Recently in 7th Ward City Council Category

Here is a revised version of the previous post that has been updated to include quotes and some additional information.

An ambitious and controversial plan to redevelop a cluster of eastside apartments that some officials say are home to a host of troubles got the go-ahead Monday night.

The City Council, acting in its role to oversee the San Bernardino Economic Development Agency, voted 4 - 3 to OK a redevelopment plan that calls for the rehabilitation of several four-plex apartment buildings that have been foreclosed or abandoned.

Buildings that cannot be refurbished are set to be demolished and rebuilt.

Council members Dennis Baxter, Tobin Brinker, Fred Shorett and Rikke Van Johnson voted for the plan. Council members Esther Estrada, Chas Kelley and Wendy McCammack voted "no."

The council cast their votes after lengthy debate that included comments from about two dozen speakers, shouts from the audience, raised voices on the dais and a break to get news on the brush fire that burned during the meeting on Little Mountain.

The vote was a narrow victory for Mayor Pat Morris, who strongly favored the redevelopment plan which is set to focus on eastside apartments on Sunrise Way and 19th Street. The neighborhood in question is just southwest of the place once known as the "Arden Guthries."

The mayor called the vote said the vote was a major step in "a long and difficult battle to redeem this community."

Morris and EDA officials consider the plan a tool to bring life back to a troubled neighborhood, however, McCammack contended that the plan's immediate focus on apartments misses out on an opportunity to promote home ownership within the city.

Additionally, Estrada and Kelley said the funds could be better put to use if spread around the city.

Estrada said the EDA could spend the money to "bulldoze the crap" along a distressed stretch of Base Line while building senior housing in a place where new development may stimulate the commercial economy. She suggested E Street as an example of a place where business may benefit from such a booster shot.

The Arden Guthries, near the site of the new project, were another group of distressed apartments where redevelopment officials have already pushed the reset buttion. Several apartments that comprised the Arden Guthries have already been demolished in a previous redevelopment effort that was intended to reduce crime and clear way for commercial development along Highland Avenue.

Plans call for a Home Depot store to eventually go up in the location.

"This project is still in our plans but I don't have much to confirm beyond that besides that it is a few years out and needs to go through approvals," Home Depot spokeswoman Kathryn Gallagher wrote in an email.

The new project is set to take advantage of about $8.4 million in federal dollars provided through Washngton D.C.'s Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which is intended to help the city deal with problems created by recent foreclosures.

But Uncle Sam's money also comes with a mandate that one-quarter of the funds be used to provide housing for low-income individuals.

The low-income requirement marked a dividing line for the issue. Although EDA housing director Carey Jenkins noted that the plan will reduce the number of apartments in the neighborhood, some of the speakers said that setting aside units for low income people amounts to an invitation to crime.

Another point of contention was the question of how shady the neighborhood really is. Jenkins showed photographs of dilapidated structures and observed that one building in the area recently burned down. He said that was the very building where he was recently quoted as saying he wouldn't be surprised if the building burnt down before it could be acquired.

However, several speakers who identified themselves as area residents objected to the characterization of their homes as a dangerous place, and that they considered the colloquial designation of the neighborhood as "Little Africa" to be an insult. Speakers also opined that the problems that do exist in their neighborhood are to blame on irresponsible landlords and lax code enforcement efforts.

Another concern for residents is whether they will be forced to leave their apartments as redevelopment moves forward.

"Where are we supposed to go?," an audience member called out after the vote.

"We're human beings just like you," was another cry.

The council's vote also follows the EDA's recommendation to work with a San Clemente-based nonprofit to acquire, fix-up and manage rehabilitated apartments for low-income tenants.

That nonprofit, San Clemente-based Mary Erickson Community Housing, promised to screen future tenants and Morris and other proponents have said the organization would provide a shield against absentee slumlords.

Susan McDevitt, Mary Erickson's executive director, acknowledged after the vote that an unspecified number of current tenants will likely have to move. She said the law requires those people to receive assistance and that it could be possible for them to return to the area if they pass tenant screenings.

McDevitt said Tuesday that residents of 32 four plexes may be relocated as part of redevelopment work. Her nonprofit will be required to provide assistance to anyone forced to find a new place to live.

"It's a very strict process. We just don't dump them out on the street," she said.

City Attorney James F. Penman - who prefaced his remarks by digging up a set of old jury instructions that identified his office as a policy-making position - said he is not confident that the nonprofit will be more successful in managing the area than other property owners that sought to run the Arden Guthries when things in that area were much worse.

Proponents of the redevelopment plan have said that if local government does not act, absentee landlords will swoop in and buy properties on the cheap. Penman said the city could respond to that problem without redevelopment by threatening to begin eminent domain proceedings.

With the council's vote on the books, McDevitt said she expects to close the first acquisition in early August.

An ambitious and controversial plan to redevelop a cluster of eastside apartments that some officials say are home to a host of troubles got the go-ahead Monday night.

The City Council, acting in its role to oversee the San Bernardino Economic Development Agency, voted 4 - 3 to OK a redevelopment plan that calls for the rehabilitation of several four-plex apartment buildings that have been foreclosed or abandoned.

Council members Dennis Baxter, Tobin Brinker, Fred Shorett and Rikke Van Johnson voted for the plan. Council members Esther Estrada, Chas Kelley and Wendy McCammack voted "no."

The council cast their votes after lengthy debate that included comments from about two dozen speakers, shouts from the audience, raised voices on the dais and a break to get news on the brush fire that burned during the meeting on Little Mountain.

The vote was a narrow victory for Mayor Pat Morris, who strongly favored the redevelopment plan which is set to focus on eastside apartments on Sunrise Way and 19th Street. The neighborhood in question is just southwest of the place once known as the "Arden Guthries."

Morris and EDA officials consider the plan a tool to bring life back to a troubled neighborhood, however, McCammack contended that the plan's immediate focus on apartments misses out on an opportunity to promote home ownership within the city.

The Arden Guthries were another group of distressed apartments where redevelopment officials have already pushed the reset buttion. Several apartments that comprised the Arden Guthries have already been demolished in a previous redevelopment effort that was intended to reduce crime and clear way for commercial development along Highland Avenue. Plans call for a Home Depot store to eventually go up in the location.

The new project is set to take advantage of about $8.4 million in federal dollars provided through Washngton D.C.'s Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which is intended to help the city deal with problems created by recent foreclosures.

But Uncle Sam's money also comes with a mandate that one-quarter of the funds be used to provide housing for low-income individuals.

The low-income requirement marked a dividing line for the issue. Although EDA housing director Carey Jenkins noted that the plan will reduce the number of apartments in the neighborhood, some of the speakers said that setting aside units for low income people amounts to an invitation to crime.

Another point of contention was the question of how shady the neighborhood really is. Jenkins showed photographs of dilapidated structures and observed that one building in the area recently burned down. He said that was the very building where he was recently quoted as saying he wouldn't be surprised if the building burnt down before it could be acquired.

However, several speakers who identified themselves as area residents objected to the characterization of their homes as a dangerous place, and that they considered the colloquial designation of the neighborhood as "Little Africa" to be an insult.

Another concern for residents is whether they will be forced to leave their apartments as redevelopment moves forward.

The EDA recommended that the council approve a deal to work with a San
Clemente-based nonprofit to acquire, fix-up and manage rehabilitated apartments for low-income tenants.

That nonprofit, San Clemente-based Mary Erickson Community Housing, promised to screen future tenants and Morris and other proponents have said the organization would provide a shield against absentee slumlords.

Susan McDevitt, Mary Erickson's executive director, acknowledged after the vote that an unspecified number of current tenants will likely have to move. She said the law requires those people to receive assistance and that it could be possible for them to return to the area if they pass tenant screenings.

City Attorney James F. Penman - who prefaced his remarks by digging up a set of old jury instructions that identified his office as a policy-making position - said he is not confident that the nonprofit will be more successful in managing the area than other property owners that sought to run the Arden Guthries when things in that area were much worse.

City Manager Charles McNeely and Police Chief Keith Kilmer are scheduled to meet the public at a Tuesday meeting hosted by Seventh Ward Councilwoman Wendy McCammack.

McNeely and Kilmer both joined the city June 1.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.Tuesday at Crossroads Christian Fellowship, which is at the crossing of 30th Street and Waterman Avenue.

We're planning a weekender to look on this issue in greater detail ...

By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer
SAN BERNARDINO -- A redevelopment plan that would include the rehabilitation of a cluster of eastside apartments is on hold after the City Attorney asked for more time to review the paperwork.

"I think we can do it in less than two weeks. We need at least one week," City Attorney James F. Penman said Monday night during a City Council meeting.

The council voted 4-3 Monday night to grant Penman's request and put the issue on hold for two weeks.

San Bernardino Economic Development Agency officials had proposed to hire a San Clemente-based nonprofit to assist in the use of a federal grant intended to help the city cope with social problems posed by foreclosed properties.

The redevelopment proposal would employ part of $8.4 million provided through the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program to redevelop 25 eastside lots that are currently the site four-plex apartments.

The plan also includes concepts for the future development of single-family homes and senior housing, and money could also be used to demolish properties.

Federal law requires that one quarter of the grant be spent on housing programs for people earning one-half or less of the area median income. In San Bernardino, that would mean people earning $19,000 or less per year.

Aside from his assertion that city lawyers need time to analyze technical aspects of the plan, Penman argued that low-income requirements would bring a throng of troubled individuals to the area.

"One hundred new units in that area is going to have a substantial impact on the crime rate," he said.

The EDA proposed to hire Mary Erickson Community Housing, a San Clemente-based to purchase and rehabilitate abandoned or foreclosed-upon apartment buildings.

The apartments are on East 19th Street and Sunrise Lane, southeast of the area once known as the "Arden Guthries."

Several apartments at the Arden Guthries, which had a reputation as a crime-plagued neighborhood, have been demolished in a separate redevelopment effort.

Although Penman insisted that the proposed deal was not yet ready for council approval, Tim Sabo, who serves as legal counsel for the San Bernardino Economic Development Agency, said Monday that it was his opinion that the plan was ready for approval.

Interim EDA chief Emil Marzullo said if the council waits too long to approve the purchase of the properties, absentee speculators will swoop in.

"If we don't pull the trigger, someone else will," Marzullo said.

Seventh Ward Councilwoman Wendy McCammack criticized interim City Manager Mark Weinberg during budget talks Monday night for what she sees as a failure to seek additional revenue enhancements.

McCammack maintained that the city should engage in more aggressive code enforcement and inspection efforts, thereby maximizing fee and fine revenues while cleaning up the city. She singled out a proposal to impose a new $80 fine for illegal signs when the city's administrative civil penalties law carries a provision for a maximum fine of $1,000 per day for any violation of the municipal code.

"Why would you undercut yourself if you've already got the legislative power to fine more?," asked McCammack, who has taken the position that the city should pursue new revenues before considering layoffs.

Weinberg and Mayor Pat Morris issued sharp rebukes to McCammack's suggestion. Weinberg asked McCammack if being pro-business, she would really want to start handing out $1,000 fines in the middle of a recession.

Morris, a former judge, maintained that such a hefty penalty for a sign violation is disproportionate to the offense.

"You're talking about people paying a $1,000 fines for minor infractions, and no judge worth his salt is going to enforce this," he said.

The proposed $80 fine for illegal signs could raise $45,000 in Fiscal 2009-10, according to Weinberg's office.

Seventh Ward Councilwoman Wendy McCammack said today that she will not seek a District Attorney's investigation into whether other city officials violated the state's open meetings law.

"I think at this point, my conclusion, based on the evidence that I'm aware of, is not something the D.A. would file on," she said, adding that at least her allegations of improper behavior served as a notice of the importance of following California's mandatory processes for handling public business.

McCammack first voiced her allegations at an Oct. 6 City Council meeting while the body considered a proposal put forth by 3rd Ward Councilman Tobin Brinker that would have allowed the council to elect one of their own to a leadership position that's currently held by the body's most-senior official. At present, 1st Ward Councilwoman Esther Estrada fills that role.

The council approved Brinker's proposal at its Oct. 20 meeting. The council is now on pace to elect one its own as Mayor Pro Tem in March. Whoever is named to that post will have authority to appoint council members to various city committees.

During that meeting, McCammack alleged that the Brown Act's requirements had been somehow skirted to generate a consensus among council members prior to public discussion. Such action would violate law that prohibits local officials from meeting secretly in a group or holding a series of private talks that would render public meetings as nothing more than a formality.

Later on, McCammack accused Brinker and Mayor Pat Morris of failing to obey the Brown Act. Brinker and the Mayor's Office responded by saying McCammack's accusations were groundless.

Shortly after McCammack first alleged a Brown Act violation, City Attorney James F. Penman counseled that City Hall would be better served by a training session on Brown Act compliance than asking for an investigation.

McCammack said today that she wants such training to be held.

SBNOW last night broke the news that Mayor Pat Morris has added 7th Ward challenger Jim Mulvihill to his endorsement list.

Turns out Mulvihill, pictured below, was the last to know ....

Any astute observer could long see the relative ideological alignment between the liberal Mayor Pat Morris and very moderate Republican Jim Mulvihill. Any observer who has watched a council meeting has seen the toxic relationship between Morris and 7th Ward incumbent Wendy McCammack.

So, many wondered why Morris didn't endorse Mulvihill, McCammack's challenger in the Nov. 6 election.

Well, Morris has now publicly endorsed Mulvihill, if belatedly and, perhaps, unintentionally ...

Mayor Pat Morris' difficulties with his city council have been well-documented. The boiling frustration has led many to speculate about what he may do this election season, with regular combatants like City Attorney James F. Penman, 7th ward Councilwoman Wendy McCammack and 5th ward Councilman Chas Kelley all facing voters.