The Biszantz Connection-The San Diego Real Estate Information

So what happens now that we have submitted our comments regarding the Vacant Lot?


With over 200 concerned citizens who submitted letters to the Land Use/Environmental Planner Terry Powers, I began to wonder what the next step in this process of determining what will eventually be allowed to be built on the vacant lot. Does anyone actually read our comments and concerns? I contacted Terry Powers regarding this issue and he had Gig Conaughton walk me through the following steps that will occur. Below is the response to my questions on this subject:

May 22nd, 2009
Dear Ms. Biszantz,
My name is Gig Conaughton. I am the Public Affairs Officer for the County’s Department of Planning and Land Use. Terry Powers told me you contacted him and he sent me your questions about our environmental review process. We’re more than happy to tell you about that process. Just so you know, it is guided by California environmental law, the California Environmental Quality Act, which you can find in California ’s Public Resources Code at: www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html.
Here are the answers to your questions!

1) Who reads the (comment) letters?
The DPLU and DPW Project Managers and subject area specialists read, review and respond to the letters.
2) How are they weighed in importance?
Under CE QA, we look for comments that identify an environmental impact that was not previously identified in the project analysis. County policy, based on CEQA guidelines, defines such comments as:

· Statements alleging inadequacies in the identification of environmental effects,
· Statements alleging inadequacies in the ability of Mitigation Measures or Design Considerations in clearly avoiding environmental effects,
· Statements alleging problems with the ND process.
· Statements alleging inaccuracies in the documentation.
· A recommendation for proposed changes to the project or proposed mitigation to reduce significant effects of the project.
· Substantive statements demanding that an EIR be completed support with facts.

3) How do we as writers see how your department responds to each letter?
Once we complete our review of the submitted comments and complete our responses, all responses and the original comments become part of the public record. Anyone can request to see this information which is available at our Project Processing Counter here in offices at the County Department of Planning and Land Use, 5201 Ruffin Road , Suite B.
4) Does your committee respond individually?

The County does not have a committee that reviews public comment. Project Managers and supervisory personnel from the various departments involved --- generally DPW and DPLU --- review the letters. Each letter is reviewed individually and is assigned an alphabetical letter and number for each comment.

5) Do you review them for a couple of months?

CEQA does not create a legal deadline for local jurisdictions to respond to comments. However, San Diego County DPLU’s goal is to respond to all comments within 13 days after the close of the public comment period. Having said that, our response can take longer or even be shorter, depending upon the number of comments and their content.
6) What is the factor that decides if you go ahead and issue a ND or conduct an environmental (Impact Report) study?

CEQA spells that out for local jurisdictions. If all potentially significant environmental impacts from a proposed project can be adequately mitigated, CEQA requires a Mitigated Negative Declaration to be prepared and made available for public comment. If any potentially significant environmental impact CAN NOT be adequately mitigated, or a fair argument based on substantial evidence is presented contending that a project may have a significant environmental impact, CEQA requires an Environmental Impact Report.

7) How can a project be approved when no one can even see what the final drawing and project is going to look like?
Discretionary projects can not. CEQA requires a public environmental review process. The proposed Pauma de la Reina project would have been allowed “by right” and been exempt from CEQA except for the fact they needed a grading permit because they proposed to do more grading than they could “by right.” That permit triggered this review. Under CEQA, the County has all the information it needs, including architectural renderings, to judge the proposed Pauma de la Reina project.

8) What is the average resident’s ability at this point to influence positive changes on the project for the community?
They are exercising that ability now under CEQA’s public comment process. The County renders land use decisions in compliance with CEQA and all pertinent regulations. To date staff has received 170 comment letters from the community.

9) Do we get to hear a response to all the questions raised in the letters from residents?
Again, once we complete our review of the submitted comments and complete our responses, all responses and the original comments become part of the public record. Anyone can request to see those. They are available at our Project Processing Counter here in offices at the County Department of Planning and Land Use, 5201 Ruffin Road , Suite B.

Thank you very much,
Gig Conaughton
Public Affairs Officer
Department of Planning and Land Use
County of San Diego
(858) 495-5481
gig.conaughton@sdcounty.ca.gov


I hope this is helpful for anyone who had the same questions that I did! I am not really sure what it all meant and I feel like I need a dictionary for all the terms they use. It sure confuses me!

I wrote in my newsletter that we should really create an email database for when we need to organize and meet quickly our council can email us. You can send your email to
whispering.palms@yahoo.com and it will be forwarded to the board.

They live at 3921 Avenida Brisa

Thanks Marti and Frank!

Here is a picture of Denean so you will recognize your host! I will have pictures up the following day on this blog.

many home sales -- has been taken up by industry trade groups.

The National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders have both identified issues surrounding appraisals as a factor putting a damper on sales of new and existing homes in May -- the first month new rules governing appraisals conducted on loans slated for purchase by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac took effect.

NAR has asked the regulator that oversees Fannie and Freddie to suspend the rules for 18 months, saying they may not be working as intended.

Although existing-home sales picked up slightly in May -- posting the first back-to-back monthly increases since the fall of 2005 -- the 2.4 percent increase was less than would have been expected from a previous rise in pending sales, NAR says.

Many contracts fell through in May because of "faulty valuations" that kept buyers from getting a loan, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said when the group released the latest numbers on sales of existing homes.

Stories of appraisal problems "have been snowballing from across the country," he said. Some lenders may be using appraisers who are unfamiliar with a neighborhood, or who compare traditional homes with distressed and discounted sales, Yun said.

Sales of new homes were virtually flat in May, and one of the factors limiting sales was the use of foreclosures and short sales as "comps" and the affect on appraisals of nearby homes, NAHB said.

NAHB is calling for new guidelines for appraisals of properties in areas with large numbers of distressed properties, that would include giving appraisers the option of expanding the geographic area or time frame for eligible sales to get a more representative take on home sales in the area.

Because appraisers can't inspect the interiors of many properties that are used as comps, they may not be aware of maintenance issues or damage that are common with foreclosed properties, NAHB said. The failure to adjust comparable values of foreclosed and distressed homes often results in the undervaluation of new homes, the group maintains.

In a June 22 letter to the federal regulator that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, NAR placed much of the blame for problematic appraisals on the Home Valuation Code of Conduct -- new rules governing appraisals conducted on loans slated for purchase by Fannie and Freddie that went into effect May 1.

On June 13th, Whispering Palms residents Kimberly Sisneros and Terry O'Hara were wed in a beautiful ceremony at Morgan Run Club & Resort. The wedding ceremony was held on the lawn just below the Guest Terrace to which the reception moved immediately after the ceremony. Then, a magnificent dinner was held in the Ballroom accompanied by music performed by the Aubrey Fay Band. Friends and relatives from all over the world joined in the celebration and could be seen enjoying the Club and our neighborhood for several days before the wedding as well as several days thereafter.Kimberly and Terry were introduced eight years ago by mutual friends in their old neighborhood and have been good friends ever since. They became better acquainted through playing tennis together at Morgan Run, but didn't begin dating until two years ago. Kimberly and Terry share so much in common: both having grown up within an hour of each other in Ohio; both having backgrounds in Electrical Engineering; and both having a love of the outdoors and being quite athletic.The couple plan to honeymoon in Italy and will continue to reside in Whispering Palms. Both are active in the Club where Terry presides as Chairman and Kimberly serves on the Social Committee. If you see them at the Club or walking their dogs, Nikki, London and Chanel, around the neighborhood, be sure to wish them well.

I am starting this new category of "in my opinion only" because what I will write under this category will have no factual evidence (unless I cite any) but merely will be a channel to express some of my opinions that are smothered elsewhere.

I recently had a transaction that was in escrow in the $700,000's price range. The appraisal came in over $100,000 less than the escrow price. The buyer was using Wells Fargo banking services..if you could call it that.

The buyer wanted a discount on the "agreed to price" in escrow. The sellers didn't feel the price should be adjusted because the buyer clearly wanted the property at the agreed upon price in the beginning. The sellers made a very good point that I do agree with:

One of the most rewarding parts of being a realtor is seeing when clients are really happy with their purchase and get their dream home. April 1st was especially great when my good friends got the house of their dreams on Sanddollar Court. Press the go button above to see the video!

The second part of carvaning a home to all the realtors in the neighborhood is actually getting them to show up! Wednesday, April 1st was the day we chose to put Avenida Calma on Realtor Caravan day (which is every Wednesday). In the morning on Wednesday, every new listing is on caravan from Encinitas to Carmel Valley. There might be 30-60 houses being shown for the first time that day.

How do you get the most realtors to preview your house? IN THAT LIES THE KEY TO A SUCCESSFUL SALE!

I try to pick a theme for each home and market that theme. In this case the theme is around a "French Provencial Style Home" and Easter. So we had a "French style lunch and a Realtors Easter Egg Hunt."

I wore the bunny ears for three days before caravan so all agents in the office would not forget my easter egg hunt coming up.

Below you can see me "Trying to entice agents to come see my house...on Avenida Calma."

Yesterday Frank and I took a bit of a day off my schedule, played golf and talked about the weeks ahead. Starting tomorrow I will have to be at the tournament with the Jankovic's and more importantly, enjoying my time with my friends. So I needed a day to "re-group" before Jelena's first tournament day. And what did we do? Play golf of course! Now that I have shown you everyone else's swing..I might as well show you my own!

Today is Saturday and Frank and I are getting ready to go over to the tournament to support Sneza and Jelena at her first match of the tournament!