Planning Commission Preview - Sept 11

It’s really hard to believe that in the midst of one of the worst droughts in the history of California, and at a time when brown outs and “save energy” days are commonplace, the Lake Forest Planning Commission is having another one of their very brief meetings. The only item on their agenda is a “minor planned sign program”. You’d think our City was immune from the problem of providing basic utilities to our homes. And bear in mind, our City is about to increase the number of homes by an unprecedented 15%, meaning that whatever problems confront us today, we are headed for even more consumption. Even worse this 15% increase in population is going to happen within a very narrow grid, making the stresses even more pronounced.

Drinking water and having electricity are two very basic needs.

Put aside, for a moment, that the Planning Commission has given us one of the worst traffic problems in South Orange County and they continue to make a conscious decision to do nothing about studying this area, including establishing their own traffic advisory committee. But basic needs like water and electricity should give even these dim wits cause for concern.

Instead of going home early, the Planning Commission should be having discussions of the ways in which we can reduce the consumption of water and electricity. Here are a few questions they might want to consider –

• How can we hook up the Village Pond Park and Lake 1 and Lake 2 to reclaimed water systems so that we are not wasting our precious drinking water supplying these three iconic sites?
• How can we insure that the new home developments do not create lush grass turf areas that over-consume water?
• What incentives can we provide to insure that all new residential and commercial buildings are energy efficient?

Instead of tackling the big issues that confront us, the Planning Commission will meet, spend 5 minutes talking about a relatively minor issue, and then pack up and go home. Perhaps that’s the best for this group of people. If you’ve been to any of their meetings lately, or watched them over the internet (believe me, it’s not as funny as “Big Bang Theory” but it will give you some laughs), you’ll realized that this is the weakest Commission we’ve ever had and not only are they making poor decisions, their inability to effectively conduct a meeting is almost beyond belief. I say almost, because anyone who ever sat through a Council meeting when Scott Voigts was Mayor knows how bad a meeting can be, and while Andrew Hamilton, the current Chairperson, does a poor job, he is certainly superior to Voigts.

The problem we see reflected tonight is the problem of cronyism. There are dozens of people in Lake Forest who are well qualified for a position on the Planning Commission, but these people will not be selected because they are not friends with Voigts and Robinson, and they don’t contribute to their campaigns. Most of the members of the current Council are not interested in planning per se, and Hamilton and Fuentes are very specific about their reluctance to do anything unless specifically instructed to do so by their masters on the Council.

Thus, tonight the Planning Commission will spend 5 to 10 minutes discussing a minor issue, then go home and hope that drinking water flows from their tap and the lights will work. Have no fear, tonight they will work. But if things continue as they are going, and our City grows by 15%, how much time do we have left, and why aren‘t we trying to plan for that future?

^-