Rancho Cucamonga, California, is a Suburban City… for Now

By Dan Titus, September 17, 2020

Politicians in Sacramento want to turn suburban cities in California in to urban ghettos like Los Angeles and San Francisco by embracing poverty, crime, congestion and disease – viruses. All of these need government solutions, financed by the middle-class.

A Socialist-style centralized planning process is currently under way in Rancho Cucamonga, called a General Plan (GP) update. It’s called “PlanRC”. It is a requirement of the State. Over the years more-and-more State control requirements have been placed on cities called unfunded mandates, whereby the State presses the city to develop planning “elements” or chapters. These elements attempt to control aspects of human existence and include control of: Land Use, Housing, Conservation, Open Space, Noise, Safety, Environmental Justice – Social Justice, and Air Quality.

As the city describes it: “A General Plan is a blueprint for the City’s future and includes a vision, community values, goals and policies to guide decision-making.” – dictated by the State.

The city is bending to State requirements to urbanize the city under the false argument of climate change solutions, called Sustainable Development, aka Sustainability These solutions have been disclaimed; in a chapter 4 of the report by the American Coalition of Sustainable Communities (ACSC) titled, Agenda 21: Sustainable Development in California, which was given to Rancho Cucamonga City Manager, John Gillison; however, city planners continue to work with the State to bend and implement State AGENDAS through the GP.

It can be argued the city is importing: poverty, crime, congestion and disease through urbanization.

General Plan Process

A requirement for A GP update is public outreach. The city approached “stakeholder groups” to start with. Remember, groups have agendas, by definition. These groups were given surveys, which were slanted to steer results to a desired outcome by offering specific “choices” geared towards climate change solutions and urbanization. The city then approached individuals. According to city officials: anyone can participate, even people and groups that don’t live in the city.

The “process” is really a ruse to make it appear that there is local control

The city signed a contract with the State to streamline housing approvals in November 2019. The contract is designed to skirt planning commission approvals and resident input. The goal is to urbanize the remaining land in the city, called “infill” development, and promote “equity” or give-a-ways to the poor.

In consideration of the contract, the city has agreed to increase housing production beyond State law to promote efforts to intensify single-family neighborhoods with more “housing choices and affordability” (Equity – Social Justice) by “upzoning” parcels from office/commercial/industrial uses to mix-use zoning to encourage residential development at higher-densities.

Therefore, all surveys are skewed towards urbanization through climate change solutions, such as high-density housing, including mixed-use retail high-density commercial – all with little or no parking. Why? Because planners want to create “village concepts” with no cars, “walkable communities” with bicycle and bus “mobility”.

Survey: PlanRC Virtual Workshop, Available online September 10th – 20th

Rancho is conducting a survey “Workshop” that wraps “safety” around climate change solutions. The survey divides the city into discrete “Community Planning Areas” and asks the participant to answer questions related to the type of housing, commercial development and amenities desired.

“…the main goal [of the GP update] is to make sure that any new development and public improvements are informed by a clear understanding of our community’s heritage, and guided by our vision for what it will become.”

The new vision for the city reads like a United Nations mission statement:

“…a resilient, equitable and healthy community”

It sounds benign, but this is a socialist-oriented statement.

• Resilient – protecting disadvantaged “communities” from environmental impacts – Environmental/Social justice.
• Equitable – taxing middle-class to pay for the poor people’s housing and benefits through,
• Healthy community – Not a function of government; however, this addresses the “health” needs of disadvantaged communities: direct subsidies for food, housing, education and healthcare.

All of the Community Planning Areas in the survey have a key climate change/urbanization question because the survey must be steered to that outcome. Here is the question:

How important do you think are these types of pedestrian, bike, and transit facilities to improving safety and mobility in the city? (Note, how “safety” is tied to non-vehicle “mobility” options).

• Buffered bike lanes – Separate lanes, separated by walls, just for bikes.
• Two-way cycle tracks – Separate two-way lanes for bikes.
• Roundabouts – Designed to slow vehicle traffic called “traffic calming”
• Bus shelters – For prolonged waits at bus stops.
• Tree-lined streets – Good idea, but will add costs to maintain and protect roads from roots.
• Multipurpose trails – No motor vehicles allowed.
• Crosswalk with bulb-outs – Constricts vehicle traffic in favor of pedestrians and bikes.

The Fix is In

Planners will tell you that socialist language, disguised as climate change solutions, is what people want and that the vision is what people want. In reality the GP update is to dictate needs as defined by the State and ignore market-based wants. All of these subsidies for the poor will come out of the pockets of middle-class Americans.

John Gillison drafted a “equity statement” for the city recently. It is dripping with Socialist language and ties directly to “health and equity”.  John believes we live in a democracy, or mob rule. John says, “We are a compassionate community” aka, a socialist-oriented community.

The requirements by the State are all about control and right out of the UN Agenda 21/2030 for Sustainability, which is the climate change solutions play book, pushing the Green New Deal.

Dan Titus is affiliated with the American Coalition for Sustainable Communities (ACSC). Their mission is sustaining representative government; not governance, by socialist-oriented unelected agencies and commissions.