Norco Council Hopefuls Vie to Defend Rural Life Style

In the race for three seats on the City Council, voters may have a tough time picking candidates out of the pack. For a 12-entry horse race in a small town, there’s not much difference in the color of the silks.

“This has been a very quiet campaign,” said candidate Lorrie Ivie. “There’s been no big things going on to stir up people’s emotions.”

Council hopefuls’ most fervent arguments are not over garbage collection fees or the city’s role in redevelopment. They battle, instead, for the title of most devoted defender of Norco’s prized rural atmosphere and staunchest protector of its equestrian life style.

For in this city, that is the only real issue. And none of the candidates even suggests there is room in Norco for smaller lots, for new homes without provisions for keeping animals, or for urbanization of any sort.

“Basically, all the candidates agree on several issues,” said challenger James T. Williams III, a horse trainer. “They want to keep Norco rural, they would like to see all new houses built on at least half an acre, and to do something to improve municipal services.”

Steve Nathan, a two-term incumbent seeking re-election, concurs: “Everybody agrees on that, and everybody points the finger at everyone else and says, ‘He’s against it.’ . . . This issue comes up every election. You brand some people being against large lots.”

Decision Criticized

This year, Nathan and fellow incumbent Richard L. (Dick) MacGregor, are being criticized by their opponents for a controversial City Council decision two years ago that allowed a tract of “small-lot” homes to be built on the Santa Ana River bluffs.

MacGregor and Nathan claim the council really had no choice but to approve the development of quarter-acre lots because the land wasn’t zoned to have animals.

“The area never was zoned for animal-keeping in the first place, even before Norco was a city,” MacGregor explained. “We didn’t convert it from animal-keeping.”

But challengers hope their stand will convince voters to oust them.

“I have found fault with primarily that issue,” said candidate John Cobbe, a contractor and Norco planning commissioner.

“If I had been presented with 1,463 signatures (opposing the plan), I would have listened,” said candidate Jo Ann Dickson, co-owner of a trucking company and a leader in that failed 1984 petition drive. “They just didn’t listen to the people.”

But MacGregor, a program manager, argued that the council’s actions actually dedicated more land to agricultural zoning, created a buffer between existing residential and agricultural areas and prevented a lawsuit that the city would likely have lost. “They’re mad at us because we couldn’t do everything,” he said.

Major Differences

Arguments about devotion to the Norco life style aside, the major differences that emerge among the candidates are in how they propose to preserve Norco’s Western character, given that tax revenues from large residential lots are not enough to maintain the area’s horse trails and equestrian parks or repair aging roads.

Ten of the 12 candidates agree that the city’s auto mall, now under construction on Hamner Avenue, is an ideal way to bring Norco the tax dollars it needs to provide essential services, without damaging its rural-residential nature.

“It’s probably the best thing that ever came across the city,” said challenger Steven R. (Skip) Davidovich, echoing a sentiment that seems to prevail in the city of 24,556 residents.

But two candidates oppose the auto mall project.

“I hate that,” said technical writer Stanley Chemes. “. . . It doesn’t seem to fit in this kind of town.” Although he acknowledges that the city needs to find new revenue sources, Chemes does not offer any alternatives to the auto mall. “That’s our dilemma,” he said.

Then there is Councilman Nathan, who repeatedly has predicted that the mall will fail to attract enough dealers to turn a profit for the city. “We’re spending money on the auto mall that we should not be,” he said.

“It’s not working. The auto mall has turned out to be very expensive,” Nathan said. “We’ve gone in debt for $20 million and all we’ve built is the auto mall sign.”

But Councilman MacGregor disagrees. One dealer already is building in the mall, and the city is negotiating with several others, he said. Two of those dealers have put down deposits on sites and another is expected to do so next week.

Predicts Success

The financial results will begin to flow into city coffers in two or three years, MacGregor predicted. “We’re beginning to make economic progress, and that progress will provide for improved services.”

But candidate Henry E. Froelich, a project engineer, argues that the city needs a master plan for controlled economic development, “not this spontaneous, a little growth here, a little growth there.”

Many of the challengers have built their campaigns on a pledge to bolster police and fire protection and to improve streets, trails and sewers.

Marvin Thornhill, a paper company executive, said he thinks the city is not getting its money’s worth from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, which provides police services under a $1.02- million annual contract with the city.

If elected, both Thornhill and Williams said, they would study alternatives to the Sheriff’s Department contract.

Another challenger, Davidovich, also has stressed law enforcement in his campaign: “I would say there’s not a street in this city that hasn’t been touched by drugs,” he said, pledging to seek federal funds to fight the war on drugs in Norco.

Psychology student George A. King said he is running for a seat on the council to try to improve communication with residents about important council decisions.

And candidate Ted Woodford Crawford, a horse ranch owner, said he believes that “the horse industry hasn’t been represented by the council.” He charged that the council has taken Norco toward “a more urban-style than rural” and has imposed too many regulations.