Saddleback Ranch Rd - "The Hills Are Alive..."

The “HILLS ARE ALIVE” but it’s not with the sound of music. Instead it is the sound of angry homeowners who are fed up with a City Council that has ignored them for years, and now is perceived to be doing actual harm. The current situation focuses on the changes being made to Saddleback Ranch Road (Click Here for the City page describing the project), but this is only the latest in the many issues that have annoyed and upset the residents of Portola Hills and Foothill Ranch.

PAST EFFORTS

Only a few months ago Foothill Ranch residents organized a petition to request that the City re-do a park sign which had been damaged and then the original Foothill Ranch configuration was replaced with a “Lake Forest” river rock look.

Not so long ago, more than 2,000 residents of Portola Hills and Foothill Ranch joined with other people in the City launching a petition drive that collected more than 4,000 signatures demanding that the 250 homes being built in the Auto Center be put on hold. That signature drive failed by only a few hundred signatures to make it on the ballot.

LATEST PETITION

Now an online petition has been initiated by a Portola Hills resident and in less than a week more than 600 people signed. (Click Here) With no publicity and only word of mouth, 600+ people are demanding that the City Council agendize a discussion of the problems being created on Saddleback Ranch Road.

THE ISSUES

The issues in question have been discussed previously (Click Here). Basically they boil down to

· Fears that the “obstacle course” designed to “calm” traffic will make it difficult for residents to evacuate the area in case of an emergency.

· Worries that the “one lane serves all” reconstruction means bicycles sharing lanes with cars, making it dangerous for bicycles and creating traffic congestion

· Fear that in some places it is now dangerous for pedestrians to walk.

Though some aspects of the project have been praised, many people believe these three critical elements need to be modified.

THE REQUEST

More than 40 people showed up at a Traffic Advisory Group meeting two weeks ago to voice their concerns and ask for action. A week later, nearly 100 showed up at a City Council meeting asking for immediate action. In the interim, the Lake Forest Town Square and other social media forums have been alight with comments, and e-mails have come into the City – all expressing their worries about safety and traffic congestion.

THE RESPONSE

You need to view the last City Council meeting to really appreciate what happened (Click Here to visit City website and Click Here to visit previous article about the meeting). More than a dozen people commented about the issue. Mayor Voigts cut them short as soon as the red light went on, even though it was obvious that the City’s timing system wasn’t working and people were getting less than their full 3 minutes. He and Mayor Pro Tem Hamilton complained that so many people were saying the same thing, taking up Council time.

After the first speaker, I interjected to say that at the end of the meeting, during Council Comments, I would introduce a motion to deal with the issue and agendize it for the next Council meeting. My comment was met with spontaneous applause, followed by the Mayor telling people not to applaud. He continued to chastise people for expressing their opinions throughout the night, as if the City Hall was not the place for people to come and express themselves.

Councilman Robinson accused me of “pandering” to the audience, as if listening to the people and wanting to discuss their concerns was a bad thing. Bear in mind Councilman Robinson is known for his loose lips. Not so long ago he publically called me a “moron” and an “imbecile”, so perhaps if I have now become a panderer I have moved up in his estimation. In any event, isn’t it the job of the City Council to listen to the residents and take their concerns seriously?

Robinson also took the time to make yet another false statement when he accused me of voting for the SRR plan. I joined the Council in December 2014. The plan was approved at various times by Robinson and his peers on August 6, 2013 and April 15, 2014. The plans for SRR never crossed my desk, neither as a Council member nor as a citizen who attended the workshops in 2012.

When the agenda came to the Council Comment section, I did what I said I would do, and met with objections from City staff and from Council members Voigts and Hamilton. Councilman Adam Nick enthusiastically supported my motion, but he was the only one.

BOTTOM LINE

The changes to Saddleback Ranch Road are proceeding. The Council refused to call a halt, call a special meeting to review, or even to agendize a discussion at the next meeting, October 20th. Because the issue is not on the agenda for the next meeting, it means that any action that the Council wants to take will not be possible until it gets agendized, which is only at the earliest at the meeting after next. Hence we are now into November before anything could be done, and by this time City staff projects that he project will be essentially done.

City staff recommends that we finish the project and see what happens. If there are problems (e.g., death, injury, traffic jams) then we can adjust accordingly. Hundreds of people believe that the structural changes are extremely likely to cause harm and want us to act before the fact, rather than waiting.

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 Dec 12 at 2 pm at the Foothill Ranch Public Library.