Candidates Talk Affordable Housing: Mission Viejo City Council Survey

MISSION VIEJO, CA — This election season, Mission Viejo residents in all five city districts will have the chance to vote on who they want to represent them on the Mission Viejo City Council.

In a questionnaire released by community organization Stop The Monster, all 12 candidates responded to a series of questions regarding local issues surrounding Mission Viejo.

In anticipation of the November election, Patch will be posting the candidate responses to Stop The Monster's questionnaire throughout the rest of October.

To view the current list of Candidate Questionnaire articles published by Patch, scroll down to the bottom of the story.

The fourth question on the questionnaire addresses affordable housing in the community.

Assembly Bill 2011, referred to as AB 2011, makes affordable housing by-right in areas currently zoned for office, retail or parking. While there is a need for affordable housing, developers unchecked can build up against neighborhoods without any local City Council control.

If elected, what is your vision and commitment to assure affordable housing works while protecting Mission Viejo Citizens from developers who want put up monster buildings against residential neighborhoods without regard to traffic, and the environmental impact.

District 1

Deborah Cunningham-Skurnik, District 1 Candidate: No response.

Linda Shepard, District 1 Candidate: AB 2011 usurps local control. Housing is expensive because demand exceeds supply. Supply is restricted because of water access. Water from desalination plants would allow for new cities and towns, lowering land costs. Fees associated with a new single-family home can be $200,000, before placing a slab and buying sticks and bricks.

Meanwhile, “affordable housing,” according to the government, has nothing to do with the price of the home, but with the income levels of the potential homeowners. If the new homeowners cannot afford all the costs of the “affordable home,” the taxpayers of that city are required by Sacramento to transfer wealth to pay the difference.

Recent census data could be used to assess the true income categories of Mission Viejo residents. I venture to guess that many people here are house “rich” but have modest incomes, possibly already fitting Sacramento’s income levels for “affordable housing."

This data is needed to educate city and county leaders so we can, together, push back Sacramento and their social engineering.

Robert "Bob "Ruesch, District 1 Candidate: Affordable housing can only work if done in small developments strategically placed throughout the city so that they blend into the neighborhood and assimilate. The only large-scale project with possibilities would be the proposed redevelopment on the north side Macy’s building in the Shops.

District 2

Brian Goodell (incumbent), District 2 Candidate: The current Council has re-zoned/up-zoned twelve or more properties to satisfy the demands for affordable housing on existing commercial sites Per the Revised Housing Element in the General Plan to meet our City’s RHNA allocation of 2,217 units.

The Legislature has made it possible for new housing projects that meet certain affordability and union goals to bypass the City’s oversight and control by passing new legislation, including SB 2011. The point of that legislation was to take away Local Control of the process to expedite affordable housing development.

If a project meets the specific criteria detailed in the bill, there is nothing we can do to stop it, no matter which neighborhood it is next to or the traffic impacts. The only option would be to file a lawsuit which has no chance of winning due to the new State laws. My commitment is to uphold my oath to rigorously follow the law, defend the City’s rights, and respect property owners’ rights.

I will also continue to serve as an incumbent on the Orange County Council of Governments (OCCOG), the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), and the Orange County Transportation Commission (OCTA) to find workable regional solutions.

Stacy Holmes, District 2 Candidate: The median price of a single-family home in California is $800,000. The 2022 statewide housing plan reveals the need for 80,000 new units of affordable housing per year; statewide there have never been more than 20,000 new units of affordable housing per year. Leaving the issue of affordable housing to local control has failed.

If cities like Mission Viejo fret over state level intrusion into their management of affordable housing, they have only themselves to blame. The current Mission Viejo City Council has known, or should have known, the facts quoted above. Yet they have resisted doing anything about it for years. If a city fails to address a major issue like affordable housing, no one should be surprised to see state intervention.

If the city wants to have its affordable housing located in appropriate areas, then a new Mission Viejo City Council must actively designate those sites and make the affordable housing happen with aggressive city-led initiative.

There are developers who have successful track records constructing affordable housing and staying with their projects after construction to make sure the housing operates to the satisfaction of its residents and the city at large.

District 3

Ed Sachs (incumbent), District 3 Candidate: Your explanation of AB-2011 is incorrect as signed by the Governor and was amended since first written, including the removing local control. Now the bill specifies that cities may identify areas of protection, if you will, from “by-right” pursuit of developers.

It also now includes provisions that prevailing wage must be paid which was not in the original bill. This raises the cost of development considerably. The big deal for developers is the elimination of CEQA requirements provided by AB-2011.

In my opinion, this is a very different bill than originally presented, and one that likely will raise questions to developers wishing to build housing that would be unprofitable to build. The second part of your question depends upon an area being protected by the city or not. Any protected area that the city would then entertain development, would require all CEQA measures which includes traffic and environmental impact study requirements.

As I understand. I mentioned during a council meeting, that this council has been forward thinking of aggressive Sacramento legislation as regards housing. Recent property purchases in the city for park and recreational usage shows limited private property in the city that would be of interest to an AB-2011 developer.

Greg Raths (incumbent), District 3 Candidate: Working with a developer to get some affordable housing near home depot.

Cynthia Vasquez, District 3 Candidate: No response.

District 4

Ken Golemo, District 4 Write-In Candidate: I find it ironic every time I hear the term "Affordable Housing." What does that really mean? Let's compare a modest four bed two bath home in California at $800,000 to the same style Home in Texas at $400,000. A simple explanation, the $800,000 home is in "Southern California.” The same State which boasts some of the highest taxes and cost of living in the Country. I have a Ministry which helps homeless [people]. I also know first hand that a majority of the problems facing the homeless goes deeper than just affordable housing.

AB2011 is another attempt by Sacramento to deflect our State's core problems and force the burden on Cities and the taxpayers. AB2011 in itself wastes money through redundancies and paying inflated wages so that it already makes these projects "more expensive."

If elected, I will fight every attempt by Sacramento to force a process by which developers build monstrosities for profit and leave us with more street congestion and diminished air quality. I believe affordable housing is attainable in Mission Viejo as long as Sacramento allows Cities like ours to formulate our own plans for the City "we know best."

Terri Aprati, District 4 Candidate: No response.

Patricia "Trish" Kelley (incumbent), District 4 Candidate: I am very disappointed and concerned about the passage of AB2011. This bill takes control away from the City, which is the entity that is most aware of the local need, traffic impacts, environmental considerations, and neighborhood concerns.

I voted to deny the zone change in order to “Stop the Monster,” because I knew that project was wrong for that location! Now a developer can come in and build housing on a parcel without any City permission or oversight. The City strongly objected to AB2011 before it was passed. I will continue to advocate for changes or overturning the bill.

I will encourage developers to honor the plans the City has made in identifying 12 sites to accommodate the housing mandate given to us by the State for 2217 new units, 49% of which the State requires to be affordable. None of the 12 sites identified by the City are on the corners of Marguerite and La Paz. Citizen groups have organized to overturn this bill, and I will continue to advocate for City control over housing matters.

I am committed to provide affordable housing, but within the careful planning parameters and locations provided by the City.

District 5

Jon Miller, District 5 Candidate: I believe my approach maintains our cherished quality of life while sharing it with those fortunate to qualify for Mission Viejo affordable housing. We must take an appropriate approach that is sensitive to, and consistent with, the surrounding community.

For example, the affordable housing plan being considered to replace the Macy’s at the Shops at Mission Viejo should be very different from affordable housing that might be considered for a small strip mall in my district. I’m convinced that if we look at several smaller and more discrete mixed-use projects, we will meet our goals without significantly impacting our neighborhoods, their infrastructure, and the environment.

There are reasons why I think bringing well-thought-out affordable housing to Mission Viejo is important.

First, lack of affordable housing is one of the main reasons our young leave California. Many of our long-term residents moved to Mission Viejo because it was affordable, I want my grandson’s generation to have similar opportunities here.

Second, many of our first responders commute to Mission Viejo, in a natural disaster they couldn’t get here to help. If they were able to live here as part of our community then they’d be able to support us. I know teachers who can not stay after school to help students because they face daunting commutes, affordable housing could make a real difference for our kids.

Finally, I believe in the “can do” spirit of the Navy’s Seabees, I know we can do this if we work together as one community.

Wendy Bucknum (incumbent), District 5 Candidate:

• I have a proven track record of approving common sense solutions for Mission Viejo on housing as demonstrated by the following:
• Mission Foothills Development (near Los Aliso and the 241) build by Shea Homes, which repurposed a portion of vacant retail center and adjacent open land.
• The Trumark Homes site currently being built near the Saddleback Church office site.
• We have workforce housing available in both communities as well varying levels of affordable housing, that buyers must qualify for at the Mission Foothills development
• I will continue to use my position as Chair of the Orange County Council of Governments and my service on the Southern California Association of Governments to speak up for Mission Viejo with the collaboration from other cities to push back on Sacramento’s mandates and seek to reform and reverse recent changes in law to bring back LOCAL CONTROL.
• I will work with our development community to ensure high rise and high-density housing is not approved while finding common sense solutions that give our adult children a way to call Mission Viejo home.

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