 |
November 2007 ISSUE
We do not make jokes, we simply watch the LA Times, the Orange County Register and CID/HOA board of directors and report the facts!
Coto de Caza Dues Increase Coming! – The CZ Schizoid Lifestyle
The CZ Gates do not prevent crime of opportunity. The gates provide an opportunity for crime
The
question is not whether a CZ Master Association dues
increase is coming, a third in less than four years.
If the heated discussion between former members
of the CZ board of directors in the Coto Discussion
Forum is any indication. The real question is when and how high!
Business
Management 101 indicates that prior to answering the
question of when and how high, one might want to look
at the major CZ expenditures.
For example, landscape, gate access
infrastructure and property management.
It is generally agreed that an argument for a gated community is for safety. In theory, a gate is supposed to remove the opportunity of a crime, similar to locking a car or home. Numerous studies also show that most security breaches are consummated by insiders.
| Then there is the CZ gate access controls process. Functions more as a placebo: Coto residents driving a car without a transponder - say because of auto maintenance, such resident needs to drive a loaner, - is held at the gates and interrogated with “rank and serial number”-type of questions, whereas, any non-Coto resident can drive right through, no questions asked! |  |
|
Coto de Caza Crime and Vandalism. Source: OCSD |
Additionally
service providers routinely solicit business from
other Coto residents – guess what happens to the
possibility for crime and vandalism?
Exactly! – The CZ gates instead of removing
the opportunity for a crime create the opportunity for
one. The
OCSD’s Crime and Vandalism figures appear to bear
this out, since crime and vandalism rates for 3Q2006
and 2Q2007 are at an all time high.
Other
CZ facility usage for consideration
·
Horse
trails are used by 10% of dues-paying CZ residents
·
Sports
Park is used by some 10% of dues-paying CZ residents
·
According
to former security Director, roughly 30% of CZ budget
is spent on non-CZ dues paying members
·
Non-CZ
resident Golf club patrons are free to roam the CZ
community anytime they wish.
·
Non-CZ
resident Equestrian
patrons free to roam the CZ community anytime they
wish
·
Non-CZ
resident restaurant
patrons free to roam the CZ community anytime they
wish
Miscellaneous considerations
-
Consider that the LWV property management company’s fees have increased some 69% without documented evidence showing the increase was absolutely, positively necessary.
-
Consider that the CZ board hired a private security company without any evidence of due diligence
-
Consider that the CZ board has failed to get competitive bids for property management services in years!
Buzz
You
are absolutely correct and now seem to get the point
that I have
been trying to make. Dues will only increase going
forward unless
the members are willing to materially cut the services
being
provided.
Even when your buddy Joe was on the Board and
negotiating vendor
contracts the expenses increased. Dues increases
during that period
were only avoided by the addition of new dues paying
members in the
southern part of Coto whose tracts were not yet being
maintained by
CZ Master. Once that
era ended we went from $165/mo to $190/mo.
The "user fee" assumptions are not
substantiated by facts and cannot
be relied upon to solve this problem. They will only
raise pennies
towards problems requiring real dollars to solve.
Non-members will not pay enough in fees to solve these
problems. Any
increase to members is just a dues increase in
disguise. Former CZ board member
You
missed the point.
The issue is not either/or, and certainly not
to cut services, as much as it is to manage the budget
better: Gate
access control as currently implemented is a waste.
There are those who argue that the Sheriff is
responsible for crime and vandalism – missing the
crime of opportunity notion altogether. Consider the attempted rape in December 2006:
The CZ BOD was quick to say that the
perpetrator was not a CZ resident – however, for all
practical purposes, the fact that he was allowed in
with no questions asked, makes him a “CZ insider”.
A
drastic measure that CZ should consider is to finger
print all non-CZ residents entering the gates.
For example.
The
10 principles of crime opportunity [RFN1]
1.
Opportunities play a role in causing all
crime, not just common property crime
2.
Crime opportunities are highly specific
3.
Crime opportunities are concentrated in time
and space – Dramatic differences are found from
one address to another even in a high crime area.
4.
Crime opportunities depend on everyday
movements of activity – Offenders and targets
shift according to their routine activities (eg. work,
school leisure). For example burglars visit houses in
the day when the occupants are out at work or school.
5.
One crime produces the opportunities for
another – For example, a successful break-in may
encourage the offender to return in the future or a
youth who has his bike stolen may feel justified in
taking someone else's as a replacement.
6.
Some products offer more tempting crime
opportunities – For example easily accessible
electrical items such as DVD players and mobile phones
are attractive to burglars and robbers, 'hot
product'.
7.
Social and technological changes produce new
crime opportunities – Products are most
vulnerable in their 'growth' and 'mass marketing'
stages, as demand for them is at its highest.
8.
Crime can be prevented by reducing
opportunities – The opportunity reducing
methods of situational crime prevention cut across
everyday life, though they can be tailored to specific
situations.
9.
Reducing opportunities does not usually
displace crime –
10.
Focused opportunity reduction can produce
wider declines in crime – Prevention
measures in one area can lead to a reduction in
another nearby, a 'diffusion of benefits'. This is
because offenders might overestimate the reach of
those measures.
References
RFN1 Marcus Felson Ronald V Clarke. London: Home Office, 1998. Police Research Series Paper 98
RFN2 Crime Reduction Reading Series
RELATED STORIES
Most
Frequent HOA Complaints?: Dues Increases and CC&R
Changes ? WSJ
So the number of people that lived in associations and
complained about them is 69/75 = 92%. This is in stark
contrast to Community Association Institute's (CAI)
claim that 95% of the people living in associations
love them
The
Maturing of Coto de Caza-Coto de Caza is no longer
GRUP City!
Age distribution in the crime & vandalism and
collision statistics for Coto de Caza, indicate that
an underage person is as likely to be involved in a
crime or collision within Coto, as is a senior
citizen. This fact has led us to the conclusion
that...
Coto
de Caza's Dangerous Curves-Around 75% of the accidents
within Coto de Caza happen in three of Coto?s main
roads as shown below: Coto de Caza Drive, Vista del
Verde and San Miguel
October 8, 2007The 3Q2007 CHP collision statistics,
clearly demonstrate that even though CHP patrol hours
are down some 60% compared to 2006, and there is no
coordinated safety awareness program such as the one
proposed by CHP?s Captain Elzig, the...
God
is Dead, signed Nietzche - The CotoBuzz is Dead,
signed CZ director Mezger- Given director Mezger's
resignation from the CZ BOD, we can now write:
Director Mzger dead - signed, The CotoBuzz Journal.
Reflecting on the recent CZ Master Association board
of directors' elections, triumphant
incumbent-candidate Jerry Mezger writes: ?This vote
also means that virtually the entire community has
tuned you out because they see how ridiculous your
emails and...
CZ
Master Association CC&R Violator's List
We continue to receive a flurry of complaints from
Coto residents regarding soliciting and door-to-door
distribution of service sales literature, including
maid, painting, landscaping, remodeling, (etc.)
Coto's
Dads Take Matters Into Own Hands, Get A+: CHP
Collision Report, 3Q2007- Kudos Coto Moms & Dads
for doing what the CZ BOD refused to even consider!
The 3Q2007 CHP collision figures just received from
the CHP show a quarterly collision level (on an
annualized basis) comparable to the levels the Coto de
Caza community experienced prior to expulsion of the
CHP by the CZ Master Association board of...
The
Maturing of Coto de Caza-Coto de Caza is no longer
GRUP City!
Age distribution in the crime & vandalism and
collision statistics for Coto de Caza, indicate that
an underage person is as likely to be involved in a
crime or collision within Coto, as is a senior
citizen. This fact has led us to the conclusion
that...
From
Safety Committee to Committee to Turn Coto de Caza
Into a City - Overview
This brief starts with the firing of a volunteer
(early 2006) Public Safety Chairperson for her refusal
to give up her free speech rights and promote Coto for
city, before public safety.The president of the CZ
Master Association board promises to fire...
Orange County Crime Down, Nation's Crime Up - While the FBI is expected to report a 1.3 percent rise in violent crime nationwide in 2006 — an increase for the second straight year, Sheriff Michael Carona today announced that criminal homicide, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft and motor vehicle theft decreased by 3.7% in jurisdictions served by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department in 2006. “This is great news for Orange County. Violent crimes decreased by 7.72% and property crimes decreased by 3.76% as compared to 2005. The men and women of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, in partnership with our residents, community leaders, and business owners, continue to make law enforcement a top priority. We are, once again, one of the safest communities in the nation,” said Sheriff Carona.
Coto
de Caza, 2Q2007 CHP Collision Summary
The newly elected CZ Master Association Board of
directors? president has vowed to improve the
relationship between the board and CHP management, a
minimum requirement in order to increase the CHP
traffic patrol to at least 2006 levels. We think
that...
CotoBuzz
December 2005 Newsletter
CZ BOD HOLDS THE COTO DE CAZA SECURITY AS HOSTAGE
For over two years, through use of WMP (Weapons of
Mass Persuasion), and a perfected LID (Lie/litigate,
ignore/ignoramus, or Deny/deflect/delay) Methodology,
the CZ Board has held Coto security hostage....
CotoBuzz
November 2005 Newsletter
THE BUCK NEVER STOPS AT THE CZ MASTER ASSOCIATION BOD!
- In the Believe it Or Not category, since CotoBuzz
started covering the CZ Master Association, the
current board of directors has refused to publicly
acknowledge that any of the decisions they have...
CotoBuzz
October 2005 Newsletter
Halloween is Here: The Silencing of the Lamb: Michael
Moore is acclaimed for his anti-administration
fabrications in the 9/11 documentary. And Harold
Pintner is awarded the literature Nobel Prize, as the
academy calls the prolific political playwright,...
CotoBuzz
Sep 2005 Newsletter
WELCOME TO THE CITY OF COTO! - – Soon the be
officially known as RSM South, the place formerly
known as Coto de Caza. In the September
The
Enemy in Coto de Caza's Midst - The CHP!
Considering the history of Coto de Caza, Can you name
all the service providers that have been on a
quarterly review (rather than yearly review) ? to make
sure the service it provides is acceptable? Can you
name the members of the board of directors when...s
A
Tribute to Mr. Morteza Manian On The First Anniversary
of His Tragic Death
As Mr. Morteza Manian was riding his bicycle on a lazy
Sunday afternoon, just like he had done so many times
before, a 16 year old female driver of a Nissan
Frontier approached the same intersection at Lexington
Way and struck the left side of Mr. Manian.
Coto
de Caza's Equus trailus patrolus publicus (horse trail
patrols paid by the commonwealth)
We were befuddled by the recent announcement by the CZ
Master Association board of directors of the impending
deployment of mounted units of the Sheriff?s
department to patrol the horse trails and fire roads
that surround the community. After all, all...
Coto
de Caza?s Public Safety, A Job For The Mounties - A
Paraphrase of the Orange County Register ? But, why
waste scarce, precious resources patrolling horse
trails?XThe Mounties are Coming, the Mounties are
Coming?.!X
It is no secret that the Orange County Register has
been an ardent supporter of the Varo/Mezger
administration. There is evidence that the editor
collaborated with the board to silence critics,
including the CotoBuzz Journal: The OCR board of
directors...
CHP
in Coto - Big Mouth CZ Bob- By Joseph Morabito, former
member CZ Master Association Board of Directors
Hello All: I have heard that CHP officers are not
volunteering to work in Coto even for the time and a
half pay they would earn. So, we are not even getting
the 40 hours a week that was the original deal under
Glisson/Rose. It would seem that Bob...
The
CotoBuzz Journal March 2007
Public Safety - A Job For the Gendarmerie Royale Du
Coto de Caza! A Tribute to Mr. Morteza Manian On the
First Anniversary of His Tragic Death
Coto
De Caza, Ladera Ranch, Safest Communities in the
Canyons ? Not!
According to the OCSD, Coto de Caza registered the
highest incidence of crime/vandalism for 3Q2006. On
the other hand, Ladera Ranch ended 2006 with a
significant reduction in crime and vandalism.
CHP
Patrol Hours Down, DUI-related Accidents Up: Coto de
Caza Traffic Accident Trends - 1Q2007 - another Case
of Cause-Effect
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) reports a total of
6 collision for the first quarter in 2007, one injury
and 5 property damage only traffic collisions, for the
un-incorporated area of Coto de Caza. Two of the
collisions were DUI related.
Rancho
Santa Margarita Residents arrested for DUI
The Capistrano Area Public Arrest Log for the week
ending 1/28/2007 registered the arrest of two RMS
residents.
Public
Spectacles Work!
Public Spectacles worked For Ladera Ranch, and Laguna
Woods Village, Why Not Coto de Caza? CHP enforcement
hours in Coto de Caza have dropped some 60% from 2006
levels, mostly, because resources have been allocated
by CHP management to other...
Coto
de Caza?s Bastard Child: Public Safety
In just 15 short months, the community witnessed the
absence of the CHP for proactive traffic patrol
followed by two tragic traffic accidents. In the last
one, the board blamed the victim, although the teen
driver eventually pleaded guilty.
From
Safety Committee to Committee to Turn Coto de Caza
Into a City - Overview
This brief starts with the firing of a volunteer
(early 2006) Public Safety Chairperson for her refusal
to give up her free speech rights and promote Coto for
city, before public safety.The president of the CZ
Master Association board promises to fire...
The
CotoBuzz Journal May 2007
CHP in Coto - Big Mouth CZ Bob- By Joseph Morabito,
former member CZ Master Association Board of
DirectorsHello All: I have heard that CHP officers are
not volunteering to work in Coto even
The
Varo anti-CHP Sentiment continues: CHP GO HOME, KEEP
OUT OF OUR DUIs!
The Coto de Caza gates, including the automated ones
are as reliable as the public utilities in the
outskirts of Baghdad, yet the association continues
paying for services barely-rendered, no questions
asked.
CHP
DOES ITS JOB – CZ BOARD PLEASE DO YOURS!
-
Despite
the public abuse the CHP has received from the Coto de
Caza board of directors ever since the board was
coerced into bringing the CHP back for pro-active
traffic patrol, figures indicate that the CHP is doing
its job: Trend
for accident rate is down and close to pre-firing
levels. Just
as important, the number of Coto residents arrested
for DUI is down. See
chart below for actual accident rate.
Law
Enforcement – Evil, Necessary Evil, Or Noble
Profession and Role Model? In
open societies, we posit that law enforcement follows
Winstren’s Law:
Law Enforcement Goes Where it is Needed and
Stays Where it is Wanted
1Q2007
Coto de Caza Crime and Vandalism Report
A comparison between the 1Q2006 and 1Q2007 Crime and
Vandalism reports shows that a favorite Coto de Caza
crime is fraud, that the Peter Pan Syndrome continues
to be alive and well (crime is evenly distributed
between kids and adults) and a criminal...
|
Select Blogzz & click icon |
Subscribe
-
ADVERTISEMENT
 |
|
|
 |
