Town Hall Meeting #2

On Saturday (Feb 14) we had our 2nd town hall meeting and 9 people showed up at the Foothill Ranch Public Library to talk about ways to make our City a better place to live. It was truly a great exercise in democracy. Here are some of the issues raised –

AGENDA ISSUES

Looking at the upcoming Council meeting on Feb 17, here is the general consensus from the meeting –

· More Homes? There was considerable debate about adding more homes when we know that (a) water is scarce and likely to get scarcer, (b) we have problems with the ability of SCE to provide electricity to the existing population, and (c) the amount of commercial land is shrinking in Lake Forest while our revenues from sales taxes trail behind most of the cities in OC and our future growth is only half that for our neighbors. Bear in mind that sales tax revenue is one of the major sources of income for our City. Add to that (d) the existing traffic congestion problems and (e) the projected near doubling of the population in the area around 241. These factors made it hard to make a case for adding even more homes. Then consider that (f) the new homes proposed by Meritage will be in the area where SVUSD has refused to build any new schools, and the impact on the schools as well as the traffic associated with dropping off and picking up school children.

It was pointed out that to be successful a City needs a good balance of jobs and residents. Irvine has 1 job per person while Lake Forest has less than 1 per household. So before we convert commercial/industrial space into more homes, we need to consider where the City stands on jobs. In addition, one has to consider the impact of new homes on the market value of existing homes.

· More Alcohol? There was a feeling that Lake Forest can begin to get a reputation for being a sleezy place, with easy access to alcohol, massage parlors, off track betting, etc. Participants felt it makes no sense to add more stores selling alcohol in parts of the City where there are already ample numbers of outlets.

· True? North – Some people questioned the methodology used by the survey company (that does the bi-annual resident Survey) and the possible skewing of the results.

· Five-Year Plan. There was general consensus that the 5-year plan should reflect the global picture of where we want the City to be, and not be tied to previous plans set decades ago. There was particular concern about dealing with the traffic problem beyond what is already contemplated (see next item).

· Traffic Engineering Agreement - Everyone agreed that there needs to be a global traffic plan, not a piecemeal approach. Some participants were concerned with traffic accidents and wanted to know how intersections can be better arranged to decrease accidents. I will request an “intersection accident” report and share this so we can see what the data looks like. Others are worried about the increase in school traffic with the new homes. The idea of using Buses to transport kids from Baker Ranch and other areas was suggested.

NON-AGENDA ISSUES

· Classes for the disabled. One participant noted that the city’s recreation offerings seemed shallow with regard to special needs kids. I will inquire to see exactly what classes are being offered, and if there are not sufficient opportunities, I will ask the staff to see what additional classes can be developed.

· Dog parks. Some participants were interested in the progress on the dog parks. To date there is only the tiny Baffin Bay area set aside for a dog park. Other opportunities are being examined in other areas. Hopefully the 5-year plan will come up with some viable options.

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 2 pm to 5 pm at the City Hall. In addition, he holds a mini town meeting every moth. The next meeting will be March 14 from 2 to 4 pm at the Foothill Ranch Public Library.