Mission Viejo Council Rejects Building Freeze

In a sometime blistering session highlighted by several sharp jabs at Councilman Robert A. Curtis, the City Council on Monday night overwhelmingly rejected a proposed building moratorium.

The moratorium, which would have frozen all new residential construction within the city for as long as two years, died when no council member would join Curtis in supporting it. A second proposal by Curtis to challenge an agreement between the county and the Mission Viejo Co. governing development in the city also failed for lack of a second.

The council’s action and debate marked a stinging rebuke for Curtis, who is the subject of a recall election scheduled for Feb 27. Several speakers bluntly accused Curtis of having introduced the moratorium proposal for political reasons, and one person went so far as to “compliment” him on his “ability to lie.”

“This whole issue has been driven by political considerations,” Planning Commissioner Ben Meharg told members of the council. “I must assume that he is trying to mislead the public for political reasons.”

In particular, Meharg and other moratorium foes said Curtis has dramatically overstated the number of homes that would be affected by a freeze. Curtis has suggested that more than 3,000 homes could be affected, but the city staff report on the matter indicated that only about 1,400 homes would actually be covered.

As debate over the proposal embroiled the council, tempers often flared.

Mayor Christian W. Keena repeatedly gaveled Curtis to order, and Councilwoman Victoria C. Jaffe told Curtis that she was “appalled” by his conduct in the meeting. “If you’re not going to maintain order, I’m going to recess,” Keena said. Curtis, taken aback, responded by telling Keena, “I resent your heavy-handed tactics.”

Monday’s action capped months of contentious council debate on the merits of the building moratorium, first introduced by Curtis last fall.

Curtis had argued that a moratorium was needed to preserve the city’s open space and prevent overdevelopment at a time when the Mission Viejo Co. is nearing completion of its plans for the community.