La Habra Heights Improvement Association Vice President fails to make bail.

Councilperson Baroldi really put something in someone mouth this time. I reviewed the online article regarding Layne writing a fake press release. Then I read the Whittier Daily News also did an article on the Avocado Express. I obtained an email copy of the press release, sent to me by the Avocado Express on Monday. It was signed by Mrs Clark, city administrator for La Habra Heights. Is it not illegal to circulate false and misleading information for political or financial gain using the guise of an official city press release? District Attorney Steve Cooley, should be made of aware just in an investigation is needed as to the exact intent by the city in sending fake press releases. The article on the Avocado Express does leave one with doubts if this was really meant as a joke. Seems more of a scare tactic for development?

This is what was received via email from Jean Good Lietzau but written by Councilperson Baroldi

California CBS/Fox affiliate
KCBS-TV (7/26) reported on its web site,

"Faced with rising costs and less incoming revenue to city coffers,
the city of La Habra Heights is considering all options, "and that includes
dissolving itself as a city, or disincorporation." City Manager Shauna Clark
said that disincorporation is "an option that will be presented to the
council." The city is attempting "to meet a projected budget shortfall of $241,699
for the new fiscal year." KCBS-TV noted, "Disincorporation would mean La
Habra Heights ceases to operate as a city government, and is placed under the
jurisdiction of Los Angeles County." The county then "would be responsible for
providing fire and law enforcement protection," which "now eats up more than 80
percent of the city's general fund."

Shauna Clark

The emailed response by Jean G Lietzau (below) to Barolidi's press release is telling as it reveals the agenda of the new Council members, pursued successfully since the election.
Led by L Baroldi, City codes have been overturned to allow little restraint on building. We will see the result when the economy improves.
As a Planning Commissioner, Baroldi consistently ignored residents pleas to protect their property rights, and voted to approve inappropriate spec builder estates.
Councilman Vipperman's appointee to the Planning Commission, Westerhoff, aggressively pursues all avenues to overturn codes that protect residents' views, privacy, and open space.
At a recent Commission meeting, H Vipperman was in the back of the room nodding approvingly as C Westerhoff maligned the codes.
This Improvement Association related cabal incorrectly associates, or wants people to believe the association of, building with improved city finances. However, it is well established that residential properties cost cities money.
By law, building fees, permits, etc cannot exceed the cost of providing the service, so building provides no "profit" to the city. The city only receives 10% of the property taxes you pay. That is why we pay a fire tax and roads tax, because property taxes aren't enough to run the city. The more houses, the deeper the city goes in the hole.
The only finances that improve from building are the builders' and development interests'.
(Note: It should be assumed, but in case it is not, that residents improving their homes is beneficial to both the city and the residents.)
La Habra Heights residents should beware of the the groundwork being laid for increased density, the loss of the rural environment and inhospitableness to animal keeping.
**********
In 1990, in her final column as Mayor, Jean Good wrote the following insightful words:
"Time and people have heen kind to La Habra Heights. Always, it has seemed that we are in the right place at the right time to save this special place from high density development and preserve it for future generations. One needs only to look at Hacienda Heights to the north or the newly emerging Shea development in Rowland Heights to the east to understand why we became a city. This hillside village is too beautiful to allow it to go the way of neighboring communities.
The battle to preserve La Habra Heights will continue. I remember turning to James Littlejohn when we had just won the incorporation struggle and saying,'It's over, La Habra Heights is safe!." and James replied, "It will never he over, Jean, as long as there is money to be made here." And he was right! Often, people appear in front of the Council saying, "I love this community. I want to keep it the way it is - except for my home which I am going to build four stories high, in a stream bed, and by the way I am going to have to exceed the grading ordinance by 100%, and I would like to run an asphalt plant in the backyard- but I want to keep La Habra Heights the way it is"
Well, take it from an old mayor, you can't have it both ways my friends.Either you maintain vour strict standards for development or you lose it all. The most beautiful communities in California; Santa Barbara, Rancho Santa Fe, Rolling Hills, etc., all have strict development standards. Beware of those who tout "individual property rights" because that usually translates into"let's destroy the zoning and make this place look like the rest Los Angeles County". Experience has taught me that those people usually want no controls on their development, but want to tell everyone else what to do. The future of this community depends upon you. It is your choice to make."
**********

Part 2 -

Apparently having changed direction, her email response to L Baroldi's press release said:
""This Press Release indicates that La Habra Heights continues to
reap the harvest of seven years of incompetent city managers and city council members.
Since 2001, Councils concentrated solely on stopping all building up
here with no regard to the disaster they were creating to city finances.
They hired expensive staff who did not perform their duties. Bruce Douglas, Ed Borrowe, Tela Millsap, Fred Klein, Brian Bergman, Stan Carroll, should take a bow for bringing our small city to this place in time.
What a sad day this is for La Habra Heights as we prepare to celebrate our 30th anniversary of being a city.
I have complete confidence in Council members Layne Baroldi and Howard Vipperman.
I know that they can lead us through this challenging
time and we will remain an incorporated city."
Jean Good Lietzau, First Mayor"
**********
We will soon find out if residents want to remain a rural oasis in the Los Angeles concrete sprawl, or if we go the way envisioned by the new council of the more, and bigger, building the better.

Jean Good, all of your fellow members are disappointed to read about your complicity in developing the Heights. While all along preaching to us to fight against any and all attempts to change the Heights. You are a two faced lair and should be run out of town. And since you are scheduled to be in the upcoming 30th year of city hood parade ,may I suggest a hardtop car. My chickens will be working overtime waiting for you to pass along the parade route. Just a friendly piece of advice to an old friend.

Red Hat

Boy is this an election year coming up or what? This bologna is obviously a start in the upcoming election with tries to make everything black and white. I once read that people who can only see in black and white are either not too bright or not completely mentally stable. Let's see black being one extreme (no building or you are a BUILDER" or white being (Let's put in tract homes and do away with any resemblance to rural). Watch. The election will fight these two extremes when the truth is most people are somewhere in the middle. If people are allowed to buy one acre lots, then how can you stop them from building a home? The persons who sign themselves in as Part 1 and Part 2 want to control everyone's rights. People have rights on both sides and just because you are not against someone building a home on their own property doesn't make you a "Developer". These people are just setting up sides for the next election so they can sling mud at any new people trying to run for council. Watch and study. Don't be fooled by this bologna. It is all a pre-election set-up.

Jean Goode, Red Hat doesn't speak for me. I am not disappointed in you. I believe you are one of those people who can see somewhere in the middle. Not just black or white. You should be in the parade and honored. You were our first mayor and put much hard work and love into protecting our city. Those of us who have been here for all these years and know you, know you have a reasonable attitude about property rights vs. rural. Too bad you can't protect it from Part 1 and Part 2.

All of you nasty people are going to run this city right back to LA CO.

Be proud of your pompus elite selves! You made it happen.

Overheard at Golf Club.

Do I have some news for the Avocado Express... Large ranch estates (think: Dallas TV Show) with avocado orchards surrounding them are in the future for La Habra Heights. But first, the Heights development code needs to be changed to allow for the compounds to be built. These palatial estates would most likely be occupied by certain wealthy families who have the political muscle (money) to change the code that currently does not allow for homes beyond 15,000 square feet. Apparently, the whole episode is well know by the planning commissioners and all 5 council members. Certain council members have lots of interest in checking their mailboxes lately. The ranches are to be located on the far west of the Heights.

contact Brett for additional details

Please elaborate on this further Funny Business. What are the councilmembers looking in there mailboxes for? What do you mean that the councilmembers and planning commissioners know? What ranches on the far West? I think you are making stuff up to stir the pot, but share with us your great knowledge of what they all know.

It looks like SB has signed himself in as Part 1, Part 2, and Funny Business. What a kook.

As a former resident and quite a vocal one at that, La Habra Heights is nothing but a joke. They want to get rid of the very foundation the city was built on. First and foremost is WAS a horse friendly, agricultural, beautifully rural area. The politics there and the lack of responsibility of the officials (that's a joke too)and the concerted effort of some in local government to drive out horses is quite transparent to anyone following what takes place there. The "bicycle" riding mayor of past, ruined the roads with his drainage swales (when he was on the roads committee, so bikers won't fall down while racing around blind corners) that can cause a horse to break a leg and his encouragement of "hiking, biking and horseback riding" he added to the general plan was quite a "sneaker" I understand they now have bike races and paint up the streets and continue to endanger the very people that pay for those streets. It still amazes me that for 20 years when the county maintained the roads, they never had the problems they do now with the swales. The police are useless unless city council tells them to do something (or pick on any particular resident). The war they waged against the man on the east side that wanted to have his own fire truck to protect his property was also a testament to the mentality of the so called "elite's" in power (in their own minds I might add). Then you have the bugs that were and still are eating the horses alive, and the officials there WILL NOT let vector control spray (they did once and the bugs were gone for about 6 weeks). It's a shame that such a beautiful area is ruined by such an ugly hidden agenda of a hand full of people. So when your roads continue to fall down the hill, horse owners move in and find out about the bugs, Klein gets more "hamburgers and cokes", and the "biking ex mayor" lets bike riders kill every person riding a horse or walking in the breeze, be prepared incorporated city.....you all will be left holding the liability bag. I speak from personal knowledge and am glad to now live in a place where neighbors care about eachother, our newspaper reports the activities of the police, and people protect the real rural lifestyle we love and live. La Habra Heights, what a million dollar joke! and I also have personal knowledge that the "elites" also control the Whittier Daily News, as they refused to report the truth for me as a follow up to the front page splash where a convicted felon shot up my neighborhood and police let them do it. The ax is yet to fall in La Habra Heights or as I call it "The Beverly Heights Billies".

You go Nina girl!

I did not see any "La Habra Heights" contributors to this column! What is going on here?

I have told the city listed under the poster has nothing to do where one resides. It has to do with where the Internet service provider is located.
Interestedly many individuals use AOL for service and no city ever gets listed, but based on the inside information posted here you can bet they live in La Habra Heights.

I'm a Heights resident. I think Nina has something there. The bike riders are a nuisance. They ride in the middle of the street, run stop signs, and go around the bends at high speed in the middle of the road. They are going to kill themselves or someone in a car swerving to try to not hit them. There's still a strong group of people in the heights who love the rural style and will protect it. The roads are in terrible shape in some places.

I live in the Heights to, for about 5 five years now, and I don't see the mass exodus of horses nor our streets being painted up for bike races.
I do see the bike riders and horses on the streets, both of whom I slow down for and go around when I can. Neither the horses nor the bikes seem to pose much of a problem to me. So, the question is: do the bikers really pose a hazard to the horses?
The answer to that question will reveal a clear course of action. If they do; then stop them, if not; then let them enjoy the heights like the rest of us. The town should be a rural, "horse type" community and when decisions come down to rural concerns vs. other concers, rural should take precedence.
I would like to see something done about the way people (I believe the to be non-residnets) drive in our city. We all know the roads and know how to dirve them, so it makes sense that we know what speeds are safe and where, but the peopel I see racing through our town and up and down my street clearly have no clue.
Just this weekend a car parked next to my yard was rearended in the middle of the night and the other car didn't even stop, leavea note or anything! Maybe speed bumps or something else can be put in.

Exclusive!- BREAKING NEWS 3/30/09 2:10pm PDT

Fair Political Practices Commission clears "Hate Flyers"

View FPPC letter at link below:

http://www.unisatmobile.com/La Habra Heights/FPPC Response Letter-edited-for-web.pdf

EOM

Lets try that again.

Exclusive!- BREAKING NEWS 3/30/09 2:10pm PDT

Fair Political Practices Commission clears "Hate Flyers"

View FPPC letter at link below:

http://www.unisatmobile.com/La Habra Heights/FPPC-Response-Letter-e dited-for-web.pdf

EOM

OK, you more time, I apologize for the errors in posting the link.

Exclusive!- BREAKING NEWS 3/30/09 2:10pm PDT

Fair Political Practices Commission clears "Hate Flyers"

View FPPC letter at link below:

http://www.unisatmobile.com/La Habra Heights/FPPC Response Letter-edited-for-web.pdf

If anyone has read the 3/26 copy of the La Habra Journal, the Editor did not truthfully cover the events of Mr. Vipperman at the 3/12 council meeting. Is that factual reporting for the residents and surrounding coumminity? Not in the least. The Journal must be bias, that is the only deduction one can come to. Soft shoe for the good ole boys...three amigos. Hope Time Warner gets watched; unless the new mayor and his comrades axed that too.