Yorba Linda voters are again election outliers; longtime PYLUSD school trustee loses position

 

Once again Yorba Linda voters are election outliers, as they made many different choices in Nov. 8 midterm balloting than voters statewide and in Orange County and neighboring cities.

This year's trend was evident in the results for two state propositions, many judicial contests and balloting for state superintendent of public instruction. State, county and neighbor cities heavily favored Propositions 1 and 28 and the incumbent superintendent.

Yorba Linda cast a 55% “no” vote for Proposition 1, a constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights. The Brea, Buena Park, Fullerton, La Habra, La Palma and Placentia “yes” vote ranged from 53% to 59%.

Yorba Linda recorded a larger vote against Proposition 28, which will provide additional funding for arts and music education in public schools, including charter schools. Yorba Linda's 56% “no” vote contrasted to solid support from voters in the state, county and neighboring cities.

And Yorba Linda voters cast a 49% “no” vote on Proposition 31, which would prohibit retail sales of certain flavored tobacco products, while state, county and neighboring cities voted heavily in favor of the measure.

In the lone Superior Court contest on the ballot, for judge in the county's office 30, Yorba Linda's voters gave a hefty majority vote to two-term City Council member Peggy Huang.

That's not surprising, since Huang was Yorba Linda's top vote-getter in both of her council races in 2014 and 2018. But the countywide electorate heavily favored Huang's opponent, Michele Bell, who won all of the county's cities, except Yorba Linda.Also not surprising: Yorba Linda's “no” vote for Patricia Guerrero as Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court was substantially higher than “no” votes cast in the other county cities, which was also true for most of the 15 other Supreme Court and Appeals Court judges on the ballot.

For the state's superintendent of public instruction, Yorba Linda voted for Lance Christensen, while state, county and neighboring cities gave large majorities to incumbent Tony Thurmond.

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Karin Freeman, Yorba Linda's second-longest serving official in elective office, will not return as Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District trustee, after placing second to Todd Frazer.

Freeman was appointed a Yorba Linda School District trustee in 1986 and elected to a new term in 1987 before transitioning to the Placentia-Yorba Linda board in 1989, when the K-8 and K-12 districts merged. She's served continuously since, a total of just over 36 years.

Freeman, also a longtime trustee for the North Orange County Regional Occupational Program, is finishing a term as board president. Placentia-Yorba Linda trustees will be making a new appointment to that board.

Yorba Linda's longest-serving official was Paul Armstrong at 40 years, 12 as Yorba Linda School District trustee and 28 as Yorba Linda Water District director.

New Yorba Linda Target store will open with city's 110th liquor license; brief history of Yorba Linda licenses

 

When Yorba Linda's Target retail store opens in the Valley View Shopping Center this spring, the facility's state-granted alcohol sales permit will bring the city's total liquor licenses to 110.

The city's Planning Commission approved a conditional use permit for the Target license on a 5-0 vote Oct. 26, which will bring the total active retail liquor license count to an even 100.

In addition, the city has 10 active non-retail licenses: three for beer and wine wholesaler; two for distilled spirits wholesaler; two for beer and wine importer; and one each for distilled spirits importer, small beer manufacturer and winegrower.

These 110 licenses issued by the state's Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control are a far cry from the lone license granted in the immediate post-Prohibition period, a license that was purchased and held by an individual to prevent local liquor sales.

Pioneer resident George Kellogg held the license for a period of time, according to an interview he gave in 1972 to Cal State Fullerton's Center for Oral and Public History. But Kellogg gave up the license when he was told that it couldn't be held to preclude alcohol sales.

The Yorba Linda community had a popular and long-standing distaste for alcoholic beverage sales that began with the early tracts of land sold by the Janss Investment Company in 1909.

Each of the deeds prohibited owners from selling liquor on their properties, a provision that, if violated, required the land to revert to Janss Investments, according to several Cal State oral histories conducted with early residents.

Among the state's lengthy and complex regulations for granting liquor licenses are provisions that limit retail sales based on population. For example, the state limits off-sale permits to one per 2,500 population and lists the number of licenses available in each census tract.

Populations in census tracts range from 2,500 to 8,000 and tracts include about one-square-mile of land in urban areas, but they don't align with city boundaries. Yorba Linda has about 20 full and partial tracts within the city's 20-square-mile area.

California prohibits “undue concentrations” of licenses in census tracts, but that regulation is waived if a city states “public convenience or necessity would be served by the license.”

In a letter to the city, a Target attorney noted that the new store “is located in a census tract that has an undue concentration of off-sale licenses,” so Target “is requesting a determination from the city that public convenience or necessity will be served by the issuance of a license.”

The Planning Commission's approval of the conditional use permit states that a license “will not be detrimental to the public health, safety or welfare.” A condition attached to the permit requires Target to “enforce a strict no loitering policy...to prevent the on-site consumption of any alcoholic beverage purchased from premises.”