A Wall-to-Wall Controversy Has Cypress Divided : Election: A recall vote is launched over a carpet warehouse. Some say it’s an eyesore, others say the city needs the revenue.

CYPRESS —  It started as a controversial City Council proposal more than a year ago.

Now it is a huge building in progress: a carpet-distribution warehouse that ultimately will cover 439,650 square feet at Valley View Street and Orangewood Avenue. Opponents charge it will “ruin” this 45,000-population city by increasing air, noise and traffic pollution. Supporters say it will not harm the environment and will bring the city $800,000 a year in tax revenue.

Debate over the warehouse during the past year spawned a recall effort against three on the City Council who voted for it on Sept. 26, 1994. The issue also has politically fragmented the community.

“It’s torn this city up,” lamented one resident, speaking at a recent City Council meeting.

Now the issue goes to the ballot box. Voters in Cypress on Nov. 7 will decide whether Mayor Cecilia L. Age, Councilman Walter K. Bowman and Councilwoman Gail H. Kerry--the three incumbents who voted for the warehouse--should be retained or replaced by any of the seven candidates vying for the offices.

Recall advocates have insisted the election is not just about the warehouse. “It’s about accountability of the City Council,” said Bob Pepper, president of the Cypress Recall Committee.

But the targeted City Council members charge, in rebuttal, that the recall activists are focusing only on a building they don’t want in their neighborhood. “I don’t think those residents are thinking about the needs of the entire city,” Age said.

Age also has said that the half-finished warehouse is already looking good, as construction continues. “People can already see it is not the monstrosity [the opponents] said it would be,” she said. “When it gets landscaping, it’s going to be very nice.”

But warehouse opponent and recall activist Regan Smith scoffed at this assertion.

“I haven’t found anyone who likes it,” said Smith, who is one of two candidates running for Age’s seat. “People have described it as looking like a prison or a bombed-out blimp hanger. I just hope all voters will drive to see it and decide for themselves. A picture is worth a thousand words.”

Smith describes her occupation as homemaker-businesswoman. She frequently has appeared at council meetings, scolding council members for their actions on the warehouse. The other candidate running for Age’s seat is Burt Cheifer, an industrial sales representative. Although he said he “totally” opposes the warehouse, he was not active in the Cypress Recall Committee’s yearlong effort to secure a special recall election.

Smith and two other Cypress Recall Committee veterans, Paula English and Jerry Sharber, are running as somewhat of a team. English, operator of a day-care center, is running for Bowman’s seat. Sharber, a business owner, is seeking Kerry’s seat.

The two other candidates seeking Bowman’s seat are Lynda Lacayo, who describes herself as a reporter and businesswoman, and K. Gina Restivo, an attorney and accountant. Lacayo is the wife of former Mayor and Councilman Otto J. Lacayo, a trustee of the North Orange College Community College District.

In addition to Sharber, candidate Tim Keenan, a business owner, also is seeking Kerry’s seat. Keenan says he has the backing of the politically powerful Cypress Citizens Against Card Clubs. Kerry disputes his claim, saying not all in that organization support Keenan.

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The anti-card-club faction is strong in Cypress. In 1993 opponents overwhelmingly defeated a card club ballot proposal that Kerry supported. In the November, 1994, election, two Cypress Citizens Against Card Clubs members, Tom Carroll and Mary Ann Jones, were handily elected to the City Council. Political observers attributed their overwhelming election to lingering anti-card-club sentiment in the city.

Carroll and Jones won the seats of former council members Richard Partin and Joyce Nicholson, who had voted for the warehouse and did not seek reelection.

Both Carroll and Jones have essentially been neutral about the recall election. Carroll, however, has publicly endorsed Keenan, praising his anti-card-club work.

Keenan, who was not active in the recall movement, said he filed for office specifically so he could seek Kerry’s seat. He said he believes Kerry is particularly vulnerable because she supported the card club proposal two years ago.

“The card club is a dead horse that they keep beating,” said recall target Bowman, who opposed card clubs. He noted that no one has suggested another card club since the voters trounced the issue two years ago. Nonetheless, the 1993 card club issue is distinctly a factor in the current recall election. Age, at council meetings, has frequently reminded audiences of her steadfast opposition to the 1993 card club proposal.

If any council member is ousted in the Nov. 7 election, the top vote-getter seeking his or her seat will be elected and complete that term. Kerry and Age have only one year remaining; Bowman, who was reelected in 1994, has three years remaining.

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It is unclear what will happen to the carpet-distribution warehouse if a new majority is elected to the five-member City Council. The issue currently is before the 4th District Court of Appeal, after warehouse opponents lost a lower court battle on a technicality. The lower court judge, after announcing a tentative ruling in favor of the opponents, declared his court did not have jurisdiction because no resident on Sept. 26, 1994, the date that the council approved the warehouse, specifically called for a new environmental impact report.

Daniel Wildish, attorney for the anti-warehouse residents, said the appellate court is now being asked only to rule that the lower court does, indeed, have jurisdiction. “If we win that and the case goes back to Superior Court, I think the record there shows how the judge will rule on the warehouse,” Wildish said. He said the lower court could require a new environmental impact report and void the city permit granted to build the warehouse. “The court very well could require that [the warehouse built so far] be torn down,” Wildish said.

Robert W. Loewen , attorney for Warland Investments Co., the builder of the warehouse, said in rebuttal: “We expect to win at the appellate level, and we do not expect the project to be stopped or torn down.” No date has been set yet for the Court of Appeal hearing.

According to Peggy Kratka, senior project manager for Warland Investments Co., the warehouse is now about 50% constructed. She said completion is scheduled by the end of February.

Whatever the verdict of the courts, warehouse opponents are hoping to put a new majority on the City Council. Said Smith: “A new City Council certainly would be monitoring the conditional-use permit given to the warehouse, and if there are violations to that permit, the council could revoke it.”

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Recall Roster

Approval of a large carpet warehouse has sparked a recall in Cypress. On Nov. 7 voters will decide if three incumbents will be retained or replaced. Here are the incumbents and the seven candidates for their seats:

INCUMBENT:

Mayor Cecilia L. Age

Status: One year remaining on elected term

Age: 45

Occupation: Businesswoman

Issues: Voted for carpet warehouse and says income will benefit city; opposed card club in 1993; says new businesses should be sought for redevelopment areas

Seeking Age’s Seat:

Regan Smith

Age: 45

Occupation: Homemaker and businesswoman

Issues: Original recall activist; wants strict enforcement of conditional-use permit granted carpet warehouse and revocation if there are violations; believes city needs separate Planning Commission

Burt Cheifer

Age: 52

Occupation: Industrial sales representative

Issues: Opposes carpet warehouse but was not active in recall organizations; believes new representation needed on City Council

INCUMBENT:

Walter K. Bowman

Status: Three years remaining on elected term

Age: 57

Occupation: Real estate broker

Issues: Voted for carpet warehouse and says its income will benefit city; opposed card club in 1993; says retention of existing businesses and attraction of new ones is very important

Seeking Bowman’s Seat:

Paula English

Age: 46

Occupation: Business owner

Issues: Recall movement activist; seeks strict enforcement of conditional-use permit granted warehouse; wants a separate Planning Commission

Lynda Lacayo

Age: 51

Occupation: Reporter and businesswoman

Issues: Opposes carpet warehouse but was not active in recall movement; would monitor warehouse operation; says city needs to reduce spending by cutting back on paid consultants

K. Gina Restivo

Age: 36

Occupation: Attorney and accountant

Issues: Criticizes how council handled warehouse proposal; believes changes needed on council; would scrutinize warehouse contract and try to renegotiate it

INCUMBENT:

Gail H. Kerry

Status: One year remaining on elected term

Age: 48

Occupation: Business owner

Issues: Voted for carpet warehouse and says income will benefit city; supported card club in 1993; says “our record stands on its merit; we followed the [city’s] General Plan [for development]”

Seeking Kerry’s Seat:

Jerry Sharber

Age: 48

Occupation: Business owner

Issues: Recall movement activist; seeks strict enforcement of conditional-use permit granted warehouse; wants a separate Planning Commission

Tim Keenan

Age: 42

Occupation: Business owner

Issues: Opposes card clubs; did not take part in recall movement but wants strict controls on warehouse; believes city needs better procedures to attract businesses

Source: Times reports; Researched by BILL BILLITER / For The Times