Has Fullerton Handed Over Part of Hillcrest to Scofflaws?
It appears staff is working behind the scenes to help a group break laws before an agreement is even in place
A single sign that popped up over at Hillcrest Park is very instructive of how Fullerton City actually functions.
First, allow me to show you the sign.
This sign looks to be about a collaboration between the Korean American Federation of O.C. (KAFOC) and the City of Fullerton. It seems very official because it even has the City Seal printed on the sign:
And yet something, well a lot of somethings, seemed off:
The fonts are mismatched. It says nothing about the Korean Garden itself because such a garden is yet to exist. The KAFOC is listed in front of the City of Fullerton and former Mayor Fred Jung’s name is prominently displayed despite no agreement taking place under his tenure.
All that led me to call City Hall to inquire about the sign and the response I received from the City Manager’s Office was a reference to an 01 August 2023 City Council meeting.
At that meeting, Council approved naming part of Hillcrest Park the “Korean Garden” and also agreed to authorize the City Manager to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding, which is basically the precursor to a contract, with KAFOC.
“Approve naming the area of Hillcrest Park adjacent to the Korean War Memorial as the Korean Garden and authorize City Manager to execute a Memorandum of Understanding with the Korean American Federation of Orange County for maintenance of the Korean Garden site.”
The item was on the Consent Calendar and the vote was 5-0.
But what about this sign? What’s so instructive about it?
That it exists despite everything pointing to the fact that it shouldn’t.
First we need to make one thing clear, the City did not install this sign. It is not an officially sanctioned sign and while nobody will confirm it on the record, it appears that KAFOC installed the sign themselves to drum up support and to help collect donations.
That, in and of itself, is illegal thanks to the use of the City Seal:
2.01.020 Use of seal.
It is unlawful for any person to make or use the seal of the City, or reproduction thereof, for any purpose other than for the official business of the City, its Council, officers or departments. (Ord. 2543 (part), 1985).
Because an MOU hasn’t been executed between the City Manager and KAFOC, the group has no legal stake in Hillcrest Park but even *if* KAFOC had a signed an MOU, they’d still have to follow the municipal code, which they didn’t because they never pulled a permit which runs them afoul of Building and Safety:
15.49.060. Sign permit required.
1. No sign or sign structure, as defined in this chapter and not exempt there from, shall be erected, constructed or relocated unless a sign permit has been issued by the Director of Community and Economic Development…
No permit was issued and there is no way the shoddy work involved should have passed inspection even if a permit had been issued;
The work is so bad they somehow managed to make the off-center pylons in the Stairs to Nowhere look good by comparison.
All that to say that this sign violates at least two provisions on the municipal code and is legally a public nuisance:
15.49.110. Enforcement.
A sign or sign structure that is found to be in violation of this chapter is hereby declared to be a public nuisance and as such shall be subject to the provisions of Chapter 6.01 of the Fullerton Municipal Code.
However, somehow this sign managed to be illegally installed on public property for several months with staff, up to and including the City Manager’s Office knowing about it the whole time and yet doing nothing.
Why is this group, the Korean American Federation of Orange County being allowed to illegally use the City Seal on a sign they illegally placed on public property without repercussion?
Who authorized this mess? Apparently nobody knows or nobody is telling.
It would be bad enough if those making these decisions were simply turning a blind eye to local ordinances but this falls squarely into misdemeanor territory under California law because it’s on public property:
PENAL CODE; PART 1, TITLE 13, CHAPTER 12, ARTICLE 2. Unlawfully Placing Signs on Public and Private Property;
556. It is a misdemeanor for any person to place or maintain, or cause to be placed or maintained without lawful permission upon any property of the State, or of a city or of a county, any sign, picture, transparency, advertisement, or mechanical device which is used for the purpose of advertising or which advertises or brings to notice any person, article of merchandise, business or profession, or anything that is to be or has been sold, bartered, or given away.
Which, as I said at the top, is very instructive to how the City of Fullerton actually functions with some groups being more equal than others up to and including City Hall allowing violations of both the Municipal Code and State law for favored groups.
I’d like to know who is responsible for turning a blind eye to several laws in order to give KAFOC this special treatment.
More importantly I’d like to know why the City Council would still go through with an MOU to control the Korean Gardens at Hillcrest Park with an organization that thinks they’re above the law, heck, multiple laws. If they can’t follow simple building codes regarding a sign can they really be trusted to run and maintain an entire section of Hillcrest Park especially if they need to break the law just to afford it?
If the quality of the sign and it’s illegal placement is any indication, perhaps handing off a major feature of one of the City of Fullerton’s most prominent parks is a bad idea.
I understand that wihout the MOU it's not really official. But does anyone doubt that it will become official eventually? So why all the hullabaloo over this? I'm sure there's much more corrupt things going on in this city we could be focused on. If anything the KAFOC saved the city a little time and money. They should be commended for their volunteerism and initiative.
I personally photographed an earlier (vinyl) version of this sign on August 16th, 2023 and immediately inquired about it with the former Parks and Rec Deputy Director Alice Loya. She promptly informed me that the sign was indeed illegally placed, and that it would be removed. True to her word, the sign was removed, but apparently not the KAFOC or their plans for the new addition to Hillcrest Park.