Planning Commission Preview - May 22

The Planning Commission (PC) meets tonight and they are continuing the discussion about residential parking which was on the agenda last time, but the extended time they took discussing 2 new licenses to sell beer and wine in Lake Forest didn’t leave them any time to discuss parking last time.

The last PC meeting was so outrageous it’s taken me 2 weeks to do research on the issues raised in that meeting. I’ll have a report on that next week, but in the meanwhile, it’s amusing to look at some of their shenanigans. But before I begin, here are some distressing facts –

• Research shows that nationwide alcohol has a role in 40% of murders and 37% of rapes and sexual assaults.

I’m not a teatoteler, but these facts are disturbing when someone considers adding more outlets that sell beer and wine, especially in the tracts that are already considered “over-saturated” by the State’s Alcohol and Beverage Commission.

At the last meeting the PC spent about 30 minutes discussing whether or not the highly price “acting” attorney had enough time to write a resolution reflecting their decision, which they hadn’t yet reached. It didn’t occur to anyone that in the 30 minutes it took to discuss whether or not he had enough time to write it, he could have written it (and checked his e-mail). At times watching the PC in action can be a bit like watching a sit com.

The most outrageous conduct came from Commissioners Ludden and VerPlanke. Which isn’t to say that Commissioner Fuentes didn’t provide her usual quota of head-slapping comments, but once you get accustomed to her inanity, they don’t have such a dramatic impact. Ludden and VerPlanke, OTOH, are usually anchored on Planet Earth, so their bizarre entry into Fuente’s orbit was surprising.

Ludden, for example, started off being very skeptical about the 2 new licenses sought by 99 Cents Stores.

• He worried that they would expand their offerings - he was assured that they would, but only on holidays and only for limited times.

• He worried that there was no recourse once a license was issued - he was assured there wasn’t.

• He wanted a conditional use permit - he was told he couldn’t have it.

• He was worried that their ID process to verify age wasn’t 100% accurate - he was told it wasn’t.

The answers to all of his concerns confirmed that he was right to be concerned in the first place, yet after having all his concerns validated, he voted to allow more licenses in the City.

Verplanke was similarly paradoxical. He began by lecturing everyone that the decision of the Planning Director was made after much research and consideration, and it should stand unless there was “sufficient evidence” that her decision should be over-turned. Then, in the absence of any additional evidence, he too voted to sell more beer and wine in the City. He justified his flip/flop by concluding- “People have free will. No government agency should make decisions for people.”  Duh. If people had free will, what the heck is he doing on a Planning Agency that constantly makes decisions that limit people’s free will?

Fuentes, of course, was her usual self. She said “It takes me an hour and 72 minutes to go shopping at WalMart.”  So she’d like to go somewhere that shopping is speedier. Perhaps if she saves time shopping she can go to a simple math class where they teach her that every hour has 60 minutes, so that she learns “an hour and 72 minutes” is actually 2 hours and 12 minutes.

Then she said - “Give our new residents of Baker Ranch a convenient store close to them”  Perhaps along with the math class Ms. Fuentes can take a geography class. There are already 7 stores in the same general neighborhood as the 99 Cents Store, so why would they need another? In fact, several of these stores are closer to Baker Ranch than the 99 Cents Store. Moreover, there is some commercial space available closer to Baker Ranch. If Fuentes is so interested in the Baker Ranch people being able to buy their beer and alcohol locally, they should be looking at opening a store there, which would really be convenient, not miles away.

(Can it be that the rumor is true that one of our City Council members is putting pressure on the PC to allow 99 Cents Stores to sell beer and wine, in return for putting one of his relatives to work?)

They’ll be a lot more to report about the alcohol decision next week. Meanwhile, if you’re concerned with parking, especially guest parking in multi-family projects, you’ll want to come to the PC meeting tonight. On the way there you'll probably want to stop for a drink. There are 159 outlets that sell alcohol in Lake Forest, so you'll have plenty of choices.