Here’s what happened Tuesday night. For more info, read the Preview (Click Here).
HOUSING FOR THE HOMELESS
The City Manager updated us on the latest developments. Click Here for some background. Right now the Canyon site was rejected by the County Supervisors and we are waiting to hear from the Judge. Meanwhile the City of Santa Ana threatened to sue our City and bring us into their lawsuit.
CDBG GRANTS
Approved as submitted.
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TEMPORARY SIGNAGE FOR AUTO DEALERS
Approved as submitted
TRAFFIC AND PARKING COMMISSION
Approved as submitted
Find out what's happening in Lake Forestfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
DISTRICTS
Due to legal challenges, the option of having a city-wide Mayor was rejected. This left us with the choice of whether or not to have 5 or 7 districts, and the Council believes that 5 is sufficient. However, we asked that the November ballot contain a non-binding vote on whether or not people want districts or want us to return to the old way. If people vote against districts, and IF there is a legal challenge to the prevailing doctrine, the Council will have the ability to move back to the old way. Bear in mind that every legal challenge to districts has failed, for one reason or another.
STREET SWEEPING
We set up an ad hoc committee with Mayor Pro Tem Basile and Councilman Robinson. Their mission is to review everything involved in street sweeping and report back to us with a comprehensive policy. Some of the issues they will address –
· Signage – how can we be effective without blanketing the city with signs?
· Enforcement – how strict do we want to be and how can we control the costs of enforcement?
· Frequency – how often is often enough. Right now we sweep streets weekly. Most cities sweep twice a month. The difference is hundreds of thousands of dollars.
· Collaboration – can we partner with neighboring cities for even lower costs?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Jim Gardner is on the City Council for Lake Forest where he serves as Mayor. 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 Twitter handle is @DrJimGardner. 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 May 17 at 7 pm at the Lake 1 Clubhouse (Ridge Route).
