Do you think that government should have to follow the rules according to California Planning Law when they review and approve (or deny) a project proposal? Of course they should!
But they did not do that when they tried to bring the Hidden Creek Ranch project to Moorpark. That's why the voters took control to pass the Moorpark SOAR and defeat the Hidden Creek Development Deal in 1999.
Dr. Roseann Mikos knew that to protect the PEOPLE's right to vote on these important issues, she would have to expose the abuse of discretion that was happening regarding the Hidden Creek approval process. And she did. NO OTHER CANDIDATE, EXCEPT ROSEANN MIKOS, cared enough to do what it took to keep government honest!
But don't just take our word for it. See for yourself.
Read what the judge read when he had to decide if there was an abuse of disretion about the Hidden Creek annexation deal.
Then read the judge's ruling, when he overturned the Hidden Creek annexation, essentially telling the city, LAFCO, and the developer to go back to "Square One" and do it the right way instead.
Here are the official documents:
- Opening Legal Brief (Word97) or Opening Legal Brief (HTML)
- Final Judge's Ruling: (This is a fax document requiring a fax viewer to see it. If you can't access it, or it is unreadable, email us and ask us to fax it directly to you. OR, right click on the link and "Save target as..." to a location on your hard drive. Then open it from there instead of from here. It might work that way if it does not open correctly from this page.)
When they do go back to Square One (and they will), YOU will get to vote on what they propose! It will not be just 3 city council people who get to decide on such a huge potential expansion. YOU will get to decide.
Why? Because thanks to the votes of Moorpark voters on Jan. 12, 1999, you voted 2-to-1 for the Moorpark SOAR and against overdevelopment at Hidden Creek. As a result, WE now have the power to vote on major urban expansions that would sprawl outside Moorpark's original city limit line.
Hooray for Moorpark Voters and the power you gave yourselves!
POSTSCRIPT: 2003-2004
The replacement project for Hidden Creek Ranch (now called North Park Village) is currently under analysis and deliberation by the City. The Planning Commission recommended approval to voters. The City Council is currently holding public hearings. Please study it and speak up about what you think.
Some time in 2005 is the likely time when this replacement project (North Park Village) will be placed on the ballot for Moorpark voters to either approve or deny. We will all have to decide whether we believe the good outweighs the bad, or the bad outweighs the good to determine how we will vote.
Like you, I am still weighing the pros and cons and will make a final decision after all the information has been presented. I have many concerns that I have already raised and am waiting to see if they can adddress them sufficiently. Stay tuned...!
POSTSCRIPT: 2005-2006
Hearings were held during most of 2005. Given the complexities of the project and the fact that the developer had a lot of things to work out before anyone on the council felt it was ready to go to voters, it took longer than most would have liked.
Nevertheless, in October 2005, the council voted 3-2 that they believed the good outweighed the bad about North Park--paving the way to place the measure on the ballot in 2006, per the requirements of SOAR. Councilmembers Parvin, Millhouse, and Harper voted YES on the project and Mayor Hunter and I voted NO.
Since I was the person who made sure that SOAR was written to give the voters the choice, I was pleased that it would NOT be just three council members who would decide on this huge city expansion into the open spaces. Rather, I wrote SOAR so that the voters themselves could decide.
Then on February 28, 2006, voters voted 3 to 1 AGAINST the North Park housing project. Hooray again for participatory democracy!
