Re: 'Fast food giant looks to grab busiest corner in town' [Village News, 2/21/13]

There are a few misconceptions about what the Fallbrook Community Planning Group can and can’t do.

If the owner of a property is accused of being “greedy” by his tenants because he evicts them so that he can increase his profits by leasing his land to the McDonald’s Corporation, the Planning Group has no authority to tell that owner to whom he may or may not rent his property.

If the tenants being evicted want to show the Planning Group a petition protesting the owner’s decision, the Planning Group takes them at their word because it has no authority to verify signatures and no authority to tell an owner that he can’t change tenants to allow a business on his property that is legally zoned for that business.

If the county with all its traffic engineers and numerous hours of studies determines that the new McDonald’s will meet county traffic standards, the Planning Group has no authority to overturn the county’s decision.

So what can the Planning Group do? The Planning Group can advise and recommend.

The Planning Group can try to insure that projects approved by the county will meet the Fallbrook Community Guidelines. It can represent the sentiments of the people of Fallbrook. It can be a voice for the residents.

Although the county can overturn the recommendations of the Planning Group as was done with the alignment of Highway 76, the fifteen non-paid, elected members of the Planning Group will continue to work long hours to try and retain the character of Fallbrook that attracted us all here.

Roy Moosa

Member

Fallbrook Community Planning Group