Scandals, fireworks and a Bolsa Chica end
Condo conversions raise bigger questions
1 After months of debate about how to deal with 120 illegally
converted condominiums in Huntington Beach, the City Council
announced in November it had reached a settlement agreement with five
insurance companies to end the controversy and begin clearing up the
titles.
While the compromise signaled a possible end to part of the
controversy, still lingering are charges against former mayor Pam
Julien Houchen that she took part in some of the illegal deals while
serving on the council.
Houchen and seven others now face federal felony charges that they
knowingly purchased apartment complexes in Huntington Beach and then
converted them into condominiums without the proper permits. A
federal grand indictment alleges they forged documents to push deals
through, created phony companies to make the transactions appear
legitimate and then paid off an insider at Stewart Title Company to
insure the transactions.
Though unrelated, the charges against Houchen raised memories of
former Mayor Dave Garofalo pleading guilty to one felony count and 15
misdemeanor conflict-of-interest charges in 2002. It also has led to
questions from residents about why trouble seems to breed in City
Hall.
The city discovered the problem when a condo owner complained
about building defects at her home. A records check revealed that her
condo, and dozens more like it throughout the city, were actually
apartments that had never gone through the city’s official conversion
process, which includes a series of fees, permits and public
improvements
To clear up the titles, the city offered to expedite the
conversion process for the affected homeowners but tagged on a
$17,900 “affordable housing” fee that city planners said would be
used to rebuild the city’s depleted rental stock.
The move angered many of the condo owners, who said they shouldn’t
be punished for someone else’s actions, but months later City Atty.
Jennifer McGrath announced the council had reached a settlement
agreement with the title insurance companies to cover the
affordable-housing fees at a reduced rate and pay for some of the
expenses associated with reconverting the units back into apartments.
So far, a few dozen condo owners have signed on to the deal, and
McGrath said everyone will eventually have to sign on to the
settlement agreement or pay the $17,900 fee to clear up their titles.
Many condo owners said they’re going to wait and see how the first
round of agreements go before they sign on.
Bolsa Chica battle nears possible end
2 A decades-old battle over the fate of the Bolsa Chica wetlands
is finally close to being resolved, but the wrangling isn’t over.
In June, landowner Hearthside Homes President and Chief Executive
Ray Pacini announced his intentions to accept $65 million in state
funds to sell the 103-acre lower portion of the mesa to the
California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The deal was a victory for the Bolsa Chica Land Trust, which
fought through countless City Council meetings, Coastal Commission
hearings and two lawsuits to block Hearthside from paving over the
wetlands for residential development. The acquisition would be paid
for by Proposition 50, the Clean Water and Coastal Protection bond
vigorously campaigned by both Hearthside and the Land Trust, which
generated $3.4 billion for California conservation projects.
The deal, however, had a hitch; Hearthside would only accept the
offer if the Coastal Commission agreed to allow the developer to
build a 379-home gated community on the upper portion of the
wetlands.
At past hearings, coastal commissioners indicated they would
accept limited development on the site, but in September, when a
staff member recommended that the commission reject the development
because it allegedly violated the Coastal Act, the hard-fought
compromise seemed in jeopardy.
At an October hearing, the commission rejected Hearthside’s luxury
home proposal, but instead of walking away from the entire deal,
Pacini said his engineers would rework their plans and still consider
approving the $65-million compromise. The developer’s board of
directors has until June to approve the sale.
In the meantime, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army
Corps of Engineers will continue with plans to restore a large
portion of the wetlands just south of the disputed lower mesa.
The Ocean View School District also approved a plan in September
to declare 15 acres of school property on the Bolsa Chica a surplus
so it could also eventually be sold into conservation.
Realignment of City Hall squashed
3 A plan to change the structure of city government in Huntington
Beach was resoundingly quashed at the polls in March, retaining the
status quo.
The Fair District Initiative, or Measure E, would have split the
city into five City Council districts, with candidates being elected
by voters in their area of the city. It also would have shrunk the
council from seven members to five.
The initiative, which would have radically changed the way Surf
City operates, was put forth by former Assemblyman Scott Baugh, who
now heads the Orange County Republican Party.
Many residents, including several former mayors, opposed the plan
and formed the Huntington Beach Concerned Voter’s Coalition.
Former mayors Ralph Bauer and Shirley Dettloff headed the campaign
that was a blitzkrieg of e-mails, phone calls and fliers spread
throughout the community. Critics contended that residents would have
less representation under the plan, because they would have only one
council member to bring concerns to. They argued that five
representatives were not enough for a city of 200,000 and feared the
plan would pit council members against one another as they fought for
special projects in their area.
They also worried that the Republican-backed measure would divide
the city along partisan lines.
Proponents of the measure claimed neighborhoods would be better
off with one council member devoted to a single district. Baugh said
the districting plan would allow representatives to develop an
intimate knowledge of their section of the city and be more
accessible to their constituents.
Backers of the initiative raised more than $200,000 to their
opponents’ $35,000. But what critics lacked in dollars, they made up
for in passion, fervor and manpower.
Voters overwhelmingly rejected the plan, with 63.3% of Surf City
voters coming out against it.
Sporting a complex $1-million problem
4 It was supposed to be a major recreational arena for Huntington
Beach children, but it turned out to be a major headache.
In the end, city leaders would find themselves stuck with an
incomplete project, abandoned by a contractor with
less-than-admirable credentials and, according to court documents,
about $37 of the city’s nearly $1 million left in the bank.
City administrator Penny Culbreth Graft said Joe O’Connor and his
Community Parks Foundation completed most of the work they were hired
to do, but by eventually abandoning the project part he left the city
with unusable roller hockey courts and batting cages and a lot of
questions about his credibility.
Community Services Director Jim Engle is working on finding a new
subcontractor to finish the work, and City Atty. Jennifer McGrath has
filed a lawsuit against O’Connor.
And that’s just the beginning of O’Connor’s problems. A soccer
club owner in Kalamazoo, Mich., has successfully sued O’Connor for
taking off with $850,000 of his money to build an inflatable arena.
The soccer club owner even won a felony warrant for O’Connor, who in
August was arrested by Salem, Ore., police several months after he
had first abandoned the Huntington Beach project.
City officials who hired O’Connor failed to uncover his connection
with the Kalamazoo fiasco, or a string of similar botched recreation
projects throughout the Pacific Northwest. They also failed to
discover that O’Connor did not qualify for nonprofit status, despite
claiming the contrary to participate in a complex financing deal.
Culbreth-Graft ultimately found no wrongdoing on the part of city
staff and pushed plans forward to complete the sports complex so it
could begin to generate revenue and pay off its financing
arrangements. She said she hopes to have the batting cages and roller
hockey rinks operating soon.
Volunteers complain about lack of shelter
5 Former volunteers of a Huntington Beach animal shelter stormed
Costa Mesa City Council meetings in September with allegations that
the shelter was not treating its animals well.
They asked that Costa Mesa look into the Orange County Humane
Society and break its contract with the shelter. The city asked its
animal control officers to conduct an investigation, which revealed
that the shelter had some problems but was up to code.
Veterinarian and shelter owner Samir Botros denied all of the
former volunteers’ allegations and said they were launching a
personal attack against him because he fired them after they
constantly interfered with his way of running things at the shelter.
The former volunteers alleged that too many animals were stuffed
into a cage, that their cages were not cleaned often enough, and they
didn’t receive proper veterinary care.
Shelly Hunter, who led the protests outside the shelter, filed a
complaint against the hospital with the state Veterinary Medical
Board alleging that Botros used unlicensed technicians to euthanize
and perform surgical procedures on the animals.
Costa Mesa Police finally determined that the shelter met codes.
A sandy spot to watch fireworks
6 The Fourth of July fireworks show returned to the beach this
year after nearly three decades at Huntington Beach High School.
In planning the city’s centennial Independence Day celebration,
the Fourth of July Committee asked that a huge pyrotechnic display be
shot off a barge for the special occasion. The plan met with stiff
opposition and divided the City Council.
The committee’s first bid was rejected in January, just as a
similar request was denied the year before. But then-City
Councilwoman Pam Julien Houchen brought the item back to the table.
The council approved a revised plan in February on a 5-2 vote,
giving the committee the green light to raise money for the
beachfront show.
City Council members Connie Boardman and Dave Sullivan stayed firm
in their vote to deny the show, fearing a repeat of civil unrest that
plagued the city in the early 1990s.
With the show approved, the committee and community set to work
trying to raise the $84,000 needed to put it on.
The money was raised, and the show went off as planned.
This brought the fireworks show back to the beach after about 30
years. The fireworks show was moved from the beach venue to
Huntington Beach High School in the 1970s, when increasingly thick
fog blocked the show from view.
Many residents complained, however, that this year’s fireworks
were too far away and that the $50 VIP seating on the pier did not
work out well.
Unfazed and certain that it can be done better in 2005, the
committee again approached the City Council. In November they asked
for the 2005 fireworks to be shot off the pier.
Police Chief Ken Small and Fire Chief Duane Olsen objected, saying
they were worried about their ability to provide public safety at
such an event, judging by the estimated 160,000 people who attended
the 2004 show.
In a surprise decision, however, the council approved the 2005
show at the beach, saying it clearly was what the community wanted.
And an old tradition was reborn in Huntington Beach.
Rash of killings in safe American city
7 Huntington Beach’s promoters take pride in the city’s reputation
as one of the United States’ safest cities, a reputation confirmed
this year when FBI statistics showed Surf City was among the nation’s
10 safest cities. But no city is completely safe, as was made
tragically clear more than once over the past year.
On the evening of Jan. 29, 19-year-old cashier Shawna Wolfgram was
busy at work at the 99 Cents Only Store on Beach Boulevard. Wolfgram
lived nearby but would never return home. An armed robber held up the
store, and police said Wolfgram tried to resist him. He shot and
killed her, , then ran away with some cash. About two months later,
Huntington Beach Police arrested John Steadman Nilsen, a parolee who
had served time for kidnapping, attempted robbery and other crimes.
In August, gunfire shattered the city’s peace again when
Huntington Beach resident German Martinez Garcia, 29, was shot
outside an apartment complex on Saru Circle. Police arrested
Huntington Beach resident Luis Teodoro Ponce the same night on
suspicion of murder. According to the district attorney’s office,
Ponce shot Garcia after an argument over Garcia’s driving.
Police still have arrested no one in the death of Marlene Hall, a
64-year-old homeless woman whose death was ruled a homicide after her
body was found at Lagenbeck Park on June 30. Police discovered Hall’s
body after receiving a phone call that a woman was down in the park.
Hall is believed to have lived in Huntington Beach and to have family
in the area.
On Dec. 6, a passerby discovered the badly beaten body of William
Pascoe III, 47, under an overpass near the Santa Ana River at
Hamilton Avenue and Brookhurst Street. Several days later, the man
police had been searching for in connection with the killing, Gilbert
Garcia Jr., 41, of San Bernardino, turned himself in.
Police say Garcia is a transient, known to frequent areas around
the Santa Ana River. While police are unsure whether Pascoe was also
a transient living in the area, they do believe the two men knew each
other. Garcia is being held on one count of murder at Mens Central
Jail in Santa Ana and is set to appear in court on Jan. 7.
Most recently, a man was shot to death on Dec. 17 near the
intersection of Huntington Street and Utica Avenue. Officers received
a call alerting them to a possible shooting, and when they arrived at
the scene, they found Jason Williams, 18, of Long Beach, shot in the
chest. Williams was taken to UCI Medical Center, where he died.
Police are interviewing people in the area who may have seen what
happened. Witnesses told police they saw a car speeding away from the
scene, but there is no description of the vehicle.
Two Huntington Beach residents were among eight people arrested in
connection with the killing of Cory Lamons, a 26-year-old Laguna
Niguel man whose body was found in the back of a truck on April 6
during a traffic stop in Riverside.
Billy Johnson, 40, and Suzanne Miller, 24, both of Huntington
Beach, were in the car where the body was found, police said. Johnson
was identified by police as a member of a white supremacist gang
called Public Enemy No. 1. All eight of those arrested were also
charged with being members of a criminal street gang. The arraignment
for Johnson and Miller is scheduled for Feb. 1 in Santa Ana Superior
Court.
Nearing being put on the public airwaves
8 The continuing saga of Orange County’s only PBS channel finally
looked sewed up but with just enough of an open ending for a sequel.
The Coast Community College District, which owned the station,
decided in 2003 to sell it to prop up its sagging budget. All but one
bid, from the station’s own fundraising arm, came from religious
broadcasters.
The district declared the $32-million bid from the KOCE-TV
Foundation the highest and chose to sell to it in October of 2003.
The foundation, backed by local business and education leaders, was
the only bidder promising to preserve the PBS format.
But Dallas-based Daystar Television Network, the nation’s
second-largest religious broadcaster, made a last-ditch effort to buy
the station, boosting its $25 million cash offer to $40 million --
after the deadline for bids had passed.
Earlier this year, it sued the district and its trustees, claiming
they had not sold to the highest responsible bidder, a violation of
state law.
Though the foundation’s bid was revised downward to adjust for
programming and other compensation that was part of the deal and
included a substantial portion financed over a long-term note, a
judge declared that the district was not obligated to sell to
Daystar.
Daystar then filed an appeal and tried to block the FCC from
transferring the broadcast license to the foundation.
Meanwhile, the district granted the foundation three extensions on
its deadline to make the $8-million down payment. The group finally
came up with the cash in October.
The FCC approved the transfer at about the same time, and the
district gave its final OK at a meeting in November.
KOCE-TV is planning new programming to start in 2005 and in
November launched an endowment to fund arts and science education in
local schools.
But don’t roll the credits just yet. Attorneys for Daystar are
still promising to pursue the appeal, though officials with the
foundation and the district aren’t too worried about it succeeding.
Stay tuned.
Teaching jobs saved from budget ax
9 In March, the jobs of 26 local teachers were on the chopping
block, but private fundraising kept educators in their classrooms.
The Huntington Beach School District was faced with the prospect
of cutting close to $1 million from its budget, with district
officials blaming the state’s fiscal crisis for their funding
shortfall. A large chunk of the budget cuts, about $205,000, would
have come from cutting class-size reduction, a popular program that,
within that district, maxed out class sizes in the first and second
grades at 20 students. At school board meetings where the district’s
superintendent, Gary Rutherford, presented proposed budget cuts to
the board, several parents protested the potential loss of class-size
reduction and plans to reduce the district’s health aides and library
staff.
Frightened by the prospective loss of small class sizes, a group
of Huntington Beach parents formed to raise money as an alternative
to cuts. Headed by Cathy Livingston, the parents group, dubbed
Community for Class Size Reduction, officially started its work in
late 2002, well before the possible layoffs had been announced. The
parents group asked each parent in the district to contribute $200
per child for its cause. The group also secured business sponsorships
and held several fundraisers, which climaxed in a carnival at Kettler
Elementary School. At the event, the parents group topped the
$205,000 threshold needed to maintain class-size reduction in the
first and third grades.
Though school officials repeatedly said additional budget cuts
would be necessary, the school board passed a resolution against
cutting class-size reduction when it makes a budget for the 2005-06
school year. Parents in Community for Class Size Reduction remain
active.
A change at the City Hall helm
10 There’s a new city administrator in town.
After wowing City Council members in a closed-session interview,
46-year-old Penny Culbreth-Graft took the helm as city administrator.
She is be the first woman in city history to serve in the executive
role.
Culbreth-Graft came on board after longtime city administrator Ray
Silver retired. She has a doctorate in public administration from the
University of La Verne, a master’s degree in public administration
from Cal State Colleges Consortium and a bachelor’s degree in
political science and social science from Cal Poly Pomona.
She worked for a little more than a year as assistant city
administrator in Riverside and spent three years as tribal government
manager for the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians in San Diego County.
She had been recruited to the rural reservation to establish a
democratic government, at the tribe’s request.
Her first six months in office have been relatively smooth, and
she inherited a tight budget mostly vetted for cuts and layoffs
before she came aboard. She launched an investigation into the
controversial sports complex problem and found no wrongdoing on the
part of city staff. She has vowed to get the project completed soon.
She has also remained mum on former Huntington Beach Mayor
Houchen’s involvement in the condo-conversion scandal and helped
implement and negotiate a settlement with title insurance companies.
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