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TOP NEWS SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO SHOULD KNOW THIS WEEK

City Approves Sale of Calle Arroyo Parcel

BY COLLIN BREAUX, THE CAPISTRANO DISPATCH

An approximately one-acre parcel of land at Calle Arroyo and Rancho Viejo Road will now belong to R&H Land Partners, after the City of San Juan Capistrano agreed to sell the property.

A purchase and sale agreement to the limited liability company—represented by Robert Socci, owner of the nearby Ortega Cottages business park—was approved by the city council during a meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 2. The city intended to sell the parcel, because stand-alone public use of the area is considered “generally infeasible” due to it being landlocked and not having a method of legal access.

“The Calle Arroyo parcel is currently operated under a license agreement with the Ortega Equestrian Center as part of a larger equestrian operation that’s undertaken primarily on the adjacent St. Margaret’s Episcopal School property,” City Senior Management Analyst Matisse Reischl said during a presentation to the council. “The Ortega Equestrian Center operater accesses the property through an informal agreement with the Ortega Cottages business park owner.”

The city accepted Socci’s purchase offer of $150,000, which was higher than the appraised value of $120,000.

“The sale to the adjacent property owner is envisioned to create opportunities for long-term use of the site, as well as mitigate potential risks and maintenance obligations of city ownership,” Reischl said. “The parcel is also located in the floodway adjacent to San Juan Creek, where FEMA restrictions prohibit certain types of development on the site—for example, the construction of permanent structures. While Mr. Socci has not yet identified a specific use or project for the parcel, he has expressed interest in working with staff on a potential project that would be consistent with the existing zoning and land-use designations.”

Allowed uses for a wide variety of open-space recreational uses include parks, playgrounds, riding and hiking

An acre of land at Calle Arroyo and Rancho Viejo Road will continue to be used by the Ortega Equestrian Center, after R&H Land Partners acquired the property through a sale from the City of San Juan Capistrano. Photo: Collin Breaux

trails, bicycle trails, golf courses, and agricultural uses, a city staff report said. Socci wants to work with current Ortega Equestrian Center operator Kathy Holman for continued use of the site, Reischl said.

San Juan Capistrano Makes Plans for New Pickleball Courts

BY COLLIN BREAUX, THE CAPISTRANO DISPATCH

The City of San Juan Capistrano is joining in on the growing popularity of pickleball, a topic that came up during a council meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 2.

A modified motion by Councilmember Howard Hart directing city staff to convert one of the two tennis courts on Camino Capistrano (by Capistrano Union High School) into several pickleball courts was approved by his peers on the dais with few objections.

“Over the past two years, a pickleball course has been offered through the Community Services Department at the westerly Camino Capistrano tennis court. This class involves temporary court markings and is well-attended,” Hart said. “Additionally, this past summer, Public Works staff received a request from the Open Space Foundation to permanently convert one of the two Camino Capistrano tennis courts to four new pickleball courts.”

Pickleball is a new sport that mixes in aspects of tennis, badminton, and Ping-Pong. Participants use paddles to hit a small ball over a net on a tennis-style court. Games can be played one-on-one or two-on-two.

“We were looking at what can we do to give back to the community that wasn’t as expensive as a big capital improvement such as Reata Park, which was millions of dollars and tons and tons of volunteer hours. We came up with this pickleball court proposal as a board,” Open Space Foundation President Harrison Taylor said. “We would also like to propose resurfacing the tennis court, because additionally when we put this proposal together, we wanted to just focus on pickleball, but then we realized if we resurface these four courts, the adjacent tennis players are going to feel like they’re forgotten.”

Though Taylor said the Open Space Foundation could assist with costs, City Manager Ben Siegel said funds are available in the existing city budget.

“We can probably have it done in the first or second quarter of 2022,” Siegel said.

Siegel also recommended the conversion be wrapped into plans to install another pickleball court at Cook La Novia Park, which the city also plans to do in early 2022 as part of a previously approved capital improvement project. Hart’s original recommended action was for city staff to explore the potential of putting up up new pickleball courts along Camino Capistrano.

Other opportunities for the Open Space Foundation to financially contribute to other projects might be available in the future, Siegel said.

Councilmember Troy Bourne said pickleball is popular with residents and visitors at Reata Glen—a senior living facility in nearby Rancho Mission Viejo that he oversees—and is a “neat little intergenerational thing that allows people to play at all ages.”

Mayor John Taylor, who is Harrison Taylor’s father, said pickleball is appealing because people can get into it on their first try, and it is not as frustrating to play as tennis or similar sports.

“If this all were to come to fruition, we’d love to have a kickoff, invite the community, hand out free paddles, really try to include everyone and not just people that are already pickleball players,” Harrison Taylor said.

The only two tennis courts owned and maintained by the city are the ones on Camino Capistrano. Councilmember Sergio Farias said he doesn’t support the new courts on Camino Capistrano as much as the one at La Novia Park since the city only has two tennis courts left.

“I understand the popularity of one sport versus the other. I think we could make the same argument for eliminating the rest of the baseball fields in town and just make them all soccer fields,” Farias said. “You start to see that in other municipalities, but I wouldn’t support that, either, because you’ve got to preserve certain sports and have something for everybody.”

Despite Farias’ comments, the vote to approve the four new courts was unanimous.

City Works to Rectify Controversy Over ‘Rock Snake’ Removal

BY COLLIN BREAUX, THE CAPISTRANO DISPATCH

City leaders and staff in San Juan Capistrano recently addressed an outcry from residents over the temporary removal of a visible trail of inspirational rocks in the community.

Staff with the Public Works Department removed the long line of colorful rocks adorned with feel-good messages from the Peppertree Trail on Thursday, Oct. 28, due to a residential complaint that the rocks were unsightly and not permitted. The “rock snake” was started by Herb Langefeld, a local resident who is confined to a wheelchair due to cerebral palsy. City officials were not aware of the removal beforehand.

“I know I speak on behalf of the city council when I say we appreciate all of the emails and heartfelt messages we’ve received from the community and the neighbors over the past several days,” City Manager Ben Siegel said during a council meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 2. “I think they’ve done a very effective job of describing what the rock snake, placed over the past year during the pandemic, meant to the community.”

Herb Langefeld was at the meeting, and he cried at different times. His sister, Heidi Langefeld, accompanied Herb to the meeting and spoke in support of the rock snake returning.

“The last rock that was added before it got removed was Herb’s that he painted, the happy one-year anniversary,” Heidi Langefeld said. “It had been there one year and almost one week before it got swept away. At that point, it was 277 feet long, which equates to over 1,300 rocks—of which Herb maybe painted 30. That tells you the contribution to not only our neighborhood, but all the people that walk that trail, the bikers, (people) on their horses.”

Heidi Langefeld and other residents said the rock snake makes people happy when they walk by. Andrew Hoffmann, a neighbor who lives across the street from the rock snake’s location, said the rocks are Herb Langefeld’s way of communicating with the community.

“He would do these little rocks, and you’d see it, and he’d say hello to people,” Hoffmann said. “He’s trapped inside, talking to us through these rocks. So, the snake went away, and I was like, ‘Wow’. I don’t think we want to be the heartless town. There’s no harm in it. Anybody that’s protesting (that) there’s liability concerns—it’s completely unjustified. No one’s tripping over these rocks. They are set aside.”

The rocks were returned to the Langefeld family after the removal.

“I understand the frustration among many neighbors, and we will be working with those neighbors to, hopefully, identify an appropriate long-term home for the rock snake,” Siegel said.

Councilmember Howard Hart tabled a motion he had placed on the meeting agenda to direct city staff to prepare a policy that would establish a process to allow privately funded art to be installed at city-owned and maintained public spaces, which mentioned permitting the rock snake on Peppertree Trail. Several residents spoke in favor of more public art in town, including members of The Alliance for San Juan Art—a nonprofit established by resident Rich Heimann.

A line of colorful and inspirational painted rocks started by resident Herb Langefeld, who is confined to a wheelchair due to cerebral palsy, became a rallying point for the community following outrage over a recent temporary removal by city staff due to a residential complaint. Photos: Courtesy of Ping Lam.

Parents, Students Praise CUSD Cultural Proficiency Plan

BY COLLIN BREAUX, THE CAPISTRANO DISPATCH

Capistrano Unified School District’s Cultural Proficiency Plan—intended to address racial and inequity issues, among other matters—continues to draw reactions from community members, this time mostly in support.

Parents and students complimented ongoing work under the plan and aspects of its goals during a CUSD Board of Trustees meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 3. A quarterly report on the plan, which was approved in December 2020 and has been in the works since at least late 2019, was presented by district staff as part of the meeting.

Specific goals and actions under the plan include a targeted reduction in reported harassment among Asian, Black, Hispanic, and other student groups by June 2023; anti-bullying training with specific focuses on race, gender, and other qualities; providing language interpretation at parent meetings; committing to exploring and implementing changes that support LGBTQ students; and reducing suspension rates for certain groups that include homeless and disabled students.

Bethany Padilla, a senior student at San Clemente High School who is a member of the San Clemente High School Against Racism and No Place for Hate initiatives, thanked the district and community members for supporting efforts toward cultural understanding.

“It is so necessary maintaining progress towards a supportive educational environment, as we still see actions of hate on our campuses, which we are resolving much quicker and in a more supportive and more inclusive manner,” Padilla said. “Our students of color deserve support and attention in a very intersectional way.”

Vanessa Santos, a parent with two children in CUSD schools, had similar words of praise and said focusing on inclusion and addressing inequity are important.

“We should all be able to agree that every child that steps through Capistrano Unified School (District) doorways should feel seen and loved,” Santos said. “The cultural proficiency curriculum is about trying to tell more diverse stories so this can happen in classrooms.”

Some parents and community members have criticized the Cultural Proficiency Plan due to a belief that it equates to Critical Race Theory, a topic that has become a controversial educational issue across the country. CUSD officials have frequently denied the plan is CRT and provided evidence of such on their online Family Resource Center through a FAQ from the Association of California

Students and other community members protested outside the Capistrano Unified School District Offices during the summer of 2020 to call for more diversity and cultural inclusion with CUSD’s curriculum and operations. CUSD subsequently passed a Cultural Proficiency Plan intended to address those matters, an initiative that had been in the works before the protests. Photo: Collin Breaux

School Administrators that explains what CRT is and how it is not taught in California K-12 schools—as well as providing detailed examples of the age-appropriate lessons provided for students under the plan.

“I am also asked about whether our social and emotional work—specifically, our cultural proficiency lessons—have any Critical Race Theory woven throughout. The answer is no,” Superintendent Kirsten Vital Brulte said. “We are not hiding CRT in anything. By using words like equity or cultural proficiency or racism, these are not words connected to CRT. We are promoting inclusion and safety and acceptance for all.”

Emily Penner—an assistant professor of education at the University of California, Irvine whose research interests include K-12 educational policy and inequality—explained what Critical Race Theory is in an interview with The Capistrano Dispatch ahead of the meeting. CRT is a method of legal analysis that examines how race is a social construct and maintains hierarchies, particularly in terms of perpetuating marginalization, she said.

There is not much evidence to suggest Critical Race Theory—which can include examining legal decisions—is being taught in K-12 schools, according to Penner.

Local Nurse Receives Assistance to Pursue Health Care Career

BY COLLIN BREAUX, THE CAPISTRANO DISPATCH

Jaime Osborn recently passed an exam to become a nurse and is in training as a dialysis nurse in the San Juan Capistrano area—a journey on which she received help through Bridge to Your Dreams, an assistance program provided by DaVita, a health care provider.

Bridge to Your Dreams assisted Osborn with tuition reimbursement and repayment for books and her nursing uniform. The program is intended to help out people in nursing school.

Osborn said she couldn’t afford aspects of her time in nursing school without assistance.

“I have always wanted to go to nursing school,” she said. “Life happened. Family happened. I didn’t think nursing school would be able to happen. I’m grateful.”

Osborn began working in the health care industry about 15 years ago, starting in a DaVita business office. She transitioned to patient care several years ago, and she has been learning how to provide dialysis patient care. Along the way, she established a family, which she tries to balance with her career.

Osborn will continue training for the next few weeks before she is placed in a regional clinic. She hopes to remain in the San Juan area.

“I really think there’s a big shift in the workforce, and the health care industry is a good route for people to go into,” she said.