LETTERS
Opposition to the
Assisted Living Center - The Hacienda Describing the proposal to turn the former Merryhill School Site into
an assisted living and dementia care center; and why many of your neighbors are
opposed.
As neighbors we
wanted to make you aware of the attempt to develop the former Merryhill School
site into an assisted living and dementia care facility right here in Coto de
Caza. We want you to understand the proposed project and provide you an
opportunity to voice your opinion.
This is an issue
that affects ALL of Coto de Caza.
The power to
protect the Coto de Caza quality of life and to shape what happens to the
Merryhill School site is in your hands.
The Developer’s
Proposal:
- 57 assisted living units and 2 dementia
care programs together housing 101 residents on 2 acres of land. The
property is located adjacent to the equestrian center and the General
Store, where the former Merryhill School was located. The proposed
high-density residential facility exceeds the density of any neighborhood
in Coto de Caza.
- The land is owned by Nobel Learning
Center. There is a purchase agreement for the land that has not yet
closed. The proposed buyers are Hacienda Senior Living LLC, which is
co-owned by Watermark Retirement Communities and Chandler Pratt &
Partners with Oxbow Partners assisting.
The Process: The process to approve this project is just
beginning. Many significant steps must be taken for the project to gain approval.
- The property has not been purchased.
Although a contract for sale is in place, the property currently is in
escrow pending, among other things, securing County approval, completing
due diligence, and payment of certain monies.
- The Merryhill site is governed by County
of Orange since the site is not part of any city and not governed by the
CZ Master Association. This means the Orange County Board of Supervisors
must grant final approval for any development project on the site. The
Coto De Caza community and this site are located in the Orange County 5th district currently represented by Supervisor Patricia (Pat) Bates.
- The developer must file an application
with the County Planning Department to begin the County approval process.
The planning department will review the developer’s plan to ensure the
plan meets the requirements to proceed. The public will have an
opportunity to comment during the plan review process.
- The planning department staff will issue
a report that will make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors on
the proposed project. The public will have the opportunity to speak about
the project when it is reviewed at a Board of Supervisor’s meeting. The 5
members of the Board of Supervisors will vote on the project.
- The Board of Supervisors will look to
the CZ Master Association for direction regarding what development is best
suited to be located adjacent to our community. Although the CZ Master
Association does not govern the Merryhill site, the County Board of
Supervisors has stated that the Board will place significant weight on the
recommendation of the CZ Master Association.
** Key Factor** -
If the CZ Master Association
will go on record opposing the project then we may potentially stop this
development before an application is filed with the County. We have been told
that a community wide meeting sponsored by the CZ Master Association will be
held in October during which the developer and concerned residents will have
the opportunity to comment on the project.
Why Coto
Neighbors are opposed:
- A high density, medical facility
operating 24hrs a day will have a negative impact on our quiet rural
community, with an increase in traffic, noise, parking and commercial
vehicles.
- Emergency response vehicle traffic will
significantly increase on our neighborhood two-lane roads. Each call to
the facility will require three responder vehicles; a fire truck, a fire
ambulance and a private ambulance to transfer the patient. Moreover, these
responses will occur at all hours of the day and night.
- The facility potentially will place a
significant burden on Coto’s existing emergency services. Are local
emergency services scaled to serve and evacuate a large population of
medically challenged individuals and maintain current service levels?
- Assisted living and dementia care
facilities are businesses that operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Traffic congestion and noise will dramatically increase. The developer has
advertised “very high caregiver to resident ratios.” Similar facilities
employ ratios of 1 staff member for 1 patient. With 100+ residents,
staffing could be 100+ employees. In addition to staff employees,
residents likely will require additional support such as visiting doctors,
nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, dentists, spiritual
comforters, hospice workers, funeral guidance individuals, staff hired
directly by family, casual visitors and volunteers. Similar facilities in
our area often have 60 visitors a day, and twice that or more on weekends
and holidays.
- Individuals currently experience long
delays at our security gates. How will employees, visiting professionals,
and family guests of the facility be allowed access into our community
without creating more delays? The gate guards and patrols paid for by your
HOA dues will be serving the demands of a 24-hour a day, 7 days a week
business.
- The developer’s current proposal
provides for 42 – 46 parking spaces to accommodate the residents,
employees, visiting medical staff, family and visitors. Inadequate parking
likely will force overflow parking in nearby parks, neighborhoods and
streets.
- Public Safety will be impacted.
Challenged residents who wander from the facility and enter Coto common
area property pose a safety and liability risk to the resident, our families,
and our community.
- There is a concern that the facility
could be converted to a drug and alcohol rehab facility in the future.
Based on a legal advice obtained by Cotoneighbors the concern is valid.
The developer’s material clearly states that the facility’s use is being
made flexible to meet “market demands”. Similar projects in other
neighborhoods have been converted to substance abuse rehab facilities.
- All of these issues will impact our
quality of life, and could cause our property values to decease.
Keep Informed!
- The developer has stated that the
project has local support and is a “done deal.” That is simply not true.
- The Coto De Caza News has
published biased, pro-project articles. Representatives of Cotoneighbors
have contacted the paper to discuss our opposition to the proposed
project. At this time, we have yet to receive the same consideration that
the developer appears to have been given.
How You Can Stay
Informed and Get Involved:
- Send your contact information to
cotoneighbors@yahoo.com to receive updates on the project.
- Send a note to the CZ Master Association
stating that you oppose the project. The Association email address is
czmasterboard@gmail.com, and please copy cotoneighbors@yahoo.com so we can
keep a record of opposition to the project.
- Please consider attending all public
meetings regarding the project.
- Pass this information on to your
neighbors and friends.
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RELATED STORIES
The Merryhill Project in Coto de Caza, Cui Bono?
Coto de Caza, CA - Who benefits from the proposed development of the Merryhill School site into the Hacienda Assisted Living and Memory Care Facility? Historically and according to the CZ Master Association - a homeowners association in the Coto de Caza community, as reported in the piece Coto’s Property Values Go Up Because I Say So Fallacy , everybody wins!
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