Friday Tips: Honor Righteous Authority

Last week, the Friday transportation tip was "Question Authority." As Americans, it is a patriotic duty to question those in power whenever one suspects the government or a special interest is abusing its authority and not honoring the values of the people they are supposed to represent. Bring such matters into the court of public opinion for debate. The situation happening in Moreno Valley, exploiting CEQA law to capitalize on the Perris Valley Line, and the abusive federal financial fiasco at the U.S. Department of Labor under President Obama are a prime examples. There is positively nothing wrong with having constructive debates on controversies, but there is a line between questioning authority in the public arena and becoming outright disrespectful and disobedient.

Drawing the line

It is an absolute fact that every person living today is under some type of authority and it is our duty and responsibility to obey everything that is righteous and lawful to this authority. Yes, we and many fair-minded individuals would like to see the mandatory peak hour tolls and FasTrak transponder mandate abolished for 3+ carpools on the 91 Express Lanes with its outstanding debt paid off through tax revenue under a robust economy and responsible state fiscal policy. However, here's where the line is drawn. Even though, we at The Transit Coalition question OCTA's toll lane usage policies, we will continue to obey the rules and mount the FasTrak transponder before using the 3+ high occupancy lane to bypass traffic congestion.

Likewise, the good folks in Moreno Valley are exposing potential abuse and developer pandering in City Hall. They are taking the matter to the public square through peaceful protests and social media. Their message is clear: "No" to worsened pollution. "No" to urban sprawl. However, the line in this example which should never be crossed is obstructing traffic during protesting or infusing personal attacks or threats on Facebook. Thankfully, the residents are behaving themselves and we've not ran into any major reported incident.

On the other side, elected politicians also have the responsibility to honor the values of the people they represent. Judges have the responsibility of interpreting the law impartially. Californians should hold those in power accountable by their votes at elections and the power to recall fundamentalist politicians and biased state judges.

Lastly a tip for those who are raising children:

Resolve to take full responsibility of your children and youth to keep them out of the gang, crime and drug cultures. Be their leader, protector and their provider. Spend more time with them and be with them throughout their lives. Teach them to honor righteous authority through proper discipline. Be a mentor for a child who lacks caring parents, especially to children who lack fathers. Work smartly to provide for the needs of these children so they can grow up, learn the skills to compete in the American marketplace, and become responsible and selfless leaders when they assume a position of authority.

Enough with the urban sprawl in Moreno Valley!

During the last several weeks, local Moreno Valley residents have been objecting and questioning the runaway logistics development now taking place in the heart of their city--oops, we made a typo. Runaway logistics sprawl is taking place at the outer edge of their city in the eastern residential areas and in spots that once had rural ranches and agricultural farms.

There's been much local response to our recent post on this matter as shown on the Facebook pages of Save Mo Valley, and Moreno Valley Residents Against Warehouse expansion. Residents are demanding the city government to put the brakes on the World Logistics Center, and for good reason. On Sunday, The Press Enterprise put in its opinion pretty much echoing the Coalition's position. We've noted that the newspaper generally supports business-friendly policies in its editorials, but also knows that pollution control is one of those government regulations that is absolutely vital.

As demanded by the local residents, public officials from all levels need to wake up and take action! Right now, the Moreno Valley City Council is not looking out for their residents, is pandering to logistics developers, and does not care if the the quality of life collapses in Moreno Valley with the resulting diesel pollution and added truck traffic through the Badlands hills.

Moreno Valley Urban Sprawl: World Logistics Center

Here's a fact that needs to be factored into this whole situation. According the South Coast Air Quality Management District and reported by the PE, out of the total square footage of proposed warehouses and distribution centers in Southern California since 2010, Riverside County dominates a whopping 75% of the Southland's logistics sector of 112 million square feet. Factor in San Bernardino and that adds up to 97%, but here's the headline. More than one third of the 112 million square feet of warehouses points to the proposed World Logistics Center at the base of the Badlands hills.

Right now, there are no proposals to link this hub via rail to the proposed Long Beach GRID logistics hub and there's a multitude of other unaddressed questions. Where are the plans to increase capacity on the 60 Freeway through the Badlands without disrupting the local ecosystems? Where are the private sector incentives to develop cleaner truck technology already in use on our buses to clean up Moreno Valley's air quality? We don't want the 60 and the 91 Freeways turning into the I-710. We don't want Moreno Valley turning into the smog-covered Los Angeles of the 1980's. We certainly don't want the Inland Empire's air quality turning into Beijing's. The World Logistics Center is an epitome of urban sprawl, and concerned citizens and the local press are well aware of it.

A call for action

The situation in Moreno Valley is not about global warming. It's not about UN's Agenda 21 which, for the record, we do not support at all. It's about doing away with pollution and corporate corruption. If Moreno Valley wants jobs and more housing, allow the private sector to come in, invest, and revitalize the existing Sunnymead and Perris Boulevard corridors. Keep the logistics jobs as close to the rail lines and the March ARB area as possible and offer incentives for cleaner ways to move freight. If the land owner of the World Logistics Center property wants to invest in it, find alternative ways for the entrepreneur to capitalize on the land that's compatible for the local area and the Badlands ecosystem, such as dividing the land parcels for rural ranches, creating a robust agricultural district for local produce, investing in a mixed-use recreational or youth district for residents, building a great park which would boost the tourism sector, or any other proposal that will benefit the welfare of Moreno Valley and provide the much-needed marketplace jobs without the pollution and traffic congestion.

Enough with the urban sprawl!

What the heck is going on in Moreno Valley?

Whenever elected officials pander to the special interests or the wants of themselves instead of the needs of the people, problems for both themselves and the jurisdiction they're supposed to represent are sure to occur. As many are aware, former council member and Mayor Pro Tem Marcelo Co of the City of Moreno Valley is in big trouble. He is charged with multiple counts of felony fraud, accused of illegally collecting nearly $15,000 taxpayer-funded government assistance money that was supposed to go toward the care of his mother. He was also the target of renting out properties that were not up to code. The City Clerk reported on the same day of his bust that residents initiated a move to recall Co. The accused councilman eventually resigned from his post the next day. His days in power are over.

Things aren't much better for the remaining City Council members. Both the Riverside County district attorney's office and the federal government have been investigating a potential political corruption probe in the city separate from Co's case. We really cannot pass much judgement of the probe until the facts are made public; however, one of the city's pet projects--The World Logistics Center--deserves further straight talk.

Moreno Valley Protests & Proposed World Logistics Center

Fed up with the political circus and officials pandering to logistics developers, Moreno Valley residents are fighting back. On Tuesday, hundreds of protesters showed up outside of City Hall to support a recall of the remaining council members, voice opposition to the sprawling World Logistics Center, and demand Co's replacement be elected from the jurisdiction.

Last May, this blog brought up a point regarding the proposed World Logistics Center: Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater. The baby being the private sector jobs in the logistics sector, the bathwater being unnecessary urban sprawl, added diesel truck pollution and excessive truck traffic. It's no question that the locals oppose the bathwater as the World Logistics Center demonstrates.

However, the region could use a well planned marketplace job hub to increase wages, and logistics would fit well with the area's blue-collar demographics. Local unemployment is still above 11%. Robust facilities along existing rail corridors and industrial areas near the March ARB which link to the proposed GRID project in Long Beach would be prime spots to develop these job sites. Incentives for the private sector to develop clean ways to move freight would be welcome. If Moreno Valley wants to build up logistics jobs, do it right. Having sprawling industrial parks like the World Logistics Center at the base of the Badlands hills adjacent to the San Jacinto Fault with no rail line for miles is undesired runaway urban sprawl.

A disgrace to free speech

Lastly, local residents including our high school youth ordinarily would have every right to go to City Hall and question government proposals and development projects which includes the World Logistics Center and voice their opinion and concerns to their elected representatives; however this Press Enterprise blog post suggests otherwise.

Since becoming mayor in December, Owings has regularly taken on the city’s critics. He has called them “smear merchants,” accused opponents of the World Logistics Center of being racists and anti-Semitic, and even cursed on occasion. “We’re a great city and we don’t need to hear this crap every damn council night,” he said during an April 23 council meeting.

To be fair, Mayor Tom Owings did openly apologize during a June 4 meeting about this type of behavior, but it's all too common to turn toward personal attacks when one cannot win the debate and not concede. Does that mean that if we go to City Hall and question the World Logistics Center and bring fact-based evidence into the discussion, we're going to be publicly humiliated without any evidence to back it up?

Officials know they cannot defend such vile personal attacks, and many politicians reserve such behavior to their election campaigns, not the public chambers. The political madness caused by residents simply questioning the logic of the World Logistics Center clearly demonstrates that City Hall does not care of the negative impacts caused by developing the hub at the base of the Badlands. What the city appears to be doing is catering to the will of developers while ignoring the legit and fact-based concerns of their residents.

What the heck is going on in the city "where dreams soar?" Fed up residents are looking to fix that.

More heated debate over the Villages of Lakeview

Developers behind The Villages of Lakeview project have scaled down their proposal and turned to Riverside County officials for a second approval. The first proposal, which was found to be too environmentally prohibitive in court, proposed adding more than 11,000 homes in the rural and agricultural town of Lakeview, located between Hemet and Perris along the Ramona Expressway.

The scaled-down version proposes approximately 8,700 homes and a sprawling 1.3 million square feet of combined commercial and retail space. Talk about mixing undesired urban sprawl with a much desired and much need job market. According to the Press Enterprise, both the Sierra Club and the San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society are seriously questioning the revision, and for good reason. The proposed development still covers sprawling acres of undeveloped or agricultural land. To be fair, the Inland Empire's economy could certainly use the added marketplace jobs, but as mentioned before, both the I-215 and SR-91 simply cannot handle the added commuter traffic. Therefore, this project should be debated, but public officials must remain firm on their commitments to counter worsened traffic congestion, potential disruption to natural ecosystems and car-centric development.

If demographics dictate that the majority of Lakeview's residents will end up commuting to jobs in Orange County or Downtown Riverside, getting developer funds to start up all-day Metrolink train service along the Perris Valley Line corridor, launching all-day hub-and-spoke RTA bus lines, and paying off some of RCTC's bond debt for the 91 Express Lanes extension will need to be part of negotiations; otherwise, the development will be just another car-oriented example of urban sprawl which deserves to be opposed. The Inland Empire cannot thrive if its streets and highways operate under forced traffic flow conditions. We simply cannot continue to have transit infrastructure with ongoing "F's" in level-of-service. If, however, both the ecosystem and Riverside County's regional transportation infrastructure can handle the economic boost of the Villages of Lakeview by maintaining a "C" or better in level-of-service (stable traffic flow), the Inland Empire as we know it should be okay.

Villages of Lakeview and Smart Growth

(3/6/13) – IE Transit Talking Points Short

Last May, a massive development project dubbed The Villages of Lakeview was struck down in court due to potential pollution and increased traffic congestion. The development was proposed along the Mid County Parkway corridor in the heart of Lakeview, a small agricultural town located between Perris and Hemet. The project called for the development of 11,000 residential units and 500,000 square feet of commercial space.

It’s quite clear that this project would initiate a conversion of the small town of Lakeview into a robust city, and to be fair to the developers, efforts were made to include a privately developed bus transit center, a park & ride, and open space areas along the hillsides and wildlife corridors. However, commuters well know that the I-215 and 91 Freeways certainly do not need 11,000 households worth of cars in these already congested corridors. Superior Court Judge Sharon Waters rightly agreed that this traffic impact presented in court had enough merit to warrant the invalidation of the project’s EIR.

So how can The Villages of Lakeview be developed right? It’s quite evident that both the Lakeview and Nuevo economies rely on the agricultural and farming sectors. A better growth plan would be this:

• Develop business-friendly zoning policies for the existing ranches south of the Ramona Expressway so that their owners have more options to generate income on their properties which would stimulate economic growth with minimal traffic impacts.
• Designate the existing agricultural areas north of the Ramona Expressway as agricultural. Permit dwelling areas for property owners, but no tract housing, golf courses or shopping centers.
• Designate a central area of Lakeview as a specific plan which would incline developers to invest in a small downtown district with mixed-use development to support the existing economy. Lofts and apartments would be developed over pedestrian-friendly small business retail.
• Designate portions of the central downtown area for a park, school, bus transit station and park & ride, and essential government services.

This type of smart growth would certainly be more environmentally friendly and would strengthen--not disrupt--the agricultural and farming economies. That's how Lakeview can smartly evolve into a robust city.

Taking “smart” out of smart growth with Travertine Point

(2/18/13) – IE Transit Talking Points Short

Promises of new urbanism label Travertine Point, a massive master planned community which would house a population of 40,000. The sprawling development is proposed to be adjacent to the western edge of the Salton Sea, basically out in the middle of nowhere. Many red flags are evident. The existing agricultural towns of Coachella, Mecca, Oasis, and the Duroville trailer park don't need it. Neither does Interstate 10 to LA.

The region however can certainly use some agricultural-sector job growth. Estimated median household income in Mecca is under $25,000. Unemployment in this desert town is at least 15%. Factor in those who do not have unemployment benfits and nearly one quarter of the region’s population is jobless. A better growth idea would be “Las fábricas de Mecca” within Mecca’s existing street grid. Establishing factories and plants to process some of the harvested produce into premium drinks or packaged food would benefit the local economy, employ thousands of local workers which would help improve wages, and generate additional tax revenue to pay for improved transit, complete streets, and highway maintenance. That would be smart growth for the region.

Comment on the Mid County Parkway EIR/EIS

(2/11/13) – IE Transit Talking Points Short

The Riverside County Transportation Commission will host a public hearing on a Recirculated Draft EIR/Supplemental Draft EIS for the Mid County Parkway project on February 20, 2013.

Mid County Parkway EIR/EIS Public Hearing

February 20, 2013, 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Lakeside Middle School
27720 Walnut Street, Perris, CA 92571

The Mid County Parkway project will basically convert the existing Ramona Expressway corridor between north Perris and San Jacinto into a freeway with three lanes in each direction which would attract economic growth and development to the area.

There are two ways this growth can go: The growth could go unchecked with single family housing, shopping centers and sprawl dominating the development, or a desired growth in robust marketplace employment hubs in Perris, northern Hemet, and San Jacinto together with a small downtown district and mixed use center to support the existing rural housing in Lakeview.

Expressway-to-freeway conversions tend to encourage suburban sprawl beyond urban centers and put more demand on roads and greater dependence on the automobile. RCTC reports that the Mid County Parkway would support future builds of carpool lanes and park-and-ride lots, but such facilities would not be part of the original project.

Both the incorporated cities and the County of Riverside need to revisit their land-use plans to prevent the new freeway from opening the door to exacerbated suburban sprawl and possible gridlock at the I-215 Interchange. Here are some land-use designation ideas which would encourage better growth and address the region's high unemployment rate:

Growth/Land-use designation ideas:

North Perris:Manufacturing and logistics jobs

North of Lakeview: Agricultural/farming

Lakeview: Rural ranch housing supported by
 a small mixed-use downtown district (condos/lofts over retail).

North Hemet/San Jacinto: Manufacturing jobs
All Undeveloped Hillsides: Open Space/Parkland