Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Despite Missing Key Documents, Fullerton City Council Approves Deficient Deed

Item 18 of the Fullerton City Council Agenda for tonight (December 21, 2010) seemed innocuous enough.  It made simple mention of “HAWKS POINTE DEVELOPMENT CONSERVATION EASEMENT”.  It certainly sounds like a dullard. 

As a licensed professional land surveyor and Fullerton resident, it is my business to understand what the council is up to and what it means for me and my family.  Item 18, it simply peaked my interest.  It is also safe to say that a lay person would likely not have been so intrigued.

(Download the agenda and item 18)

I downloaded and poured over the document which was labeled “Conservation Easement Deed”.  Ok, so what are they doing, granting or accepting an easement?? 

Like so many instruments of this sort, the first recital directs the reader to exhibit “A” for the legal description of the encumbered property.  And being a licensed professional land surveyor, the only type of professional authorized to prepare legal descriptions in California, I turned to exhibit “A”.  At least I tried to…

It appears that someone at City Hall neglected to include the now missing exhibit “A”.  If you are not a surveyor, you may be wondering why this is a problem.  It is a huge problem in that there are rights being transferred along with covenants, terms, conditions, and restrictions and it would be nice to know where these obligations began and ended. 

Imagine walking into an escrow office and being asked to sign the documents.  When you notice that there are pages missing, the escrow officer blows off your concern and tells you that the pages will be added later.  A person with average intelligence would put the pen down and refuse to sign anything else until the documents were complete. 

When item 18 came up on the consent calendar (that’s the part of the agenda which gets approved without discussion because f its routine nature) one well informed and conscientious council member, Bruce Whitaker, pulled the item from the consent calendar for discussion with staff. 

When he asked the staff about the missing document, he was told that the description will be added later.  That’s the same as negotiating the purchase of 40 police cars with all of the various options and warranties but without including the price tag.  In both instances, you just don’t know what you are getting yourself (or your taxpayers) into.  

Perhaps the next time Chevron shows up with a proposal for their West Coyote Hills property they simply omit a few key provisions which they can add later when they are ready to do so. Surely the council won’t object. 

Had the staff brought the documents to the assistant city engineer, I believe the omission would have been caught and corrected prior to any decisions being made by an uniformed council. 

The City Attorney was quick to note that the legal description would be added later.  Would he buy and accept a deed with no property description?  I think not.
One staffer, Alice Loya, stated that legal descriptions are more accurate but not as easy to read as a map would be.  I beg to differ with respect to the accuracy of legal descriptions but I’m digressing from my pointed concern.  The staffers seemed to get hung up on the mention of a missing map and just did not care that a key element to the agreement was missing. 

How many other documents has the Fullerton City Council approved wherein key elements were missing because someone was too lazy or inept to provide the council with complete documentation?  Maybe it is time for a forensic audit of the numerous fee and bond packages the council has approved over the past several years.

In the end, the Fullerton City Council voted 5-0 and agreed to the terms and conditions set forth without having any clue as to what land was covered by the terms of the agreement. 

The action leaves the city and taxpayers wide open for a civil action in the future as well as a cloud of title on whatever property description is slipped into the deed prior to recordation. 

With any luck, the OC Recorder’s Office will deny the request for recordation so that the city can get its collective at together.

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Greg Sebourn

The Beauty of a Storm

The Beauty of a Storm
Orange County, Ca.

My Grandma - A Eulogy

LET'S TALK ABOUT 1914 FOR A MOMENT.



FOR STARTERS, GRANDMA WAS BORN TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1914 IN HER FAMILY'S ATWOOD RANCH HOUSE.



IT IS WORTH NOTING THOSE ALSO BORN IN 1914:

JACK LALANNE

JOE DIMAGGIO

DANNY THOMAS



AND WHO DIED IN 1914:

JOHN MUIR, THE FAMOUS NATURALIST FOR WHICH NUMEROUS ROADS, PARKS, HOTELS, AND NATURE RESERVES ARE NAMED.



IT IS ALSO WORTH NOTING THAT IN 1914 WOODROW WILSON SIGNS MOTHER'S DAY PROCLAMATION AND BABE RUTH MAKES HIS MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUT WITH THE RED SOX. MOTHER'S DAY AND BASEBALL- TWO OF MY FAVORITES!! (PERHAPS HER NICKNAME "BABE" CAME FROM BABE RUTH???)



GRANDMA WAS BORN INTO A PERIOD OF TIME FILLED WITH TURMOIL. IN JUNE OF 1914 ARCHDUKE FRANZS FERDINAND WAS ASSASSINATED. WITHIN ONE MONTH WORLD WAR I RAGED ACROSS EUROPE. TWO DAYS AFTER HER BIRTH HOWEVER, GERMAN AND BRITISH TROOPS INTERRUPTED WWI TO CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS. (PERHAPS THEY PAUSE KNOWING THAT A GREAT WOMAN WAS BORNE) WORLD WAR I CONTINUED UNTIL THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES IN 1919.



ALTHOUGH SHE WAS ONLY 5 YEARS OLD, SHE SAW THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS CREATED AND THE 19TH AMENDMENT WAS APPROVED BY THE U.S. CONGRESS GUARANTEEING THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN TO VOTE.



SHE LIVED THROUGH MANY NOTABLE EVENTS. LIKE THE 1933 LONG BEACH EARTHQUAKE OR WHEN ATWOOD FLOODED ALONG WITH MOST OF ORANGE COUNTY IN 1938 AND THE FLOOD-WATERS CLAIMED MORE THAN 50 PEOPLE, 43 OF WHICH WERE FROM ATWOOD! ALL OF THIS DURING A TIME THAT WE READ ABOUT IN SCHOOL AND KNOWN AS "THE GREAT DEPRESSION". SOMEWHERE IN ALL OF THAT SHE FOUND THE LOVE OF HER LIFE, GRANDPA LEO, GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL, GOT MARRIED, AND HAD KIDS!



THEN THERE WAS WORLD WAR II. FROM PEARL HARBOR TO HIROSHIMA, GRANDMA WAS RAISING MY UNCLE BOB AND MOM ARLINE. WITH AIR-RAID SIRENS AND BLACKOUTS SHE WAS A WIFE AND MOTHER. WHAT A TIME TO RAISE CHILDREN! I BET GRANDMA'S PARENTS WERE ABEL TO TELL HER A THING OR TWO ABOUT RAISING KIDS IN WARTIME.



GRANDMA WAS THERE WHEN THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA HELD THEIR 3RD ANNUAL NATIONAL JAMBOREE IN 1953. SHE SAW AIRBASES OPEN IN '42 AND CLOSE IN '99. SHE WATCHED WALTER KNOTT START UP HIS BERRY FARM AND WALT DISNEY TURN ORANGE GROVES AND STRAWBERRY PATCHES INTO DISNEYLAND!



SHE SAW THE HORSE AND CARRIAGE FADE AWAY INTO HISTORY AND SPACE TRAVEL EXPLODE BEFORE HER WITH THE FIRST LUNAR LANDING. JUST IMAGINE HOW MUCH TECHNOLOGY HAS CHANGED OVER THE LAST 100 YEARS. FROM TUBE RECTIFIERS TO SUPERCONDUCTORS; FROM TRANS-ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH CABLES TO SATELLITE TV.



SHE SAW MORE IN HER 93 YEARS THAN MOST OF US WILL EVER READ ABOUT, LET ALONE LIVE THROUGH!



OF THOSE 93 YEARS IT IS MY HONOR TO HAVE BEEN HER GRANDSON FOR 35 OF THEM. SHE WAS MY MOTHER WHEN MOM HAD TO WORK. SHE WIPED MY NOSE AND PUT FOOD IN MY MOUTH. SHE LET ME PLAY WITH GRANDPA EVEN THOUGH SHE NEEDED HIM TO TAKE HER TO THE STORE. SHE WAS MY GRANDMA AND I WILL MISS HER IMMENSELY.



JUST LOOK AROUND THIS ROOM; SHE DID THIS. SHE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR BRINGING SO MANY GOOD PEOPLE INTO THIS WORLD AND TOGETHER TODAY. THIS IS HER LEGACY.



A Dedication To My Loving Wife, Stacey. Thank you for all you do for me!

Brad Paisley - I Thought I Loved You Then


I remember trying not to stare the night that I first met you
You had me mesmerized
3 weeks later in the front porch light taking 45 min to kiss you goodnight
I hadn’t told you yet but I thought I loved you then

Chorus
Now you’re my whole life now you’re my whole world
I just can’t believe the way I feel about you girl
Like a river meets the sea
Stronger than it’s ever been
We’ve come so far since that day
And I thought I loved you then.

I remember taking you back to right where I first met you
You were so surprised
There were people around
But I didn’t care I got down on one knee right there
And once again I thought I loved you then

Chorus
Now you’re my whole life now you’re my whole world
I just can’t believe the way I feel about you girl
Like a river meets the sea
Stronger than it’s ever been
We’ve come so far since that day
And I thought I loved you then.

I can just see you with a baby on the way
I can just see you when your hair is turning gray
What I can’t see is how I’m ever gonna love you more
But I’ve said that before.

Now you’re my whole life now you’re my whole world
I just can’t believe the way I feel about you girl
Well look back some day at this moment that we’re in
And I'll look at you and say I thought I loved you then
And I thought I loved you then...