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From: Lila Hayes
Sent: Friday, November 26, 2004 9:47 AM
To:
Subject: more news of interest

I forgot to send these with my weekly email.  Sorry for the duplicate this week!
 
----- Original Message -----
From: amelia
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Sent: Thursday, November 25, 2004 9:43 AM
Subject: Cedar Glen project ratified/County officials defend flood actions




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Cedar Glen project ratified

Supervisors vote 4-0 for plan to redevelop mountain area

GEORGE WATSON, Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 23, 2004 - With nary a word of discussion, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday authorized a controversial redevelopment project to restore the wildfire-ravaged mountain community of Cedar Glen.

Four supervisors voted to approve the Cedar Glen Redevelopment Project. The plan is expected to generate about $40million by retaining property taxes from residents inside the project area and earmarking the money to pay for water and sewer lines, along with improved roads.

Dennis Hansberger, the 3rd District supervisor who chairs the board, again recused himself from the vote. Hansberger has done so since The Sun reported he had power of attorney over the land development company owned by his father, Leroy, who owns 15 lots abutting the redevelopment project's border.

After two weeks of contentious meetings sparked by the revelations about Hansberger's connections to the area, Tuesday's board meeting passed without comment from anyone.

That was at least until Lori Monson, a member of the Cedar Glen Redevelopment Committee, arrived after the vote. Speaking during the public comment portion that concludes every board meeting, the Cedar Glen resident said the aftermath of the weekend storm that dumped several feet of snow on the San Bernardino Mountains slowed her drive.

Monson offered support for the project's concept but then issued 10 questions that she said have not been answered by John Nowak, the director of the county Redevelopment Agency. Hansberger requested Nowak to respond to Monson's queries in writing.

"Hopefully, that will be in the next two or three days,' Monson, a librarian, said after the meeting.

Despite her support for redevelopment, Monson expressed concern with the process. She cited board meetings in which two women were arrested and speakers' questions were not addressed.

"I'm really frustrated by the camouflage of this situation,' Monson said. "I do think redevelopment is a good thing. What has happened here though is it's become a profiteering thing.'

Other mountain dwellers stayed away Tuesday, Monson speculated, because "their questions aren't being answered and their views not being listened to.'

Monson said she is particularly troubled that the plan for the 837-acre project area near Lake Arrowhead could quadruple the amount of viable lots for building.

Currently, the project area has 570 acres of residential property, eight acres of commercial, 204 acres of vacant land and 54 acres for streets. The redevelopment plan will create 726 acres of low-density property, 32 acres for medium-density properties, 25 acres for commercial and zero for vacant land.

"They're planning on taking this area that's in the middle of the forest and have no open space?' Monson asked and then said incredulously, "There's no open space.'

One development that will likely thrive, Monson said, is a plan to build 58 single-family homes worth at least $1 million each.

Now that the supervisors approved the project, Hansberger is expected to again participate in guiding its future. He has said repeatedly that he had no conflict of interest and that he spoke with three legal sources and received the same advice. But he chose to recuse himself, Hansberger has said, in the spirit of moving the project forward.

Hansberger's father announced last week that he revoked the power of attorney he gave to his son to eliminate the appearance of a conflict of interest.

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Officials defend flood actions

Gonzales says she'll repay loan

GEORGE WATSON, Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 23, 2004 - Even as San Bernardino County officials on Tuesday defended their actions in dealing with the region's ongoing flood dangers, continuing concerns lead to more questions.

The county did not use its new reverse-911 alert system Saturday night, even though the National Weather Service issued a flash-flood warning of potential killer mudslides for the area.

Josie Gonzales, 5th District supervisor-elect, said she will repay a $20,000 campaign loan from Dennis Hansberger, chairman of the Board of Supervisors. The word came after critical reports in The Sun addressed the idea of politicians being showered with campaign contributions from builders with eyes on potentially unsafe sites.

Hansberger denies comments attributed to him in The Sun about the stability of the region's alluvial fans.

In response to the recent criticism, one supervisor and a flood-control official said at Tuesday's board meeting that the flood dangers have been diminished.

Paul Biane, 2nd District supervisor, said it is unfair to blame the county for damage and deaths over the past year from heavy floods.

"We sympathize with residents who want answers and solutions right away,' Biane said. "However, it is understandable that permanent flood control solutions cannot happen without a great deal of study and consideration by federal agencies.'

Pat Mead, county flood control director, pointed to how the county over the past year spent $500,000 to improve systems and add protective concrete barriers. He also cited the new reverse-911 system.

At 11:04 p.m. Saturday, the National Weather Service warned of heavy showers near Upland that were heading toward Devore, San Bernardino, Rialto, Rancho Cucamonga, Montclair and Fontana with the likelihood of mud and rock slides.

"Mud slides and rock slides can potentially trap and kill people caught in their path,' the report stated.

Residents calling a county-run flood hot line after 11 p.m. also found no related information. A recorded voice informed them of how to make their fireplaces safe. The report was dated Nov. 2.

David Wert, the county spokesman, said flood-control employees monitored the situation but did not deem it dangerous enough to send out a warning. The county received no reports of flood-related damage, he added.

The alert system is handled by the Fire, Flood Control and Sheriff's departments, with sheriff's officials responsible for making the final call, Wert said.

"It just didn't ever rise to the level where a public alert needed to be issued,' Wert said.

Over the past year, county officials have come under fire over several flood-related issues.

The county failed to alert residents before heavy rains last Dec. 25 spawned debris flows that killed 16 people, including 11 children.

Some geologists say the county also continues to put people's lives in danger because of its proclivity to allow building in natural hazard zones, particularly areas called alluvial fans. The term describes slopes of rock and sand slowly being spewed from the San Bernardino and San Gabriel mountains over hundreds of centuries.

Federal and local scientists inspected flood-prone Greenwood Avenue in Devore recently. They acknowledged a need for emergency measures to protect vulnerable neighborhoods below but did not make firm plans.

Some people have charged that the county supervisors created the problem because of their overly friendly relationships with the building and land-development industries.

The claims echo an investigation The Sun published over the summer that found local politicians have strong ties with the building industry and often supersede the county's general plan when it comes to development, regardless of the risk.

Bob Minick, a Rialto resident, reiterated the concerns Tuesday by mentioning the $20,000 contribution from Hansberger to Gonzales' successful campaign for supervisor. Gonzales defeated Assemblyman John Longville, D-San Bernardino, who wrote the recent law forming an alluvial fan floodplain task force to study building in the hazardous areas.

"Every time I see Gonzales vote with Hansberger on some controversial land-development project, I am going to think of that $20,000 Dennis gave Josie,' Minick said. "The last thing this county needed was another 'good old boy.'

"It is just as wrong certainly the perception is just as wrong for a supervisor to 'buy' another supervisor as it is for some unscrupulous developer to 'buy' a supervisor.'

After Tuesday's meeting, Gonzales promised to return the $20,000, which she said was only a loan. Although her campaign still has some debt, Gonzales said, she will raise more funds to pay it off.

The meeting took another twist when Hansberger mentioned comments attributed to him in a Nov. 19 story in The Sun. In the report, the chairman said, "Sometimes geology surprises us. But the fans are stable.'

Not so, he said.

"I've never had that conversation,' Hansberger said. "I didn't say that.'

He did not elaborate if that meant that he now believes the fans are unstable for building. He has declined to speak with The Sun for weeks despite repeated requests for interviews.

A reporter interviewed Hansberger earlier in the month after a meeting of the Omnitrans board of directors. Hansberger, who serves on the board of the public transit agency, made a few brief comments before climbing into a white sport utility vehicle and departing.

Minick, a former staff member for the late Rep. George E. Brown Jr., D-San Bernardino, mocked Hansberger's comments that were quoted in the Nov. 19 report. He said he knew of no one who considered the alluvial fans to be safe and added he was glad Hansberger now says he did not say the words.

"Nor do I know anyone who is surprised when water and debris runs downhill and that fans are formed, shaped and changed constantly by such phenomena,' Minick said. "I am simply shocked that he is surprised.'

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