"Wizarding World" Outshines Suburbia

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry--The first "high school" in Orange County in many years geared to pedestrians, without a massive parking lot in front and blank wall architecture.  

 

Olympia High School.  The dismal setting awaiting thousands of Orange County teens in August.  Blank walls, conducive to crime, require that we surround our high schools with guard houses and chain link fences.    

Village of Hogsmeade at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  Numerous windows provide "eyes on the street" and a feeling of comfort, even though no one truly lives above the shops.   Universal pulled the buildings to the street to give architectural definition.    

Back to reality...single use, mostly windowless, massive (half empty) parking lot development required and encouraged by our zoning laws.  Development similar to the Village of Hogsmeade is illegal under the Orange County Code, without obtaining numerous variances.   

The New York Times reported one 21 year old Wizarding World visitor giving a "tearful admission" that, “I really wanted to live here; it was so much better than our real lives.”  It's sad commentary about our built environment when, to find authentic places, we must go to a theme park. 

Fighting Crime

A Message from Robert Kelly
Co-Chair, SW Orange County Crime Prevention Task Force

Rick Geller has observed a direct connection between rising crime in Southwest and West Orange County--including brazen daytime crimes--and the lack of visible law enforcement presence in our neighborhoods. We pay some of the County's highest taxes and yet see very few marked Sheriff’s office vehicles patrolling our neighborhoods, except for the off-duty patrols that we pay extra for through our Homeowner Association dues. Residential burglaries last year rose an alarming 15%, from 105 to 120 incidents, in the Dr. Phillips area alone. Rick Geller views this as intolerable and believes reasonable and cost effective actions can be taken to reduce this rising crime rate.

_______________________

"Rick has committed himself to working with our next Sheriff ... so more deputies in marked vehicles appear regularly in our neighborhoods."
_______________________

Last year, Rick asked me to join him in organizing the Southwest Orange County Crime Prevention Task Force. Our main purpose, as community volunteers, has been to press for more deputy patrols in our residential subdivisions. Our Task Force is meeting with all candidates for Orange County Sheriff--and Rick has already met directly with Sheriff Beary--to express our deep concern over this issue. Rick has committed himself to working with our next Sheriff to reallocate resources within the Sheriff's Department so more deputies in marked vehicles appear regularly in our neighborhoods. No one has taken a more pro-active role on this critical public safety issue than Rick Geller. Once elected, I have no doubt Rick will work diligently as he has over the years to improve our community's safety.

Sincerely,

Robert Kelly

Co-chair, Southwest Orange County Crime Prevention Task Force

President, Buena Vista Woods Homeowners Association