City Destroys Property Rights - What's Your City Doing?

A message from Mr. Michael Pallamary, PLS:

As many of you know, I have been battling with the City of San Diego for some time over their wanton and careless destruction of valuable survey monuments. They have essentially destroyed the cadastral network in many neighborhoods. From a surveyor’s perspective, it is quite devastating and from a home owner’s perspective, very, very costly. In many instances, property owners were required to pay a surveyor to set monuments in connection with a map filing. The city has now come in and destroyed these very same monuments. Now, the cost to replace or reset them is running into thousands and thousands of dollars.

In the Hillside Drive area discussed in this news story, I have inspected a large number of streets and maps. What has been happening is, other surveyors have come along and for one reason or another, they have opted to use other, secondary or tertiary control monuments instead of recovering the primary control monuments because they have been paved over or destroyed. I now have two disputes in this neighborhood and one is now in litigation and the other is very close, all because of confusion regarding the location of control monuments. Needless to say, it is going to get worse and expensive. I am doing the best I can to bring this problem to light. Mike Turko and I spent an hour and a half together and he has been working on this story for a week. He is going to do a follow up as he is just as upset as I am.

I am hoping other surveyors and property owners will join me in expressing their concerns about this problem. Turko and I talked about the monument preservation fund. I told him that for every one monument that is preserved using the fund, the city destroys another 100. He is going to do another story. This is a shame and under the law, it is also a crime and the city knows it. I have contacted the mayor’s office and the city attorney but they have no interest and are doing nothing. “San Diego - America’s finest city.”

Michael J. Pallamary, PLS

Principal, Pallamary and Associates

7755 Fay Avenue, Suite J

La Jolla, CA 92037

(O) 858-454-4094,

(F) 858-454-4667

www.pallamaryandassociates.com

mpallamary@pipeline.com

Redevelopment Debt $642 Million

I was reminded by an automated email from the City that the Redevelopment Agency's Oversight Board has a meeting coming up on Tuesday May 22 at 3PM in the City Council Chambers.  

I was also reminded just how much debt our City Council (acting as the Redevelopment Agency) has incurred on our behalf over the past couple of decades.

According to the report from the City to the State we taxpayers are on the hook for $641,969,234!

And what did you get for your money?  High-density apartments, parking garages, and a number of employees to figure out how to give us more debt.  I know that sounds harsh but that is what we are left with.  There were very few projects that made improvements to the infrastructure and even those were relatively minor.

Its sad that we have squandered so much and received, as a community, so little in return.

Reducing the debt will take hard work, dedication, and vision.

Apartment Shortage?

Fewest vacant O.C. apartments since 2007

Orange County Register, Jeff Collins
The Orange County apartment occupancy rate has held steady for nine months at 95% — highest since fourth quarter of 2007 — a point where there’s little momentum to push up rents, according to apartment tracker RealFacts.

Nonetheless, rents are rising, climbing $50 a month last spring to $1,532 a month, second quarter figures released Thursday show.

“Ninety-five percent occupancy suggests market equilibrium and demand is strong,” said Sarah Bridge of RealFacts.

“When occupancy goes above 95%, it means it’s hard to find an apartment to rent and applicants needing an apartment may be willing to pay even more. If occupancy goes below 95%, rent growth starts to slow down.”

READ MORE...

Family Action PAC Takes On Redevelopment

Family Action PAC Urges Orange County GOP Legislators to Abandon Defense of Redevelopment Agencies

Political organization calls support for RDAs an affront to conservative principles

For Immediate Release                                                                                

Orange County, CA (June, 2011) – Today, the California Alliance to Protect Private Property Rights announced that a prominent conservative Orange County political action committee has joined a coalition of taxpayer and private property rights organizations in calling for the abolition of California redevelopment agencies (RDA).

RDAs have come under considerable public scrutiny for wasteful government spending, eminent domain abuse and, according to independent state analysis, failing to increase the overall number of California jobs. In March, only one Republican legislator, Orange County Assemblyman Chris Norby, joined Democrats in supporting Governor Jerry Brown’s plan to abolish redevelopment agencies. Failing to generate one more Republican vote, taxpayer funding of RDAs continue.

Several Orange County Republican legislators that have been critical of redevelopment agencies in the past, now defend their very existence.

“GOP support for redevelopment agencies is an affront to conservative values,” said Family Action PAC chairman Larry Smith.  “During these tough economic times, providing taxpayer funding for private development, sports arenas and luxury golf courses is not a good use of taxpayer dollars.  It has hard to believe that Republicans are standing in the way of reform.”

In addition to diverting over $5 billion in tax increment revenue annually without any reliable evidence that they create new jobs, a California’s State Controller audit of RDAs concluded that overly broad definitions of “blight” expose private property to eminent domain abuse and invite wasteful spending of tax dollars on dubious redevelopment projects such as luxury golf courses.  In addition, redevelopment funds were inappropriately used to supplement the general funds of local governments.

The Family Action PAC was formed in 2000 to focus on business, family, and social issues.  The PAC supports initiatives and local and state candidates that will affect Orange County and California, and has served a critical role in the outcome of Republican primaries in Orange County.

The California Alliance to Protect Private Property Rights recently launched a statewide public educationcampaign to build public opposition to RDAs and ask GOP legislators to sign a pledge to abolish redevelopment agencies. The pledge calls on GOP legislators to renew their commitment to conservative values such as protecting taxpayers and private property.

Californians are encouraged to visit www.stopthemoneypit.com to learn how they can join our campaign to protect private property rights, eliminate government waste, and support legislation that abolishes RDAs, SB 77 and AB 101.

The California Alliance to Protect Private Property Rights is California’s leading private property rights (non-partisan) organization founded in 2005 and was a lead sponsor of Proposition 98, a 2008 state ballot measure that sought to protect private property rights.

Contacts:

Marko Mlikotin, California Alliance to Protect Private Property Rights, 916.552.0335

Larry Smith, Chairman, Family Action PAC, 949.955.1191

www.calpropertyrights.com

Selective Enforcement

As my friend Travis Kiger has pointed out on the Friends for Fullerton's Future blog, it appears that the "Fig Tree Lady" is being unfairly singled out by Fullerton officials for a non-existent problem. 

Below are some pictures showing how the Community Preservation officials distort circumstances and make a case where none should be made. 

Often, the City of Fullerton is the worst violator, holding the public to a much higher standard than it does of its own property. 



Note the orange tree hanging over the sidewalk.  The homeowner says they have never had Community Preservation (A.K.A. Code Enforcement) cite them for it.  Also, the city-owned magnolia tree on the right hangs over the private property.  No one seems to care.





All of the city-owned trees in the parkway overhang private property.  Again, no one seems to care.



The city-owned tree in the parkway is a little over the private property.  Also in the background a tree overhangs the public right of way and no one seems to care.  However, the smokey grey tree barely visible over the wall has been a point of contention for Fullerton's Community Preservation officers and has lead to the City Attorney filing misdemeanor charges against the property owner.  The case is pending.



In this picture you can clearly see the smokey grey fig tree nowhere over the wall.  Absolutely no violation exists yet the on-call contract city attorney is happy to waste tax dollars on a trial by jury. 

If you think that the on-call contract city attorney is wasting taxpayers’ dollars and if you think that the city selectively enforces the municipal code to harass certain people, join the club.   Selective enforcement that wastes very scarce tax dollars on enforcing poorly conceived policies undermines and destroys the fabric of our community.  Unlike its name implies, Community Preservation is damaging our city when enforcement officers pick and choose what they want to enforce and to whom they persecute.  This case smells of abuse and harassment under color of authority. 

A 400-Year Old Lesson on Communism - Pilgrim Style

One week late but worth the wait!

Smarter Use of Tax Revenue: End the Fullerton Redevelopment Agency immediately.

In the event you didn't know where I stand on the Fullerton Redevelopment Agency, here is something to consider.  This agency goes into areas of Fullerton which it declares to be blighted and then skims the increased property taxes so that it can continue to grow its area of influence. It receives additional funding through the issuance of bonds that will end up costing Fullerton taxpayers dearly. An excellent article on redevelopment agencies is offered by California Assemblyman and former Fullerton Mayor Chris Norby:

“Redevelopment was created 60 years ago to end urban blight in California. It was never intended to be a permanent drain on the budget. Agencies are supposed to sunset after 40 years but are routinely extended indefinitely, and their indebtedness now tops $93 billion.

Redevelopment diverts an ever-growing share of property tax dollars into subsidizing big box retailers, auto malls, theaters, stadiums and low-income housing. Last year, redevelopment agencies diverted $5.4 billion in local taxes - 12% of all property taxes. That amounted to $2.7 billion taken from public schools and $646 million from counties. There is no money to backfill these losses.” (Read Assemblyman Norby’s entire article in Issue 6 of his Norby Notes at http://arc.asm.ca.gov/member/72/?p=newsLetters)

Fullerton Redevelopment Agency destroys hundreds of homes under the auspice of creating low- and very low-income housing. However, the housing only provides for a few low- and moderate-income families.

With dozens of homes falling into foreclosure each month, the City could purchase these homes and sell them at a discount to targeted moderate-, low-, and very low-income families. With the money saved, the City could beautify parkways and medians, repave streets, and enforce the municipal code to keep properties safe and appealing.