A motive for Kaji.
What’s LAFCO?
Mattucci gives Redondo a laugh.
Commission openings.
Chance to help count homeless.
A slew of readers have told me they finally have figured out why Jon Kaji wanted to run for the Council’s District 1 seat.
The reason for most candidates: They want to give back to their City.
And that’s the rub for Kaji. Torrance isn’t his city. He owns a beautiful home on the Peninsula where his property-tax records show him taking the resident homeowner exemption. He filed to run in District 1, and then he found a house to rent.
So again: Why did he run?
For these readers, the lightbulb went off when they saw the annexation item on the Council agenda and then heard Kaji extoll the proposal. They couldn’t wait to share their insight with me: They believe that he sees the money to be made from development deals. I pointed out that he would have to recuse himself from any financial decisions if he was in a position to gain. Several reminded me that he has had almost 30 business licenses, and they questioned whether there couldn’t be back-door deals.
Most readers weren’t even thinking about why Kaji was pushing annexation. Here are a few of the comments they sent:
Joanie Jones: “I don't understand the point of annexing that area. That park alone is a huge problem, and the area needs a lot of ‘fixing’! A friend lived in that area,and there was a lot of petty crime!”
Katie Heflinger: “Annexing El Camino Village is giving ‘Gulf of America’vibes. Why can't they focus on something productive!”
James Berger: “This proposed land acquisition sounds like a combination of Manifest Destiny, Jingoism, and reckless and poor planning.Trust this foolish idea is dropped like a hot coal.”
Tim Ozenne: “Sorry, I don't get it! Aside from this particular ‘opportunity,’ when does annexing work to the benefit of the acquired and acquiring entities? My background in economics doesn't help me understand what the gain would be.”
A reader who goes by Fhay: “It is reckless and careless to take on more expenses without any future forecast for a revenue stream. I have no idea what they are thinking.”
Carol Griest: “I am totally puzzled as to WHY the 4 now well-paid Council members want to annex the Alondra area. You'd have to be blind not to see the expenses outweigh the benefits. In fact, I don't see any benefit at all. If there's $27 million in loose change in the council's pockets, I'm almost positive we Torrance residents can find a use for it.”
Kevin Callahan: “What is in this for Mattucci, et al.? Alondra Park must attract homeless people, along with being a site for drug deals and other crime. I thought he was Mr. Back the Blue, law and order, kick all homeless out of the city?”
Other readers pointed out that Kaji, Mayor George Chen and District 5’s Aurelio Mattucci opposed the necessary tax increase but then gave themselves raises and now want to indebt the City.
Fortunately, the project is not a done deal. The concept is up for further review with an ad hoc committee that Chen will appoint and then goes before the Council where it requires four votes. Even if the Council decides to pursue it, it will then need to pass muster with LAFCO.
What’s LAFCO?:
During the Council’s annexation discussion, the name LAFCO came up repeatedly. That stands for Local Agency Formation Commission, and each California county has one. The commissions have nine members, though Los Angeles County’s has a vacancy. One of the current eight is Donald Dear, a former Gardena mayor and council member. More about that in a moment.
One of LAFCO’s primary concerns when it comes to annexations: Will the area’s public safety and infrastructure concerns be met? That explains why Torrance’s consultant put such a heavy emphasis on all the police and fire upgrades that would be needed. That was also a hefty portion of the $27 million upfront investment and the annual $11 million deficit to the City’s budget.
LAFCO also talks about the need to look at spheres of influence. A Torrance resident, who is an expert in city planning, was the first to raise this issue with me. They suggested that Gardena might have an interest in thwarting Torrance, and that’s where Dear’s ties to it come into play. Gardena might have its own agenda for El Camino Village.
Two last thoughts on this issue:
If you haven’t yet come across the Facebook page for Torrance Community Group, check it out. The site had a robust discussion of the annexation issue. Leading the charge was site administrator Jen Graham: “Honestly, it will cost Torrance money it doesn't have. We will add more strain to an already understaffed Torrance Police Department. The people who live there apparently won't be able to send their kids to Torrance schools somehow even though they will technically now be a part of Torrance. But their property values might go up because of Torrance. The only clear winners here seem to be people who own underdeveloped commercial property in the area wanting to be annexed. But since when does our city want to spend our strained city budget on benefitting developers? Oh wait, remind me, which council members took monies from developers? Kaji and Mattucci, was it?This stinks of cronyism.”
If you missed Newsletter No. 61, take a look at www.TakeBackTorrance.com and get a chuckle from Mattucci’s proposal for Redondo Beach to take over some sections of Torrance. According to Jon Frey, several Redondo politicians at a local campaign rally “got a great laugh about what the Mayor and Mattucci are trying to do. They might approach Chen if Mattucci wants to sell the Riviera to Redondo Beach,” Frey said.
Follow-up on new technology issues:
A number of you responded to my item on the problems that residents were having getting access to Council material. Some of you asked why the City hadn’t used its weekly newsletter to explain how to handle the switch from Granicus to OneMeeting.
I reached out to the City, and City Manager Aram Chaparyan promised to “work to provide clarification to the public how to obtain Agenda and Staff Reports.” He added in a follow-up email: “We are working on a major rebrand and push to get more Torrance residents to connect with the City with various available avenues, i.e. Torrance Alerts, Social Media, Daily Breeze.”
In the meantime, if you missed the last newsletter, here is how to get notifications of the agendas as well as a host of other items: Go to https://www.torranceca.gov/i-want-to/sign-up-for-enotification/-fsiteid-1#!/.
Commission openings:
The Civil Service Commission and the Commission on Aging have openings. Feb. 20 is the deadline to apply. Go to www.torranceca.gov/government/commissions for an application and to learn what's required.
Counting Torrance’s homeless:
The City is looking for volunteers to help with the Feb. 20 homeless count. It will run from 6 p.m. to midnight. Zulma Gent, the City staff member overseeing the project, recommends that volunteers participate in groups of three: a driver, a lookout and a counter. She said volunteers will remain in their cars and not engage with the homeless. They will have an app on their cell phones to note homeless individuals.
All volunteers need to complete a one-hour Zoom training session. Several classes are available. To get a link and to register, contact Gent at zgent@torranceca.gov.
Before I go:
The City’s deadline for correspondence to be included in the Council’s pre-meeting public supplemental is now 5:30 p.m. the Monday before the meeting. The Council will receive anything that comes in later before the meeting, but it won’t be posted until Wednesday. It will be at the top of the agenda. You can also leave voicemails to be included as Oral Communications in the supplemental. Call 310-618-2404 to leave up to a two-minute recording that will be transcribed. Voicemails have the same deadlines as the emails.
Want to tell the City Council your opinion on an agenda item or address any concerns? Send it to CityCouncil@torranceca.gov; in the subject line put the agenda item or the topic. The City has changed how to have your comments appear in an agenda item’s Staff Report. You should use the OneMeeting Public Portal at https://torranceca.primegov.com/public/portal?fromiframe=true.
Jean Adelsman
Feel free to share this email -- or tell friends about www.TakeBackTorrance.com. And if you email a response to jeanadelsman@yahoo.com, please indicate whether you are expressing a thought for my eyes only or whether I may share your comments with the whole audience.
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