How Anthony Kuo funds his Campaign? Approve Your Funder’s Projects!
Irvine Planning Commissioner Anthony Kuo is hosting a fundraiser for his IRVINE City Council race in a home in Newport Beach. While other council candidates have been pounding the pavement, speaking to constituents and raising money from the residents and citizens of Irvine, Anthony Kuo is employing a different strategy.
Over the last year or so, he is busy approving projects for people who will ultimately fund his campaign… or, was it the other way around? Was there a promise of funding conditional on the approval of the projects? We will never know, but consider the approvals below and compare them to the Host List of the Newport Beach fundraiser and draw your own conclusions:
- Peter Cao – Camphor
- Sean Cao – Great Far East Co.
THE LANDMARK PROJECT – Planning Commission approval June 15, 2017
- Alethea Hsu – President, Diamond Jamboree Ltd.
DIAMOND JAMBOREE – Planning Commission approval May, 17, 2018
- Charlie Zhang – HQ for Pacific Symphony & The Musical Arts & Education Center
This applicant went before the Planning Commission two times. The first time for approval to use a building for the center. The applicant then went before the Planning Commission on April 6, 2017, for “sign program administrative relief” which allowed them to use an electronic signage board for the new arts center.
- Mike Riedel, Wild Rivers – Agreement was established around June 2017.
Kuo-08-09-2018-Reception
17 Comments
katherine daigle
August 4, 2018 at 11:02 pmIrvine city council and its committees have always been pay for play. These committee chairs are appointed by the council which is supported by the lobbying firms and developers. The council is elected by the voters with developers and lobbyist dark money, a continuous circle and has been for years. The lobbyists and developer respond with its pocketbook, making hefty contributions to PACs supporting Kuo today, and the other committee appointees tomorrow who had voted to approve lucrative incentives for 5PT and their development projects in the city of Irvine and The Great Park.
Overwhelmed financially, most other candidates will not have a chance against PACs dark money and the developers millions in capitol funding. They will invest millions in this election to own this city. For years, these builders and lobbyists has been able to secure incentives, subsidies, rebates and tax protections from the city in planning and developing with very little oversight.
Voters???
Katherine Daigle for Mayor of Irvine
Branda Lin
August 11, 2018 at 9:39 pmI spoke with Anthony Kuo today and he did not deny accepting money from the following corporations: Tilly’s, Wild Rivers, and The Irvine Co. However, he stated that he would only vote for things he personally agrees with and has indeed voted against developers wishes in the past.
Karen Jaffe
August 12, 2018 at 9:33 amHi Branda- Thanks for this comment. My concern is that I want a council that represents the CONSTITUENTS and not what s/he agrees with as that agreement is likely to be reflective of his funders. Let’s look at Concordia. 120 residents showed up to protest, but Anthony approved it any way in complete disregard for the residents. The planning commission allowed the applicant to redefine ADT which should not be allowed under the general plan.
Anthony Kuo
August 12, 2018 at 3:01 pmKaren, Clearly you and I had differing opinions on how the Concordia project concluded, but I really need to set the record straight. Many residents did show up, but the bulk of the residents and homeowners presented a compromised agreement with the University that was ultimately adopted. In fact, prior to the hearings, I spent many hours discussing, touring, and meeting with Concordia, TR Crest and Summit residents / homeowners, that even some IRG members might recall.
Karen jaffe
August 12, 2018 at 3:37 pmThe Concordia project went through planning commission untouched. It was Council that finally bent a little to residents. If I’m not mistaken, planning Commission and Council TO THIS DAY allowed the applicant to modify ADT on the spot even though many residents showed the folly. Further, there was an on the ground traffic study that showed that the applicant was in current violation of their ADT and against city ordinance the applicant was allowed to bring the CUP forward. City ordinance does t not allow a CUP on a development that is currently nonconforming but yet it was allowed. Had the residents not jumped in at the nth hour because no one had told them, planning commission AND council would have allowed a doubling of traffic in a fatality ridden intersection. Without the residents, why didn’t the planning commission uphold the city ordinance?
Note the Parkview upgrade that was also recently approved increases traffic on an intersection that is a disaster during the school year and again over the protests of residents.
Karen
August 15, 2018 at 8:31 pmAnother question – why wasn’t there a special meeting with Concordia / Turtle Rock residents just like for RSJ? Is it because we are coming up on an election perhaps?
Anthony Kuo
August 12, 2018 at 12:27 amHi Branda … that’s partially true. I have not taken money from the Irvine Company, but I am proud to be supported by Tilly’s, Wild Rivers, contributors to the Pacific Symphony and others trying to do good things in Irvine. I believe I have built a record of scrutinizing projects with serious questions, while being open to discussion with all residents in the City, having served as a commissioner for eight year. I appreciated the time we had to chat today.
judithG
August 12, 2018 at 3:56 pmWith Concordia expansion there were lawyers and agreements put in place by Concordia East HOA and CUI. With the exception of a few homeowners in the West, Concordia West HOA stayed mute. The increased trip count to current levels was agreed upon by the East and CUI. But there was ALOT of negotiation on build out plans and construction phasing that went into the agreement. Which BTW includes ongoing traffic studies through out the year.
Fact of the matter is, traffic on Ridgeline-Rosa Drew and University is a nightmare. So the agreement with CUI was essentially they can’t make it any worse than current state. Which I believe is an “F” during peak. Is current state trip count approved by the planning commission more than allowed in 1995 entitlement? YES
Many neighbors in the East and surrounding communites in TR did not want the trip count increased at all. They also fought and were successful in preventing a stoplight to go in at Ridgeline and Concordia E.
In a perfect Watchdog world, CUI would not have been permitted to start construction until street improvements were made at University Dr and Ridgeline.
In the end, street improvement on University Dr and Ridgeline are in the City budget for 2019. Let’s hope they get done before anyone else is killed at that intersection.
judithG
August 12, 2018 at 4:15 pmPart 2 – that said, Parkview Center remodel is another story. Everyone except Dustin, approved TIC plans without reviewing the traffic study. The full study was not given to the PC and the Commission only heard what I considered a hodgepodge “access study” discussion.
The only intersection discussed was the 4-way stop at the center exit into Michelson. There was in fact traffic impact and the intersection would perform worse with the improvements. But not enough to make it move from D to and E. It basically went from a D to D- It was posed that the University Dr improvements would eventually help. But I don’t know how a decision can be made on that when only an access study was done.
I’m also perplexed how it’s okay to remove parking spaces when they are adding two new restaurants. I realize parking is based upon square footage, but let’s add some common sense into the mix. Parking in Parkview was awful before!
What I don’t get is how anyone on the Commission can approve any amount of development if the traffic study shows more traffic. We need a zero increase mantra until the City gets a handle the current problems.
Branda Lin
August 12, 2018 at 11:27 pmAnthony, I also appreciated our conversation and took your advice. With the help of a friend, I went back to several of the planning commission minutes and read the outcomes. Thankfully, they are all public. The minutes indicate which development project went before the planning commission and what conditional use permit or modifications or other amendments were approved. It will also show who sponsored the motion. It seems your voting record is clear and questionable. I would be happy to compile my findings for you if you’d like which we can then discuss in person.
Additionally, you told me that as a planning commissioner you don’t have the power to stop development projects – that the city council has the sole approval power and the planning commission decides on the details like paint color and such. However, here is what I found:
Purpose of the Planning Commission:
“Implements the City’s General Plan and Zoning Code through the review and approval of discretionary applications for land development; advises the City Council on amendments to the General Plan and Zoning Code.”
This makes it clear to me that the planning commission is the most powerful commission and CAN stop a development project from approval. Your response was not accurate. And this just proves why it is all the more important we elect a city council that represents Irvine voters and not those beholden to PACs and for-profit developers because each elected council member gets to appoint a commissioner that holds approval power on development.
By accepting, willingly or unwillingly, money from PACs and/or for-profit developers, you cannot be impartial. You told me there’s nothing you can do if The Irvine Co. made contributions via PACs or printed mailers and spread them throughout our city to support your campaign, but I ask you, why would the developers spend their money on YOU?
You also mentioned that it would not be fair for people to assume you were doing a backroom deal if you simply had dinner with let’s say an executive for The Irvine Co. But as a commissioner who is voting on development proposals, I do think it is a problem if for no other reason than it doesn’t look good – and as somebody who is working on behalf of our city as a commissioner, perhaps you should hold yourself to a higher standard and avoid the potential of something that looks really bad. It simply isn’t wise.
Janis Morris
August 14, 2018 at 7:25 pmWould candidate Kuo, and other candidates who take money from developers be willing to commit publicly, to recuse themselves on issues before the CC involving the developer, directly or indirectly?
deefox
November 8, 2018 at 9:20 pmSTARPOINTE VENTURES
The following is a partial list of companies that have relied on Starpointe Ventures’ entitlement consulting expertise.
▪ Aetna
▪ AvalonBay Communities
▪ Bridge Housing
▪ Christopher Homes
▪ Coast Community College District
▪ Davis Partners
▪ Equity Residential
▪ Fairfield Residential Company
▪ First American Trust
▪ FivePoint
▪ Fritz Duda Company
▪ Garden Communities
▪ General Investment Funds
▪ Granite Investment Group
▪ Great Far East
▪ Greenlaw Partners
▪ Heritage Fields El Toro LLC
▪ Highgate Holdings
▪ Hilton Hotels
▪ Hines
▪ Hyatt Hotels
▪ Intergulf
▪ J & R Group
▪ Jamboree Housing Corporation
▪ John Laing Homes
▪ Kilroy Realty
▪ LBA Realty
▪ LNR Property Corporation
▪ Lennar Communities
▪ Lincoln Properties
▪ Lincoln Property Company
▪ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
▪ Lyon Realty Advisors
▪ Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
▪ Mill Creek Residential
▪ Moulton Niguel Water District
▪ Nexus Residential
▪ Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company
▪ Opus West Corporation
▪ Pacifica Christian High School
▪ Pacific Dental Services
▪ Prudential Insurance Company of America
▪ SC Development
▪ Sares-Regis Group
▪ Saunders Property Company
▪ Shea Homes
▪ Standard Pacific Homes
▪ Steadfast Companies
▪ Trammell Crow Residential
▪ UDR
▪ West Millennium Homes
▪ William Lyon Homes
▪ Windstar Communities
deefox
November 8, 2018 at 9:33 pmBRANDA…You are so right! It is sad that you have to even explain this to him. He can talk all he wants and justify his actions but the results will say it all. Guess we will just have to see if he is really for the people.
deefox
November 16, 2018 at 10:04 pmWhat happened to ANTHONY KUO? I was hoping he would answer Karen’s questions and address Branda’s issues.
bisforbandela
September 25, 2019 at 6:24 amAny further extrapolation even at this late hour would be appreciated. One of the most relative comments I have seen is the mantra of “no growth” until our current situation becomes more manageable. Couldn’t agree more would love to hear Anthony’s thoughts on any of Brandas findings.
deefox
November 19, 2019 at 3:36 amYep, ANTHONY KUO went silent. There is a name for that. Thanks Karen for really knowing the details and calling Kuo out. I have heard those same excuses from him before and most people would just accept what he says. Another CHRISTINA SHEA prototype. Wasn’t he standing next to Shea in that video when she talked about her scheme with FivePoint? I am sure he is being paid by FivePoint also….just look at his record on the dais…he is right in line with Shea. I wouldn’t trust him to tell us the truth about anything….hopefully he will be the minority on this council, soon!
ParisM
October 9, 2020 at 5:02 amAnthony Kuo received $250,000 to run for Irvine City Council. How could he lose? And to hold a fundraiser in Newport Coast shows you the power of his donors. Look at the people who were there, including Shea. Oh boy. More than likely, Kuo and many others in Irvine politics are somehow connected to the mafia, not dark money PAC donors. And guess what? They get away with it every election.
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