Recently in Developers Category

What a day in LA.

Dodgers lost

West Covina Councilman Roger Hernandez's former campaing manager pleads no contest to voter registration fraud. Read here.

Montebello decides to hold off decision to let voters decide on who their trash haulers should be. Read more.

Walnut decides to back off ban of proposed businesses that could benefit the NFL stadium. Read here.

Michael Lewis and and the Citizens for Better Government Committee violated campaign laws five times in South El Monte's mayoral and city council elections for failing to disclose late contriubtions to Mayor Blanca Figueroa, and councilmen Hector Delgado and Luis Aguinaga. Lewis -- yes, this is the same Mike Lewis that helped pro-Wal Mart residents in Rosemead -- and agreed to pay $12,000 in fines. Read more.

Former Rosemead City Manager Frank Tripepi will be hired $20,000 a month as a consultant for La Puente. Read here.

Editorial board urges a "no" vote for El Monte's proposed Measure GG, the half-cent sales tax. Read here.

Here are the top SGV stories today:

The county budget is taking a $128 million hit now that the Governor approved the state's budget. Here's the story.

The Walnut City Council opposed to the NFL stadium. This is the first city to oppose it. Monterey Park and West Covina city councils both passed ordinances approving the stadium, Bethania Markus-Palma reports.

The state Department of Public Health faulted Citrus Valley Health Partners in connection with its employees' use of fake CPR cards, Tania Chatila reports.

AQMD hearings continue regarding El-Monte based Gregg Industries, Rebecca Kimitch reports.

The environmental report is going to be released on Wednesday for the proposed NFL stadium in the city of Industry. Of course,  the main concern is traffic.

While many welcome the proposal, some living near the site have worried that a stadium would cause more traffic at the already crowded freeway intersection, Industry Mayor Dave Perez said.

However, Majestic Realty Vice President John Semcken said the stadium project would cause less traffic than a larger commercial center approved by the City Council in 2004 but never built. Read more.

Cities will be monitoring and likely responding to the draft EIR during the next 45 review period. Diamond Bar prepared a 12 page response in May to the Notice of Response for the supplment enviornmental report.

Some people I talked to, both on and off the record, said that they were surprised that Rosemead Mayor John Tran has raised $100,000 for a local race. Tran says that he has done so because of his surprise two years ago that Wal-Mart contributed so much to back former Councilman Jay Imperial and Councilman Gary Taylor during a recall election.

"The last time I ran, Wal-Mart contributed over $400,000 to a local election and taht was an eye-opener. I want to make sure I have enough funds to get my point across," Tran told me on Friday.

(As far as any speculation goes about Tran raising money for the Assembly, that can be put to rest right now, Tran said. He is now just focusing on the city council race, as well as on his family.)

Here's my story that ran today:

Mayor outpaces all others in money for City Council race
By Jennifer McLain, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 08/24/2008 07:07:36 AM PDT

ROSEMEAD - Mayor John Tran is leading the fundraising pack and has collected more than $100,000 for a City Council election that is seven months away, finance records show.

The city's election will be held in March, and candidates will be vying for three open seats currently held by Tran, Councilwoman Margaret Clark and Councilman John Nuñez.

Officials said they are surprised that Tran, who is seeking his second term on the council, has raised so much money so early.

"It's outrageous," said Clark. "We are a little city. It is outside money trying to buy power."

Campaign finance records show that from January to June, Tran raised $102,218; Nuñez raised $31,684; and Clark raised $1,969.

Also actively fundraising this period is Councilwoman Polly Low, whose seat is not up until 2011. She raised $37,407 this period.

Rosemead is a city of nearly 55,000 residents. Traditionally, candidates have raised no more than $50,000.

But a recall election in 2006 prompted by the construction of a Wal-Mart Supercenter heightened the bar for fundraising efforts.

During that race, Wal-Mart contributed nearly $400,000 to support the recall targets: Councilman Gary Taylor and former Councilman Jay Imperial.

Taylor and Imperial were not recalled.

Read more.

My weekend story will be about the campaign donation totals in Rosemead. Some of the commentors have asked where the money is coming from. I will develop a spreadsheet later in the day, but here are some of the numbers that pop:

  Friends of John Nunez: $31,684

-Garvey School School Board member Bob Bruesch is listed as Nunez's treasurer on the campaign statement documents.

-Architect firm JWDA, which has done several buildings in Rosemead, donated $1,000.

-Valley Hotel, 8711 Balley Blvd., gave $2,500

-420 Boyd Street LLC, out of Los Angeles, gave $2,500

-Friends of John Tran donated $6,000

 

Committee to Re-Elect Margaret Clark: $1,969

-Her largest donation came from Henri Pellissier, a retired Whittier resident, gave $1,000.

-Mike Lewis of Lewis and Company gave $244 worth of "publication supplies." Lewis worked as a consultant to help get support for the Wal-Mart Supercenter.

Polly Low for Rosemead: $37,407

-H Hai Tran, an Arcadia resident who is the director of Saigon National Bank, gave $3,000.

-420 Boyd Street, LLC, of Los Angeles, gave $3,000

-Si Ming Lau, a Pasadena resident who is self employed for Si Lau CPA Associates, gave $3,000.

-Paul Chauderson, a Rosemead resident who is self employed at Classic Tees, gave $3,000

-Stephen Lam, a former Monterey Park planning commissioner who resigned because of questions about his residency in the city, gave $1,000.

-Valley Hotel gave $2,000.

-JWDA, the architectual company, gave $1,000.

-Yan Huang, a Rowland Heights resident who is self employed for Huang Tax Service, gave $3,000.

-She also paid back a $5,000 loan from Friends of John Tran.

Friends of John Tran: $100,218

-Tran may have raised 100 grand, but this period he also spent $58,913, including a $11,500 fundraising event in 888 Seafood Restaurant and a $7,500 donation to Foothill Unity Center for "children in need."

- Pan Construction, at 1234 San Gabriel Blvd in Rosemead, gave $3,000

-Hotels Southern California in Arcadia gave $5,000.

-Eastern Investment Group out of Rosemead gave $3,000.

-Valley Hotel gave $3,000.

-CB Home, at 1732 S. Wesetern Ave. in Los Angeles, gave $3,000.

-TT Investment from Los Angeles (no address is given) gave $4,000.

-420 Boyd Street LLC, from 420 Boyd Street Los Angeles, gave $6,000.

-JWDA gave $1,000.

-Hieu Tai Tran gave $3,000.

-Connie Lam, the owner of Classic Tees, gave $5,000.

-Mike Truong, owner of Kingfish Trading Inc, gave $3,000.

-Dana Denh Voong, a real estate broker out of Arcadia, gave $3,000.

-Polly Low for Rosemead gave Tran $5,000.

Rosemead Partners Political Action Committee: $1,349

-Largest contribution came from Councilman Gary Taylor, who gave $500

-Lewis and Company gave $150.

Billionare land developer Ed Roski, who wants to bring an NFL stadium to the city of Industry, is still jumping through the many hoops to find a team that wants to play in his state of the art facility.

But at least he'll have the city of West Covina backing his plans. West Covina City Council will vote on a memorandum backing the stadium, which will be near the intersection of the 60 and 57 freeways.

BTW: Interesting that Roski has said in the past that traffic impacts in that area will be minimal if a stadium comes to town. Do you believe him?

Here's the staff report:

City of West Covina
Memorandum
A G E N D A

ITEM NO. D - 8c
DATE August 19, 2008

TO: Andrew G. Pasmant, City Manager
and City Council

FROM: Chris Freeland, Assistant to the City Manager

SUBJECT: RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NFL STADIUM IN THE CITY OF INDUSTRY, CALIFORNIA

RECOMMENDATION:

It is recommended that the City Council adopt the following resolution:

RESOLUTION NO. _____________

RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WEST COVINA DECLARING ITS SUPPORT FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NFL STADIUM IN INDUSTRY, CALIFORNIA.

DISCUSSION:

On October 28, 2004, the City of Industry approved an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for a 4.8 million square foot Industry Business Center to be located near the intersection of the 57 and 60 freeways in the City of Industry. On April 16, 2008, Majestic Realty Co. applied for modifications to the EIR to permit the development of a football stadium suitable for a National Football League (NFL) team and reduce the size of the Industry Business Center Development.

The proposed 592-acre development is to include:

Stadium (with Team Facilities): 75,000 Seats, including 11,000 Club seats and 175 Suites

Office Buildings: 1.49 million sq. ft.

Retail Shops: 833,000 sq. ft.

Restaurants: 162,000 sq. ft.

Live Theater: 5,000 seats (60,000 sq. ft.)

Movie Theater: 1,200 seats (60,000 sq. ft.)

Green and non-parking Open Space: 271 acres

The proposed stadium will include the following:

Total Seats: 75,000 (expandable to 80,000 for Super Bowl games)

Suites: 175

Club Level: 11,000 seats

Team Offices: 45,000 sq. ft.

National Football League (NFL) Attraction: 40,000 sq. ft.

Team Store and Other Sponsored Retail Stores: 30,000 sq. ft.

Restaurants: 30,000 sq. ft.

Banquet facilities: 20,000 sq. ft.

NFL Team Training Facility: 115,000 sq. ft.

Medical Center and Clinic: 100,000 sq. ft.

Parking Spaces: 25,000 spaces

According to Majestic Realty Co., the shape of the Los Angeles Stadium will be an asymmetrical bowl which will provide improved seat positions and site lines for both general admission and premium fans.

The Stadium will anchor nearly 3 million square feet of mixed-use (entertainment, retail, commercial, office) development designed to express the Southern California lifestyle and provide retail and entertainment to families year round. The proposed project will create thousands of new jobs in the region and based on Majestic Realty's success with Staples Center, property values of the surrounding communities will increase.

City staff also anticipates that the development could create ancillary benefits, such as, increased property tax, hotel occupancy tax, sales tax revenues, and the opportunity for new commercial developments/tenants in West Covina if the proposed stadium is approved.

The proposed stadium is completely funded with private investment funds and will be constructed using recycled materials, water conservation features, and other "green" elements to be environmentally friendly, including the restoration of adjacent waterway and trails.

Attached is a resolution supporting the proposed stadium project, as well as, a rendering of the proposed development.

FISCAL IMPACT:
The anticipated increases in sales tax, property tax, hotel occupancy tax, and other revenues to West Covina from the proposed stadium are unknown at this time.

Prepared by:

___________________________
Chris Freeland
Assistant to the City Manager

The District Attorney's office has filed a notice of appeal on the Carlos Thrasher case.

More to come next week.

In the meantime, here's a story from a few months ago:

Charges against ex-official dismissed
Whittier Daily News, The (CA) - April 8, 2008
Author/Byline: Dan Abendschein, Staff Writer
Section: News

(626) 962-8811, Ext. 2105

I just saw this post from Jennifer McLain. And judging from all your comments, you guys are interested. So here are some facts to chew on:

Campaign contributions from Charles Co. Owner Arman Gabay for the last two years:

6/21/2007: Ernest Gutierrez $1,000 (El Monte)
10/26/2005: Ernest Gutierrez $1,000

9/18/2007: Juventino "J" Gomez $1,000 (El Monte)
11/01/2005: Juventino "J" Gomez $1,000

10/30/2007: John Solis $2,500 (La Puente)
11/17/2005: John Solis $2,000

6/7/2007: Louie Lujan $1,000 (La Puente)
7/2/2007: Louie Lujan $1,00

3/30/2007: Sherri Lane $999 (West Covina)
10/5/2005: Sherri Lane $200

1/8/2007: Steve Herfert $1,000 (West Covina)
7/25/2007: Steve Herfert $500
12/29/2005: Steve Herfert $1,000

11/2/2005: Marlen Garcia $2,500 (Baldwin Park)

11/2/2005: Manuel Lozano $2,500 (Baldwin Park)

11/2/2005: Anthony Bejarano $2,500 (Baldwin Park)

10/19/2007: Norma Lopez Reid $1,500 (Montebello)
7/13/2006: Norma Lopez Reid $1,250

Weekend links:

Montebello is prepared to pay an extra $227,000 for a third administrator. Here's the story.

Glendora is facing a balanced budget. Read here.

Plans to develop 45 acres off the 60 freeway in Monterey Park could mean a previous deal with the old developer fell through. Here's the story.

Baldwin Park, El Monte top the jobless rate in the SGV, although all of Los Angeles County saw the rate increase by one percent last month. Read here.

Duarte seeks to block Vulcan Materials from expanding in Azusa, near the border of Duarte. Read more.

A group of nearly 200 residents are upset at a development plan in Rowland Heights that would displace a Christian school. Read more.

A consultant deal out of La Puente is raising eyebrows, and at least one councilwoman is calling for the District Attorney's office to get involved. Read more.

Some residents are fighting a plan to bring a discovery center that they say is too big and that it will wipe out part of the natural habitat in the Whittier Narrows. Read more.

A post I put up earlier about a "mysterious deal" in La Puente has sure hit a nerve with people.

Well, here are a few updates:

First of all, the story has been moved to run on Sunday.

Second of all, I spoke with Luis Rojas, CEO of Del Terra, on Tuesday and he had some interesting things to say about this deal.

Rojas told me Alliance Services Group is not a subsidy of Del Terra (even though a secretary who answered del Terra's office line last week told me it was). Rojas said Alliance is owned by Virginia Campos, Rojas' sister and partner at Del Terra. Still, Rojas was the negotiator on the deal between Alliance and Charles Co. owner Arman Gabay.

Interestingly, Rojas said Gabay approached them about getting assistance to seal a deal with La Puente, but around April the negotiations fell through.

Gabay sure made it sound like a different story at last week's council meeting. Of course, he ain't talking anymore cause of "potential litigation."

Rojas said he knew nothing about the rumors or anything else.

He called it a "regular business transaction that never came to fruition."

  Here's a sneak preview of a story we're running next week out of La Puente.

It seems a mysterious contract is stirring up some serious drama, and forcing some officials to question whether those in City Hall are being influenced by outside consultants.

The entire debate surrounds a $400,000 consulting agreement proposed to the Charles Co. by Alliance Services Group.

The agreement, dated March, proposes that Alliance Services Group will provide services "to finalize the Development and Disposition Agreement" between the city and the Charles Co. in exchange for $400,000.

A DDA, in case you didn't know, is basically a final contract between a city and a contractor for work. No backing out, essentially.

Alliance Services Group is a subsidy of Industry-based Del Terra Group, Inc., which in March, went up for a job to perform a citywide review of La Puente's existing service contracts.

They dropped out of the running the night the council was slated to make their decision.

The council is divided on whether they believe someone in City Hall brokered the deal, though Councilman John Solis is sure someone did.

Councilwoman Lola Storing said she wants the DA and the city to look into it.

"It doesn't smell right," she said.

Look for the story next week.

That's right, plans have been submitted to bring a Home Depot into the city.

If all goes through, it'll be built on the site of the former Foothill Ford and the current Hyundai dealership.

As you might remember, the Foothill Ford shut down June 1 and at that time, dealership officials said they would be expanding the Hyundai dealership.

There's obviously been a change of heart. We're now hearing that another undisclosed dealership will be brought to the site in the next 60 days.

And regardless of whether the Home Depot goes in or not, those dealerships will likely be moving to more freeway accessible locations.

In the meantime, city officials say a Home Depot store typically brings in between $200,000 and $300,000 a year in sales tax revenue.

That's a lot more than the estimated $100,000 yearly loss the city faces with Foothill Ford gone.

I've been working on this story about some of developer Robert Bisno's business dealings for some time now. Well, it's finally out in today's paper.

The meat and potatoes are basically 1/4 into the story....

Here's a little snapshot:

"He's a very smooth crook," said John T. Emanuele, a San Leandro resident who along with about a dozen other plaintiffs sued Bisno in 2007 over a business deal gone sour.

Emanuele's suit stems from a Berkeley development project in the 1980s in which a group of investors accused Bisno of taking $453,000 in partnership money to purchase a private residence.

The case went to trial last year and a jury ruled in favor of the investors, said Richard Stratton, Emanuele's attorney.

Bisno tried to appeal the case, Stratton said, but it was denied.

"He admitted in the trial that he (took the money) to cheat the government, to commit tax fraud," Stratton said, "not to fraud the investors."

Emanuele said he and the other partners believe Bisno never intended to pay back the misappropriated funds.

Bisno stands to pay more than $3.5 million in judgements to the remaining investors as a result of the suit, Stratton said.

I tried getting hold of the man himself -- Mr. Bisno -- last week, but I'm told he doesn't talk to the media. That's what John DeClercq is there for. DeClercq is Bisno Development's vice president and chief operating officer. He argued none of Bisno's personal litigation matters affect any of his development projects.

I should add, there's a sidebar about special interest groups that goes along with the story.

You read it right, La Puente Councilwoman Lola Storing is proposing the city prohibit council members from accepting any and all contributions from contracted or prospective consultants or developers in the city --- that includes campaign contributions.

Storing said contributions "buy votes" (I can hear the gadflies and advocates for open government saying "duh" in my head).

But contributions from developers are very common - rampant actually - across the nation. Lola acknowledged that, and the hard fight it would be to actually get a measure like this passed in La Puente. She mentioned it would probably be a 4-1 vote against her proposal.

Storing might be right. A few of the council members I talked to Monday seemed hesitant. Councilman John Solis argued if they took out developer contributions from the mix, it would become so cheap to run for office that then "everyone would be doing it." Now why would we want that?

Storing's proposal goes before the council tonight. See the story in today's paper.