Best and not-so-best for 2013 (continued)

Here's the second installment of my annual “best and not-so-best” list for 2013:

Surest signs of City Council disharmony: The split votes naming Craig Young mayor and Gene Hernandez mayor pro tem and initiation of a recall of Young and Tom Lindsey, following a failed attempt to recall John Anderson last year.

Best watchdog efforts: Some council meeting attendees ask questions about costs and terms of the city's contract with the Sheriff's Department, a useful citizen oversight sadly absent for much of the 42-year term of the previous provider, even in years of significant cost increases.

Best citizen response: Residents resisting plans for 452 homes on county land north of city limits reflect actions by earlier denizens who supported the 1967 incorporation vote that put planning decisions into the hands of local elected leaders rather than county bureaucrats.

Most unanticipated accolade: The Kennedy Commission, which checks compliance with state low-cost housing requirements, commended the city “for its leadership and commitment in en-couraging and facilitating the development of homes affordable to lower income families....”

Best chance for advancement: Mayor Craig Young is the fourth sitting council member to run for higher political office, as he seeks to follow past mayor Mike Duvall to the state Assembly.

Strangest political shuffle: Termed-out current Assembly rep Curt Hagman filed an intent to seek termed-out Senator Bob Huff's job, as Huff filed an intent to run for Hagman's position, both in 2016, with combined campaign kitties totaling more than $500,000 as of June 30.

Best “no-brainer” City Council action: A 5-0 vote for a county program establishing two sites to distribute medication, vaccines, food, water and other services to residents during a large-scale public health emergency.

Loneliest City Council vote: Only Craig Young voted against accepting $212,515 in federal Community Block Grant funds that includes $31,877 for the senior citizens' lunch program, taking a principled stand against wasteful and inefficient government spending.

Oddest City Council vote: Approving Craig Young's request for $720 to pay for 100 coins with Yorba Linda and presidential seals as gifts to foreign dignitaries on Young's April trip to China.

Second loneliest City Council vote: Only Mark Schwing opposed a hike from $16,000 to $25,000 for this year's contract with the city's 100-year-old Chamber of Commerce.

Most misunderstood school funding source: As lotteries reach astronomical payouts, some expect the local school district's 35 campuses to be awash in dollars, but officials say state lottery cash totals about 1.7 percent of revenue, about $4.3 million for the most recent year.

Most interesting financial figures: An audit shows the city has $518 million in assets and $29 million in liabilities, with a $27 million value for the Black Gold Golf Club and $18.8 million in former Redevelopment Agency land held for resale, some to be sold to a downtown develop- er under terms now under negotiation.

Best and sometimes not-so-best for 2013

Yorba Linda winds up 46 years as an incorporated city this year, with notable achievements and, on occasion, less meritorious acts. Here's part one of my annual listing of the best and sometimes not-so-best for 2013:

Best financial news: Projections of the city's tax and fee income are trending upward--a sure sign of a general economic recovery--led by higher property and sales tax revenue and more fees from building and plan checks, while interest earned on investments remains low.

Best heart's-in-the-right-place endeavor: Fiesta Days volunteers were financially unable to hold a parade this year, but November's Red Shirt Run drew 110 participants in the group's second annual 5K, with fundraising already underway for the parade's return in 2014.

Best centennial celebrations: Both the public library and Chamber of Commerce feted 100 years of service to the residential and business communities with innovative programming.

Most forgotten City Council action: A 1968 council vote declaring Yorba Linda a bird sanctuary was finally acknowledged this year by the city installing four roadway signs with Western Blue-bird profiles, symbols of the 101-year-old Women's Club, which paid for the cost of the signs.

Least conservative City Council vote: Again authorized for council members a “defined benefit” pension plan with the Public Employees Retirement System based on members' $500 monthly pay plus a “defined contribution” plan with $1,020 monthly deposited to 401(k)-type accounts.

Best start for pension reform: On July 1, city workers began contributing 2.5 percent of pay for pensions, with the city picking up the rest of the 7 percent employee contribution and a nearly 14 percent employer portion. Employees received a 3 percent pay hike that started in January.

Best (maybe “worst” is a more suitable term) example of ignoring due diligence: The failed Friends Christian High School project cost church developers nearly $13 million, while city losses in lease revenue totaled more than $1 million, under a never-properly vetted contract.

Most misstated statistic: The city's housing needs set by the Southern California Association of Governments for 2014-21 require providing opportunities for 669 units for all income levels, not just low-income, since 270 units are designated for “above moderate” income households.

Earliest election announcement: Tom Lindsey, winner of a City Council seat with running-mate John Anderson in 2010, is the first declared candidate for the governing body in 2014, although he probably won't be endorsed by Anderson, Mark Schwing and YLRRR this time around.

Best spirit of cooperation: After decades of standoffish relations, elected officials from the city and the Yorba Linda Water District began quarterly meetings to discuss mutual problem areas.

Best renaissance of a city institution: After 30 years in a couple of tabloid formats, the Yorba Linda Star returned to a full broadsheet appearance as the weekly paper began its 96^th year.

Next week: Part two of Yorba Linda's hits and misses for 2013.

Mayor vote reveals City Council disharmony

The City Council's end-of-the-year selections of who will serve one-year terms as mayor and mayor pro tem are reliable indicators of the nature of the working relationship among the five elected governing body members.

This year's split-vote elections of Craig Young to replace Tom Lindsey as mayor and Gene Hernandez to succeed Young as mayor pro tem are sure signs the present highly charged political atmosphere will continue through the November 2014 council election cycle.

In past times, the mayor and mayor pro tem positions were routinely rotated among the council members on unanimous votes, despite strong differences of opinion held by the individual members on many of the issues of the day.

But lately, the mayorship has become a valuable commodity, giving title holders a distinct election-year advantage, as evidenced by the last three council contests, with the annual selection process echoing the political feuding that engulfs so many council deliberations.

In 2008, Jim Winder used “Mayor, Yorba Linda” as his ballot-listed occupation and won a third term by one vote. In 2010, John Anderson included “mayor” as part of his ballot identification and used the title on campaign signs, as did Mark Schwing in 2012, and each won first place.

This year, Young is a candidate for one of 80 seats in the state Assembly from a district that includes Yorba Linda and all or parts of 10 cities in three counties. The “mayor” title will help distinguish him from two Los Angeles County opponents in next year's June primary.

Last year, Young was named mayor pro tem on a 3-2 vote, with Anderson and Schwing opposed, after Schwing had nominated Anderson for the position. The same tally moved Young to the mayor's chair this year, after Schwing again nominated Anderson for the job. Hernandez, the only mayor pro tem nominee, was approved 4-1, with Anderson opposed.

The mayor's position is mainly ceremonial, as he presides over the twice-monthly council meetings. He earns the same $500 salary, $1,020 deferred compensation, $100 car allo- wance and other benefits paid each month to council members.

Next year's election has the potential to change the council's voting patterns, since seats now held by Tom Lindsey, often identified with a Hernandez-Lindsey-Young bloc, and John Ander-son, part of an Anderson-Schwing alignment, will be on the ballot.

And should Young win the Assembly position, Hernandez and Schwing, along with members elected next November, could appoint a replacement--or call a special election if deadlocked.

Of the 32 individuals elected to the council in this city's 46-year history, excluding newcomer Hernandez, only one, Jan Horton, never served as mayor. She was mayor pro tem in 2008, but was passed over when a new council majority selected Schwing for 2009.

Thirty-year council veteran Hank Wedaa holds the city record with five terms in the mayor's chair, despite being passed over in the 1990s when involved with feuds with John Gullixson.

Schwing and Irwin Fried share second-place with four terms each.  

City triples parks fees for developers

Tucked into the initial selling price of new homes and condominiums built in Yorba Linda is the developer's cost to comply with city regulations requiring dedication of land or payment of fees to support acquisition of new parkland or improvement of existing parks.

In recent times, most developers have paid “in-lieu” fees for each single-family home and condominium or apartment unit they've built. Beginning later this month the fees will more than triple, based on a recent unanimous City Council decision.

The fee for a new single-family home will jump from $1,902 to $6,020, while the fee for each unit in a new condominium or apartment project will rise from $1,212 to $3,860, representing the first boost since 2002.

Fees are determined by a formula involving acreage, fair market value and average population per dwelling unit, as allowed by 1965 state legislation--the Quimby Act--that cities began using in earnest after voters approved property tax limitations with Proposition 13 in 1978.

State legislators have amended the Quimbly Act several times, including an October change that allows fees to be used for parks in neighborhoods other than the one in which the developer's project is located, if certain strict conditions are met.

Fees are paid directly to the city by developers “prior to the issuance of any residential building permit,” notes a new council-adopted ordinance, and the fees must be committed for use within five years or refunded to lot owners under Quimby requirements.

A longtime city policy, adopted by a 1972 council, sets a city standard of four acres of parkland per 1,000 in population, with two acres per 1,000 satisfied by school district-owned fields. That leaves two acres per 1,000 to be used in the formula establishing the fees charged developers.

According to figures from the city's Parks and Recreation department, Yorba Linda now has 2.22 acres of neighborhood and community parkland per 1,000 residents--nearly 142 acres--or 3.38 acres per 1,000--nearly 217 acres--when about 75 acres of school land is counted.

Along with adopting the fee increase, council directed city staffers “to bring back at the earliest possible time,” an increase in the parkland formula from two to three acres per 1,000 residents.

And council approved a revised policy that includes an annual review of the city's “in-lieu” fees.

Still, with the tripling of fees, Yorba Linda is in the lower mid-range of 17 Orange County cities surveyed by city officials, running from $3,125 in Los Alamitos to $26,125 in Newport Beach for single-family homes. Multi-family project fees run from $3,810 in Placentia to $13,829 in Costa Mesa for each condominium or apartment unit in a seven-city survey.

Some cynics say such fees are actually taxes on new development, but using the term “fee increase” rather than “tax hike” is less apt to anger voters.