Duvall takes lead in Assembly seat race

City Councilman Mike Duvall must be considered the early favorite to win next year’s Republican primary for the state Assembly seat now held by Lynn Daucher (R-Brea).

A June 2006 primary win would virtually guarantee Duvall’s general election victory in the safely Republican district, which covers western and central Yorba Linda along with all of Brea, Fullerton and Placentia and parts of Anaheim, La Habra and Orange.

District voter registration includes 97,464 Republicans and 64,826 Democrats. Daucher won her first term after a bitter 2000 primary but was easily re-elected in 2002 and 2004. She cannot seek a fourth term because state law limits her to six years in the Assembly.

Duvall’s chief primary opponent is Marty Simonoff, a three-term Brea City Councilman and retired Huntington Park police captain. They are both active in the Brea Lions Club.

Two key factors give the gregarious Duvall his early campaign edge. First, Duvall is trying to position himself as the more conservative of the two GOP candidates.

Recently, influential Orange County Register editorial writer and columnist Steven Greenhut praised Duvall’s efforts to eliminate wasteful public spending in the county Sanitation District and saddled Simonoff with the “Republican in Name Only” label.

Second, Duvall has proven prowess as a campaign fundraiser, although he trailed Simonoff in contributions for the first six months of this year. Simonoff raised $78,387 and has $78,353 remaining, while Duvall took in $67,018 and has a balance of $48,711.

Most of Duvall’s cash came from a June fundraiser held at his father-in-law’s famous Bastanchury Avenue ranch. Contributions were from Duvall’s friends, neighbors and insurance industry colleagues, as well as longtime Yorba Linda development interests.

Among those writing $250 checks were Councilman Jim Winder, water district director and trash company executive Ric Collett, traffic commissioner Larry Larsen, Chamber of Commerce executive director Phyllis Coleman and former Councilman Hank Wedaa.

City contractors Taormina Industries and Emergency Ambulance Service of Brea each donated $1,000, as did palapa builder Chuck Hyneman, among others. Councilman Ken Ryan transferred $2,000 of the $3,308 left in his 2002 campaign treasury to Duvall.

Contributions from developers and others associated with the development industry included C. J. Segerstrom and Sons ($3,300), the Irvine Co. ($1,000) and Yorba Linda developers S and S Construction and Upper-K Shapell Joint Venture ($1,650 each).

Duvall also accepted $3,300 from a developer-funded political action committee, the Committee for Improved Public Policy. The check came a day after the Committee received $5,000 each from S and S Construction and Upper-K Shapell Joint Venture.

Since 2000, the Committee has funneled $18,499 of developer money to local council and water district candidates, including Allen Castellano, Duvall, Ryan and Keri Wilson. That’s in addition to developer money donated directly to individual campaign accounts.

A FINAL NOTE—Several council members publicly patted themselves on the back after Money magazine identified Yorba Linda as the 21^st best place to live in the USA.

At a July 19 council session only Mayor Keri Wilson correctly credited Yorba Linda’s forefathers for shaping the city’s direction. Their vision included the 1972 low-density General Plan and generous setback requirements from the city’s major roadways.

Time to vow 'I do' on low-density pledge

Our City Council members and the Town Center developers are missing a unique opportunity to build true community consensus for the Old Town redevelopment project.

Yorba Lindans have long supported downtown refurbishment plans, but many residents oppose eminent domain and want to maintain the city’s historic low-density environment.

However, instead of addressing these important issues, the developers are using political consultants and a public relations firm to sell their “new urban” concepts to residents.

And instead of responding to genuine concerns, council members lecture the public about the “right course” for developing “the heart and soul” of the community.

Council members aren’t asking developers tough, hard questions. They’re tossing out “softballs,” to build support for the developers’ high-density retail and residential plans.

I recently praised Mayor Keri Wilson’s efforts to reduce housing density on Site 13, the former strawberry field on the east side of Lakeview Avenue just south of Lemon Drive.

But during a tour of the Old Town area, a developer told me the density on the property just across the street would be correspondingly increased. And another developer said the density “could be lower,” or, surprise, “might be higher” in the final submitted plan.

Troubling to many residents is eminent domain authority, allowing the city to take an owner’s private property to pass on to other private parties for economic development.

Of course, council members say they don’t want to exercise that power, claiming it is “just a tool in the tool belt,” or, as one councilman revealingly said, “a sledgehammer.”

But the council continues to portray downtown property sales to the city as “willing-seller” transactions, as if the unspoken threat of eminent domain didn’t exist.

And council members are adding to the angst as they consider new zoning that could bring heartbreakingly higher density and height allowances to a wide Old Town area.

Also alarming residents is talk about the project’s future phases, including relocating the library and City Hall, moving more historic buildings and repositioning other businesses.

The addition of housing units to the Yorba Station shopping center and a suggested realignment of businesses closer to Imperial Highway is another concern of residents

Eliminating eminent domain authority and demanding that developers follow the city’s historic low-density zoning would bring a broad consensus to the project. Such action would result in an Old Town project which truly reflects the city’s semi-rural heritage.

A FINAL NOTE—Council members often describe Yorba Linda’s two-year relationship with the Old Town development firm Creative Housing Associates as an “engagement.”

Perhaps the council should call off the forthcoming marriage, unless the developers can deliver a plan that maintains the city’s low-density housing heritage and allows Old Town commercial and residential property owners to remain on their land.

Council members will find plenty of fish in the sea, when casting about for a developer willing to honor low-density values above profit-producing retail and housing units.