City Council Notes by Staff

Meetings are on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 5:30 pm. Upcoming agenda information and streaming video of meetings are available at http://www.cityoffullerton.com • City Hall is located at 303 W. Commonwealth, Fullerton Contact Council at (714) 738-6311 or council@cityoffullerton.com

Proclamations

Black History Month

The City of Fullerton presented a proclamation for Black History Month to Fullerton Joint Union High School Board Trustee Dr. Vicki Calhoun, who is the only black official in Fullerton.

Lunar New Year

The City of Fullerton presented a proclamation for the Lunar New Year to Arnel Dino of the Filipino Chamber of Commerce.

Awards and Recognition

Awardees are listed as: Division 8 Level 1: Jailyn Mayorga, Avangeline Arevalo, Camila Ramirez, Camila Sanchez Villon, Ariana Cisneros, and Evelyn Aguirre Division 12 Level 1: Sydney Cordova, Liliana Avilan, Makayla Leasau, Bella Ortega, Brianna Aguirre, Heaven Hazelwood, Sophia Cortes, Delilah Lazcano Coaches: Mandy Jung, Rosie Word, Monique Avilan, Mackenzy Jung, Leala Jung, Noelia Rojo, Jasmine Diaz.

Certificates of Recognition were presented to Fullerton Bears Cheer (JAMZ National Champions)

The City Council honored the Fullerton Union High School Theatre Program on February 20 with certificates of recognition.
The Fullerton High School Theater students honored were: Tyler Holt, Mathew Choye, Aiden Stephenson, Rhyan Stevens, Max Allan, Micah Plick, Maddie Engelhardt, Lucia Castrejon, Emily Gjevre, Elijah Purcell, Sydney Parker, Connor Udhus, Karisma Beltran, Karissa Lentz, Cole Frausto, Alejandro Thompson, Luke Sanderson, Molly Cooper, Sophia Goldblatt, Jocelyn Romay, Kirsten Capio, Katherine Hudson, Nicholas Christov, Grace Holbrook, Mollie Holbrook, Araya Wright, Skylar Weber, Kameron Curtis, Emma Woods, Katherine Timmerman, Fae Muñoz, Aleyna Mayfield, June Visnic, Cynthia Montiel Cruz, Bernardo Coria Lozano, Cora Der, Charlotte Krammer, Raquel Radillo, and Mya Reyes. Fullerton HS Faculty are Genni Klein, Michael Despars, Scott Hudson, Evan Shirk, and Joanna Cronin.

Fullerton Union High School Theatre Program Receives Best Production from the California Educational Theatre Association’s High School Theatre Festival

Public Comments

Rancho La Paz

Todd Harrison gave a short account of events at Rancho La Paz. “Over five years ago, Lupe Ramirez thought she was retired. Then a predator named John Saunders struck where she lived, the senior mobile home park, Rancho La Paz. Lupe has long been recognized as an activist for the disadvantaged; she became the driving force of the park residents, forming an HOA to fight the new landlord’s unfair rent hike.

Of the many residents who organized and fought back and many nonresidents and politicians who cared enough to join the fight, everyone involved believes that without Lupe, the effort would have failed right from the start. I speak for the residents and thank Lupe as she again tries to retire after a lifetime of hard work helping others. Lupe deserves more recognition and reward than we can give her.

I need to remind you all of your failure to hinder Mr. Saunders’s plans to make Rancho La Paz an All Ages Mobile Home Park. There are examples of cities successfully stopping such conversions. Everything you were told and believed about it being a done deal and legally difficult is a lie. We, residents of Rancho La Paz, are still fighting the conversion and have gained at least a six-month delay. But we cannot stop Saunders alone. There is a much more effective action you can still take. I remain available should you care to hear what I and my fellow senior homeowners need from this council. Save our seniors!”

Better Active Transportation in Construction Zones

Anjali Tapadia requested that the City Council look into better access to active transportation users in construction zones around the city. “We repeatedly run into issues where crews place road construction signs and bike lanes or obstruct sidewalks in such a way that makes it difficult for pedestrians and especially those using mobility devices to traverse these zones safely. I often move road signs out of bike lanes to areas on the sidewalk that don’t obstruct pedestrians. And when I do this, it’s clear to me that there are better ways to place road signs.

Recently, my friend and bicycling advocate was hit by an aggressive car driver when road construction closed Acacia for weeks, which has the only NS bike lane in the vicinity. This closure routed bicyclists onto unsafe routes. There was a safe way to create an egress through the construction zone, and I partook in it. But there was no official way to traverse the construction zone, and complaints that I and other bicyclists made were not heeded.

An apartment construction project on Chapman and Commonwealth recently closed the sidewalk, and so the construction crew created a new sidewalk using large Jersey barriers. This shows that it’s indeed possible to create better traffic controls through construction zones, but we have to direct private contractors and public works alike to do so.

I want to suggest that the city adopt guidelines that direct inspectors to ask one simple question for each project: How would a bicyclist or pedestrian safely traverse this construction zone? And as a follow-up, how can we create a safe detour and minimize the need to backtrack? These simple questions can help active transportation users to move more safely through the City.”

Naming the Union Pacific Trail as the Egleth Nuncci Trail

Anjali Tapadia asked the City Council to consider naming the new Union Pacific Trail in honor of community leader Egleth Nuncci. “Without her tireless efforts, we would not have gotten the grant, and the trail would not have been approved. We have a lot of trails in the region that are named after important community members.”

Republic Services & Auto Mall

Zee remarked he had heard nothing about his complaint concerning a refund from Republic Services for the two-week period during which trash was not collected during the strike. He reminded the council that the City could collect more revenue if Fullerton had an auto mall.

Public Nuisance

Kitty Jaramillo, District 4, spoke about a public nuisance at Pacific Drive and Orangethorpe (the former Zaki Market property) next to the Pacific Drive school. She said it had been a public nuisance for 20 years. “I have talked to Bruce [Whitaker] about it several times with no action.” There was just a big fire at the location, and half of it had burned down. “I believe a Korean church just bought it. And they already demolished it. But it is still a mess. Why is there no action under the existing ordinance?”

City Manager Eric Levitt said the property had been condemned, and the new owner planned to renovate. Due to the fire, they had to demolish the building and submit new plans.

Helping the Homeless

Curtis Gamble said he is an activist for the homeless, veterans, Cal State Fullerton students, OCTA bus drivers, seniors, and the low-income community.

1. Cash Up card is a Visa debit card that allows community funding to pay for rent, electric bills, gas, hotels, and motels.
2. OCTA bus passes.
3. Municipal code 15.42.10 allows for emergency shelter at Fullerton’s 30-plus churches to shelter up to 12 homeless individuals per location.
4. SB 4 will make it legal for faith-based institutions and non-profit colleges to build affordable, multi-family homes on lands they own.
5. In the Mid-February 2024 issue of the Fullerton Observer, there was an article, There is No Emergency Cold Weather Shelter in Fullerton, that said the Commission to End Homeless asked cities to open cold weather shelters in October 2023.
6. Rancho La Paz Mobile Home Park at 501 E Orangethorpe Ave falls under SB 4, which requires cities and counties to accommodate their need for emergency shelters on sites where the use is allowed without a conditional use permit and requires Cities and Counties to treat transitional and supportive housing projects as residential use of property. The County and the City of Fullerton can partner with Rancho La Paz Mobile Home for transitional and low-income housing.
7. The Fullerton Low Barrier Navigation Center should include the Fullerton City Lights, Citrea, Ventana, Fullerton Heights, Hudson Ridge rental apartments, and other low-income housing.
8. On January 9, 2024, OC Board of Supervisors approved $3 million to create their Homeless prevention and pilot program.
9. The Fold Them Corporation builds moveable tiny homes at a cost ranging from $25,000 to $65,000. 4040 Calle Platino Suite 109, Oceanside, CA 92056 hello@foldum.com | 442-599-6762