term through June 2017 for $51,000 more. The City provides 20% of the funding and OCTA Senior Mobility Program provides the rest.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Jim Gardner is on the City Council for Lake Forest. 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. His comments are not meant to reflect official City Policy.

Dr. Gardner has office hours every Tuesday from 4 pm to 6 pm at the City Hall. In addition, he holds a Town Hall meeting every quarter. The next meeting will be on August 13 at 2 pm at the Foothill Ranch Public Library.

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