Archives for category: Coyote Hills
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Crowdsourcing to Solve the Mystery of Who Jennifer Fitzgerald’s Lobbyist Employer’s Clients Might Be (Or Facebook to the Rescue)

September 8, 2016 //
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pringle-facebook-pageMatthew Leslie

The Rag recently reminded readers that Fullerton’s appointed Mayor Jennifer Fitzgerald has not responded to calls for her to release a list of clients of her employer Curt Pringle. Ms. Fitzgerald is listed as a Vice President of Curt Pringle & Associates on the “public relations” firm’s website, but no clients are to be found there. Strange for a PR website to have no list of clients…

Sean Paden, a member of Fullerton’s Design Review Committee and a former city council candidate, is asking the rest of us for help in assembling as complete a list of CP& Associates’ clients as possible. Troubled, like many others, by the prospect of Ms. Fitzgerald casting votes that might affect clients of CP & Associates whose identities we would have no way of knowing, Mr. Paden carefully logged any mention of clients on the firm’s Facebook page during the past two years, following the announcement of Ms. Fitzgerald’s hiring by the Curt Pringle. He combined this list with the one that used to be found on Curt Pringle & Associates’ website, archived as a screen capture by the Fullerton Rag over two years ago. He’s added any references he’s been able to find anywhere else, like the L.A. Times, or other online references to the Pringle firm’s list of clients.

This is almost certainly incomplete, however, which is why your help is needed. Can you provide information about additional clients of Curt Pringle & Associates? Let us know!

The Orange Juice Blog’s Vern Nelson interviewed Mr. Paden about his efforts to help bring transparency to the troubling tenure of Jennifer Fitzgerald. You can read Vern’s excellent story here,

http://www.orangejuiceblog.com/2016/08/pringles-trough-the-oc-uber-lobbyists-partial-client-list-as-assembled-by-sean-paden/

where Mr. Paden points out that Ms. Fitzgerald’s vote on the Coyote Hills development was problematic because Chevron appears on the list below. (A commenter on the OJ Blog story pointed out the Yamaha had not done business with Curt Pringle for many years, reminding us that the list is no doubt outdated in some ways. We can only note that Jennifer Fitzgerald could clear up things up easily by providing a current list).

Meanwhile, we thank Sean Paden for his diligence and ingenuity and hope more good citizens will add more clients to the list. Of course, it would be much simpler if Mayor Jennnifer Fitzgerald, who is running for re-election to Fullerton’s City Council this year, would just release a list herself in order to ensure that she is not violating any laws or the public trust while representing us.

Here is as list of all clients found by Mr. Paden, along with dates on which they mentioned:

  • Airpap (CP&A Facebook post, August 4, 2016)
  • AMCAL (CP&A Client List)
  • American Center for Wine Food and Arts (CP&A Client List)
  • American Logistics Company (CP&A Client List)
  • Anaheim Gardenwalk (CP&A Facebook post, February 11, 2016)
  • Anaheim Resort Transportation (CP&A Facebook post, October 16, 2014)
  • Anaheim Transportation Network (CP&A Facebook post, January 13, 2014)
  • Aramark (CP&A Facebook post, October 7, 2015)
  • ARCO (liquisearch.com)
  • Arroyo Pacific Network (CP&A Client List)
  • ARTIC (Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center) (CP&A Facebook post, May 13, 2016)
  • Association of California Recycling Industries (ACRI) (CP&A Facebook post, September 11, 2015)
  • Atlantic Aviation (CP&A Facebook post, January 12, 2016)
  • Atlantic Aviation (CP&A Facebook post, September 4, 2015)
  • Backup Training Corp (CP&A Client List)
  • Big League Dreams (CP&A Client List)
  • Bike Nation (saveanaheim.com)
  • Brookfield Homes (CP&A Client List)
  • Building Industry Association of Orange County (CP&A Facebook post, March 20, 2015/ CP&A Client List)
  • Burger King (CP&A Client List)
  • California Apartment Association – South Coast (CP&A Facebook post, May 27, 2014)
  • California Apartment Association (CP&A Facebook post, July 1, 2015)
  • California Beer and Beverage Distributors Association (CP&A Client List)
  • California Forward (CP&A Client List)
  • California Rx Card (CP&A Client List)
  • California Yellow Cab (CP&A Client List)
  • Carl’s Junior (CP&A Client List)
  • Charles Company (CP&A Client List)
  • Chase Bank (CP&A Client List)
  • Chevron (CP&A Client List)
  • Children and Families Coalition of Orange County (CP&A Facebook post, April 7, 2015)
  • Children and Families Commission (CP&A Facebook post, June 21, 2016)
  • CHOC Children’s Hospital (CP&A Facebook post, June 28, 2016)
  • City of Industry (High Speed Rail Leaders Receive Consulting Fees… by Rich Connell, LA Times, October 31, 2010)
  • City of Newport Beach (liquisearch.com)
  • Citibank (CP&A Client List)
  • Coffee Bean (CP&A Client List)
  • County of Orange (liquisearch.com)
  • CVS Pharmacy (CP&A Client List)
  • Dental Group Practices Association (CP&A Client List)
  • El Pollo Locco (CP&A Client List)
  • Environmental Compliance Solutions (CP&A Client List)
  • Evolve Partners (CP&A Client List)
  • Federal Signal Technologies (Curt Pringle: Still Master of His Universe, by Adam Elmahrek, Voice of OC, April 3, 2012)
  • Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Grocers (CP&A Client List)
  • Foothill Transportation Agency (CP&A Facebook post, April 21, 2016)
  • Forestar Chatsworth LLC (Los Angeles City Ethics Disclosure Commission Report, 2nd Quarter 2015/ 1st Quarter 2016)
  • Gensler (CP&A Client List)
  • GovDelivery (CP&A Client List)
  • Hardin Honda (Voice of OC, December, 2013)
  • In N Out Burger (CP&A Client List)
  • ING/ Aetna Financial Services (CP&A Client List)
  • International Jet Sports Boating Association (CP&A Client List)
  • Irvine Ranch Water District (CP&A Facebook post, March 5, 2016)
  • Jack & the Box (CP&A Client List)
  • Jamboree Housing, Inc. (CP&A Facebook post, March 19, 2014)
  • Juniper Sierra High School (CP&A Client List)
  • Katsuya Restaurants (CP&A Client List)
  • LA Football Club (January 8, 2016)
  • Level 3 Communications (CP&A Client List)
  • McDonalds (CP&A Client List)
  • Memorial Care (CP&A Facebook post, October 14, 2015)
  • Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (CP&A Client List)
  • Mobilite (Los Angeles City Ethics Disclosure Commission Report, 2nd Quarter 2015/ 1st Quarter 2016)
  • Mobilite of Newport Beach (As Thick as Thieves: Ignoring the Revolving Door Law, by Matt Potter, San Diego Reader, August 7, 2016)
  • Northgate Gonzales Markets (July 20, 2016)
  • NRG Energy (January 20, 2014)
  • Orange County Business Council (CP&A Client List)
  • Orange County Produce (CP&A Client List)
  • Orange County Rescue Mission (CP&A Client List)
  • Pacific Yacht Club Challenge (CP&A Client List)
  • Parsons (CP&A Client List)
  • Pieology Pizzaria (CP&A Client List)
  • RNL Designs (CP&A Client List)
  • Saddleback Motorsports Partners (CP&A Client List)
  • Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (CP&A Client List)
  • Santa Margarita Water District(CP&A Facebook post, January 29, 2014)
  • Serrano Water District (CP&A Facebook post, November 13, 2013)
  • Signal Hill Petroleum (CP&A Facebook post, November 10, 2014)
  • Smart City Networks (CP&A Facebook post, January 15, 2015)
  • Southern California Association of Governments (aka SKAG) (CP&A Client List)
  • Space Center (CP&A Client List)
  • Stocker Resources, Inc. (CP&A Client List)
  • Sun Edison (Los Angeles City Ethics Disclosure Commission Report, June 30, 2014)
  • The Corporation for Better Housing (CP&A Client List)
  • The Lab Holdings (CP&A Client List)
  • Transportation Corridor Agencies (CP&A Facebook post, June 22, 2016)
  • United Dominion Real Estate Trust (CP&A Client List)
  • Valley View Medical Center (CP&A Client List)
  • Venture Strategic (CP&A Facebook post, June 22, 2016)
  • Visit Huntington Beach (CP&A Facebook post, February 21, 2014)
  • Vulcan Materials (CP&A Client List)
  • Western States Petroleum Association (CP&A Client List)
  • Witt O’Briens (CP&A Facebook post, January 16, 2014)
  • Yamaha Motor Corporation (CP&A Client List, said to be a past client)
  • York Risk Services Group (CP&A Facebook post, September 15, 2015)
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Categories 2016 Elections, Coyote Hills, Curt Pringle, Fullerton City Council, Jennifer Fitzgerald, Uncategorized

Angela Chen Lindstrom Clarifies Friends of Coyote Hills Position to Disdainful Mayor Jennifer Fitzgerald

March 16, 2016 //
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Fitzgerald Lindstrom

Angela Chen Lindstrom (right) patiently attempts to pierce the wall of  mayoral arrogance.

Matthew Leslie

“No good deed goes unpunished,” said Mayor Jennifer Fitzgerald (who works for a political lobbyist) following a public hearing over the city’s decision to apply for grant funding to purchase less than half of the undeveloped Coyote Hills land for an inflated price based on its inappropriate rezoning for housing. Her smug exasperation was primarily directed at Friends of Coyote Hills (FCH) Chair Angela Chen Lindstrom, who addressed the council to clarify that the position of FCH was to support the city’s grant applications, but that FCH was also suing the city because the council did not follow the proper process in 2015 when it approved Chevron’s plans to develop the site.

The primary issue of contention is the Vesting Tentative Tract Map (VTTM) approved by the council late last year without a new development proposal by Chevron, who had their previous plans quashed by the defeat of Measure W in 2012. Angela Chen Lindstrom explained FCH’s position clearly to the council, that Measure W should have overturned that development, and required a full new proposal process before another could be adopted, but to little avail. Mayor Fitzgerald departed from her usual smooth-as-glass demeanor to flaunt her contempt for Ms. Chen Lindstrom and her argument, in an apparent attempt to portray FCH, the only force trying to save all of West Coyote Hills from the bulldozers, as incorrigible malcontents.

Angela Chen Lindstrom’s comments from the March 15 meeting are reprinted below. Her reasoning is compelling. In the future, Mayor Fitzgerald would do better to listen more and dispense with her patronizing antics.

Angela Chen Lindstrom:

“I want to set the record straight on the Friends of Coyote Hills’ position on the West Coyote Hills VTTM and subsequent actions by the City since November 2015. Of course it’s a matter of public record that we along with hundreds of residents protested your approval of the VTTM. Your approval was based on development approvals that should have been overturned by the 2012 Measure W, the people’s referendum on the development of West Coyote Hills.

We were blindsided with your decision to ignore our vote as part of your VTTM approval in October and November last year. All of our cautious optimism on a long awaited  acquisition plan were dashed by your VTTM – almost 2 years of what we thought was good faith collaboration with the City and Chevron on a fair chance to save all of West Coyote as a nature park. Turned out it was a set up for a nosebleed price tag for the land which according to the staff report today is $145M …. to be raised in a year.

The staff report tells a limited story. It sounds great. The City is finally applying for public grants that we have always said were available to buy West Coyote Hills for a nature park. But not by first setting the price as high as possible. Then asking for public monies to be transferred into the hands of a private party. All while ignoring your own voters.

I  want to make it clear … in your staff report, you mention that a lawsuit has been filed against this VTTM. You don’t name who filed the lawsuit. On the last page of your staff report, you mention a $1M matching grant the Friends of Coyote Hills was awarded. We were proactive in fundraising even before the VTTM because of our mission to save all of West Coyote Hills for a park for now and future generations. No one should read your staff report and think we are no longer committed to our supporters and community in that mission and vision. However, no one should read your report and think that we are onboard with your VTTM plan which does not align with our mission. In fact I should point out that your proposed acquisition notice is not a commitment. Even if neighborhoods 1 and 3 are acquired, most of the 760 houses and shopping center originally proposed in the development plan will still be built in West Coyote Hills.

That lawsuit was filed by the Friends of Coyote Hills because we do not support any plan based on ignoring the vote of the people. We do not support enriching a corporation at the cost of that. Yes, Chevron as a landowner deserves to be compensated for their land, but not at the highest possible price when your voters have spoken.”

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Categories Coyote Hills, Fullerton City Council, Jennifer Fitzgerald, Uncategorized

Wrong “Facts”, Wrong Decision on Coyote Hills

December 6, 2015 //
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Those readers wondering if their vote against Measure W three years ago meant anything will have a very clear answer from Angela Lindstrom’s article below. When the Fullerton City Council unanimously approved Chevron’s new development, they ignored not only the proper process for doing so, but cited incorrect information about efforts to preserve the last significant open space in North O.C.

Coyote Hills View

By Angela Lindstrom, Board President, Friends of Coyote Hills

Reprinted from the Friends of Coyote Hills website:  http://www.coyotehills.org

On November 17, 2015, the Fullerton City Council upheld the Planning Commission’s decision to approve Chevron-Pacific Coast Homes’ Vesting Tentative Tract Map (VTTM) for the West Coyote Hills development. In doing so, they ignored the voters’ 2012 virtual mandate of no development on West Coyote Hills. The 61% of votes against Measure W was a decisive veto of the City Council’s 2011 development approval. This VTTM proceeding was illegal. It should not have occurred absent of the development approvals that were nullified with Measure W. The City Council ignored their constituents and rationalized their decision with misinformation. They have all but challenged the public to defend their constitutional right to referendum.

Councilmember Jennifer Fitzgerald rationalized that the Measure W only affected the Development Agreement. While it is true that Measure W was a referendum on the Development Agreement approval, it should have had an effect on the other development approvals such as the General Plan Revision and Specific Plan Amendment. The City wrote those approvals in such a way that the Development Agreement had a domino effect. If terminated, the other approvals contained language that nullified themselves. Councilmember Doug Chaffee agreed that this should have been the effect of Measure W.

Councilmember Fitzgerald may have relied on the City attorney’s advice that page 8 of the Development Agreement allows the City to choose to not terminate the Development Agreement in the event of a referendum. So the City Council can get around a referendum? Didn’t we just agree that Measure W invalidated the Development Agreement? So why is page 8 still valid? Oh, well in that case the City Attorney said, a referendum only lasts a year anyhow. What he conveniently left out was that the nullified approvals are not automatically reinstated after a year. The developer has to reapply. Chevron did not reapply. They went straight to the VTTM instead. The VTTM may not be approved without the development approvals. So in effect, the City Council let Chevron run to the home plate by skipping all the bases.

Coyote Hills Phasing Plan

Councilmember Fitzgerald also criticized the Friends of Coyote Hills for not seeking acquisition funds in the last 2.5 years. Critics of the Friends of Coyote Hills used to argue there was no money at all for acquisition. Now they criticize the Friends for not applying for those funds. The critics are as misinformed as ever. First and foremost, getting to first base with these grants require a willing seller. Chevron was not a willing seller until the VTTM was approved 11/17/15.

But that didn’t stop the Friends from trying. In 2007, we submitted an application to the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy. In 2008, we submitted an application to the California Department of Fish and Game. In 2011, we applied for the OCTA M2 mitigation fund. In all cases, we were turned down due to a lack of a willing seller. OCTA even reached out to Chevron-PCH in writing inviting them to participate. Chevron-PCH declined. In 2015, we applied and were awarded a $1M matching grant from a private charitable foundation.  Furthermore, we then turned over all of our past grant applications and supporting research to the City’s grant writer as she geared up to reapply for grants with the same agencies.

Aside from gaming the democratic checks and balances, the most damaging result of the City Council’s action is to upzone West Coyote Hills, essentially making public acquisition of the 510-acre property impossible, especially given the one year time frame. It is a disingenuous offer for acquisition. I have nothing nice to say to any Councilmember who would pretend otherwise.

To Chevron-Pacific Coast Homes I say, there is still an opportunity for you to make good and fast money on this deal with plenty of good will for your parent company to boot. At the moment, you’ve got the highest possible valuation you can for this property. You’ve done your job.

Make a land donation to the County of Orange and take a tax write off. You hold the key to the last significant opportunity for an open space park in this underserved region that includes La Habra, Anaheim, Buena Park, Fullerton and even parts of south LA. Public agencies such as the US Fish and Wildlife, Rivers and Mountains Conservancy W, Department of Fish and Game, OCTA (M2 Environmental Mitigation Fund) have long been interested in preserving this precious habitat. We can form a coalition to work with Chevron Corporation to make this financial decision profitable.

Suppose Coyote Hills is appraised for $150M, a tax write off can mean a savings of $57M* and long lasting good will for Chevron: call it the “Chevron Nature Preserve at Coyote Hills” and your name will forever be associated with a community jewel. Donald Bren did just this in 2014 by taking a tax write-off for 2,500 acres of entitled open space in the city of Orange after a decade plus battle with environmentalists. The land then became part of OC Parks. Chevron-PCH can create another win-win story here in North Orange County.

 

* Chevron paid over $1B in Federal and State taxes in 2014. According to their 2014 Annual Report, they are in the 38% tax bracket. Pacific Coast Homes is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chevron. Income and loss can be rolled up into the parent company’s balance sheet.

 

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Categories Coyote Hills, Fullerton City Council, Uncategorized
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