STOP SAN MARCOS, CA CORRUPTION NOW!!

El Dorado Park Residents BE AWARE!! Folks these are not scare tactics, just simply the truth!!

nospam@example.com (Captain Honest) — 2010-08-27T20:49:01Z

Notice of Possible Zone Changes

San Marcos is now formulating their new General Plan for guiding the redevelopment of various areas of the City.

Several areas are of particular concern with major shifts in the zoning and alteration from their present composition. El Dorado Mobile Home Park is in one of these Study Areas.

According to the General Planning Commission workbook, “These Study Areas were chosen after extensive public involvement and represent areas that offer the best potential for redevelopment, change in land use, and/or change in activity intensification.” There are three alternatives being considered for your Park.

Alternative #1: Mobile Home Park can be phased out and converted to low density residential.

Alternative #2, Mobile Home Park can be phased out and converted to light industrial

Alternative #3, Mobile Home Park can be phased out and converted to business park

For a link to the full General Plan Workbook with color maps, complete zoning descriptions, and comprehensive restructuring information, go to changes. Conversions are easier when they are compliant with General Plan zonings. Existing uses are “grandfathered.”

The proposed General Plan changes will be determined by the City Planning Department. They will gather inputs from its staff and the General Plan Advisory Board and conclude with what they believe to be the consensus.

Public comments:

www.ci.san-marcos.ca.us. And click on the “More Events” button

at the bottom of the page.

www.hunsakerinnovations.com. Conversions are NOT automatic even with the plan

Oldie but Goodie! / Slow-growth showdown looms in San Marcos

nospam@example.com (Captain Honest) — 2010-08-27T20:44:59Z

August 26th 2008 Posted in In the News, Projects

By Pat Sherman

When John Stanley surveys the five acres he owns off Bent Avenue, his mind wanders to the wild geese taking flight from the dew-speckled grass.

It’s a pleasant, albeit brief, vision that is quickly replaced by memories of his more than three-decade battle with city officials over the property.

When he and his wife, Janis, bought the land in 1976, they envisioned building a commercial complex, similar to existing ones along Bent Avenue between San Marcos Boulevard and Discovery Street, which could be rented out to small industrial businesses.

Though the Stanleys were told the property was zoned for commercial manufacturing uses, they received a letter from the city shortly after the sale went through, notifying them that flood control issues prevented development of their property.

The Stanleys said they have fought the city over the land ever since, and they have stacks of letters to prove it. Most recently, the city threatened to take their land via the powers of eminent domain should the Stanleys decline its purchase offer.

The city wants to build levees and make other flood control improvements on the Stanley’s property as part of its proposed $1 billion San Marcos Creek development, which would be located directly across Bent Avenue.

“Thirty years ago, I started to cry,” Janis Stanley said. “Ten years later, I started to cry again. Now, I just don’t give a damn. … We’ll end up going to court.”

The Stanleys are among those favoring a slow-growth measure headed for the Nov. 4 ballot. Dubbed the San Marcos Growth Management and Neighborhood Protection Act 2007, the measure would require all amendments to the city’s general plan that require a change in land use designation to be approved by a majority of the voters.

If approved, the measure would be retroactive, requiring a vote on all projects approved after July 23, 2007, including the adjacent creek development, which would include a mix of residential, retail and office space along San Marcos Creek.

John Stanley said he believes the city cannot sustain the traffic that would be generated by the creek project. It is expected to add an estimated 120,000 cars per day to San Marcos roadways.

“If they fill all those condos they’re talking about building, every one will have two or three cars,” John Stanley said.

What John considered to be a reasonable offer on his property — $3.5 million from Kaufman & Broad — evaporated after the city told the company the Stanleys property was in a flood plain and could not be developed.

“The city says you can’t do anything with it,” said John Stanley, 78. “Basically they condemned it.”

A grass roots coalition of slow-growth proponents plans to hand out fliers and walk door-to-door educating San Marcos voters on the initiative in the coming months. San Marcos environmentalist and former mayoral and council hopeful Lita Bowles is among them.

In 1992, Bowles led a group that successfully fought the city’s plans to turn a portion of San Marcos Creek into a concrete channel. Today, that portion lies along a bike and pedestrian path behind Twin Oaks Valley Mobile Home Park, where Bowles and her daughter own homes.

“Isn’t that gorgeous?” Bowles said Friday morning, gazing down at the creek from a bridge. “I just get such a thrill out of the creek. You can see the natural vegetation … and the flow of the creek is beautiful.”

Bowles said she fears that the San Marcos Creek project will destroy wetlands.

“From what I’ve read, 90 percent of the wetlands in San Diego County have been destroyed,” Bowles said.

She said she is not opposed to growth, but mixed-use projects have had problems. Projects along Rancho Santa Fe Road and Mission Avenue similar to what the city is proposing on San Marcos Creek have vacancies, she said.

“Nobody’s renting them, and they just sit there vacant year after year,” Bowles said.

Bowles and other slow-growth proponents face an uphill battle. A political action committee (PAC) that formed last month, has already spent $35,000 to defeat the measure.

The PAC, known as the San Marcos Association of Residents and Taxpayers, was formed in part by Steve Kildoo, chairman of the city’s planning commission.

According to financial disclosure statements filed with the city clerk’s office, $10,000 of the PAC’s funds are from Urban Village San Marcos, part of a company seeking to develop a blend of commercial, residential and retail near Cal State San Marcos to be known as “Heart of the City.”

Cynthia Skovgard, who helped circulate petitions to get the slow-growth measure on the ballot, called the PAC a “typical alliance of backslapping good-old boys in action.”

“They’ve networked out to the ones that they have deals with — you support me, I’ll support you,” Skovgard said.

At least 40 California cities have slow-growth measures, including Solana Beach, Del Mar, Poway and Escondido.

San Marcos Mayor Jim Desmond and all four city council members oppose San Marcos’ initiative, saying it would create extra hoops for developers to jump through, causing them to take their business elsewhere.

“I think you’ve seen economic development in Escondido stall, and that’s what we don’t want to see,” city spokeswoman Jenny Peterson said Friday.

Pressed for specifics, Peterson declined to elaborate, though she cautioned against engaging in an apples-and-oranges comparison.

“When you look at some of those communities, like a Del Mar or a Solana Beach, those are communities that are built out, so it has a very different impact on them than a community like San Marcos, where we are still growing,” Peterson said.

“Some of the development that is set to take place over the next two years will be the keystone development to our build out.”

A $30,000 report commissioned by the city of San Marcos to gauge the effect of the measure states that putting general plan amendments to a vote could delay the development process by 24 to 30 months.

“It has to go to election, the election results have to be verified, there’s a whole litany of reasons why,” Peterson said.

“Generally speaking, the report found that the new process could result in roughly $2 million per general plan amendment … made up through legal costs, election costs and staff costs.

“Those funds would … take money away from services like public safety, fire protection and parks.”

Despite passage of Escondido’s slow-growth initiative, Prop. S, Skovgard said that city has the second highest sales tax revenue in the county, in part because of Escondido’s auto dealerships.

Skovgard noted that San Marcos Planning Director Jerry Backoff, who opposes the measure, resides in Poway, which has a slow-growth ordinance.

“Why would he choose to live in a city that is so damaged by a similar proposition?” Skovgard said. “Because it’s not true. It’s just a bunch of hyperbole.”

Backoff deferred to city spokeswoman Peterson to respond.

“He is not familiar enough with that plan to speak on it,” Peterson wrote in e-mail. “He wasn’t sure if Poway’s initiative was/is the same as what’s being proposed in San Marcos.”

Skovgard and other slow-growth proponents would like to see San Marcos’ general plan updated with input from residents.

“It’s not like we want to vote on all these projects,” Skovgard said. “We want them to follow the general plan … but they like spot-zoning. They like to do whatever they want, in spite of what the citizens want.”

Today’s Local News: http://www.todayslocalnews.com

Shades of Bell, CA!!

nospam@example.com (Captain Honest) — 2010-08-17T17:12:25Z

Well our group is working on a plethora of stories regarding the concerning things occurring within City Hall. We are doing a ton of research right now and as the information becomes available we will release the news. Our team is getting larger with every day and we thank everyone for their support and contributions.

One thing is for sure folks, we need a change. The City Clerk’s office all the way to the top needs to be cleaned out. Here is an interesting tidbit; some time ago the leaders of San Marcos wrote into the city’s charter that basically city employees cannot be fired. Since 2009 out of approximately 300 city employees there was one end of employment. Anyone can understand that if you have a situation like these negative things will result. No wonder these people feel like they can do whatever they want. Well those days are over too. We are looking into further details on this and we’ll keep you informed.

So many San Marcos residents and business owners have been violated by individuals within city hall. We are organized and the corruption is going to come to an end!

During last night’s City Council meeting Councilman Mike Preston brought up the City Manager’s, Paul Malone, salary. BTW; the City Council meeting lasted under 1/2 hour. First of all what they posted on City Hall’s website and released to the North County Times was wrong. Paul Malone makes approximately $300,000.00 a year minus benefits and perks. Are you kidding me!! No civil servant should make that kind of money especially in a town the size of San Marcos. On a side note, we are also looking into his past/present relationship with Lusardi Construction. Ever noticed how on all the major construction sites in San Marcos Lusardi seem to have the job contract? We’ll keep you informed. The Huntington Beach City Manager makes $180,000.00 minus benefits and perks. The population of san Marcos is approximatly 84,000.00 The popuIation of Huntington Beach is approximatly 200,000.00 know he has a lot more to deal with in that city. The City Clerk makes in excess of $100,000.00. Read the definition of the city clerk. She is basically the City’s receptionist. She is not even fully qualified in basic computer skills. She also seems to do a good job of getting the city into one mess after another. This is insane!!

This is just a small sampling of some of the things our team is uncovering.

SSMC!! Join now!!

nospam@example.com (Captain Honest) — 2010-08-11T17:38:37Z

To all San Marcos business owners and citizens. Co owner of the Jumping Turtle, Laura Mouradian, has formed the Stop San Marcos Corruption Business Coalition. Anyone in San Marcos who is concerned with the direction the San Marcos leaders are taking our city, are welcome. Contact Laura directly at 760-471-7778 Ext#5. The response has been huge and remember, YOU ARE NOT ALONE!! Rest assured we out number them. The talking point of late is the fact that San Marcos is prepared through bond measures to raise your property taxes so they can continue with their ridiculous development plans. Developing now makes total sense since San Marcos is looking at a Vacancy Rate of well over 30%. The state took all their money and now they are going to try and take yours. Paul Malone, City Manager, spoke of this at the last City Council meeting. You can watch it online, unless they have already deleted the footage. The very next day at a public work shop Paul Malone denied this fact. At the last public work shop Jerry Backoff’s, SM Planning, city panel indicated that one of the problems with San Marcos is they need more bars and restaurants. San Marcos already exceeds the State’s Liquor License quota by 20%. The answer from the city is that it is a public need. That’s what San Marcos needs more places to buy liquor. Whatever happened to Chili’s? Wake up now folks because if you don't our city will be run into the ground. The facts are out and we are using them against those who are responsible for the wrong doings!! Wait until we release what we have found that pertains to City Hall employee salaries and procedures. Can you say Bell, CA.

TRAGESER: One win, one mystery in San Marcos

nospam@example.com (Captain Honest) — 2010-08-11T17:24:53Z

North County Times / By JIM TRAGESER - jtrageser@nctimes.com | Posted: August 8, 2010 12:00 am

It was refreshing to see the city of San Marcos gracefully bow out of the bidding war for the San Diego Padres' Triple A ballpark a couple weeks ago.

Less refreshing were the latest revelations in the city's campaign against landmark music venue the Jumping Turtle.

The whole spin from the Padres' ownership group ---- that a new ballpark has to be built now, or any city not agreeing to that schedule will be dealt out of the picture ---- rings a bit too much like those old late-night TV ads urging you to "Call by midnight tonight."

San Marcos Jim Desmond apparently realizes what Escondido city officials don't: The Padres are in a tight spot, and not necessarily as in control of the situation as their management wants us to believe.

This is the last season the Padres AAA affiliate (the level just below the Major League ballclub) will play in Portland, Ore.; the Beavers' stadium is being converted to a soccer-only facility. (Really.)

So the Padres have to find someplace else for their AAA club to play next year; sharing the stadiuim of the Lake Elsinore Storm (the club's Single A farm team) is apparently only an option for a season or two, meaning by the spring of 2013, preferably 2012, the Padres need a permament home for their top minor league club.

But the Padres' time crunch isn't my, or your, emergency. Hopefully, Escondido officials will soon realize this.

On the other hand, San Marcos' ongoing efforts to put the Jumping Turtle out of business continue to mystify, as does the city's stonewalling on requests for what ought to be public records.

Last week, a judge agreed ---- ordering the city to release documents related to the city's decision to strip the restaurant and club of its live-music permit.

While city officials remain tight-lipped about the Jumping Turtle because of an ongoing lawsuit by the Turtle's owners, if the city had been more transparent from the get-go we might not be in a litigious situation in the first place.

As it is, the released documents at least strongly suggest that city and sheriff's officials greatly exaggerated an incident at the club as a pretext for revoking its live music permit.

Which brings us back to the original question from last year: What is the real reason San Marcos officials want to shut down the Jumping Turtle?

Given the caliber of national acts the venue booked, and the number and diversity of local bands who played there, the Turtle served an important role in offering live entertainment for the tens of thousands of students attending school at Palomar and Cal State. At the very least, that important role puts the onus on the city to justify its actions.

Contact staff writer JIM TRAGESER at jtrageser@nctimes.com or 760-740-5408.