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The latest explanation of a Redlands land developer and father of the
chairman of the Board of Supervisors about mountain developments conflicts
with what he said in earlier interviews.
Real estate mogul Leroy Hansberger also accused The Sun of operating with a
hidden agenda in its reporting about his son, Dennis Hansberger, and his
actions on the proposed Cedar Glen Redevelopment Project.
"Your readers should know that the real truth behind your latest smear
campaign has nothing to do with conflicts of interests,' Leroy Hansberger
wrote in a letter faxed Friday night to The Sun. "Instead, it is just the
latest attempt by the leadership of the Sun to obtain its beloved mountain
building moratorium.'
Leroy Hansberger claims in the letter that 15 lots of land, of which he is
half-owner, lack any real value "and it is unlikely that there will be a
market in the near future.' The parcels are 25 feet by 100 feet, he said.
But on Nov. 5, the land developer told The Sun that the 15 lots could be
consolidated into five or six marketable properties. The lots have been
difficult to sell, he said at the time, but would become far more attractive
if infrastructure, namely water and sewer lines, was built nearby.
That could well happen under the plan proposed and championed by Dennis
Hansberger, who is considered the most influential local politician in the
county.
The lots, which the land developer owns with the wife of his late business
partner, abut the border of the proposed Cedar Glen project.
In the wake of the Old Fire that destroyed 336 homes in Cedar Glen, the San
Bernardino County Board of Supervisors proposed the redevelopment in an
effort to rebuild the mountain community. According to projections,
redevelopment would generate about $40 million for improvements, which would
come out of taxes retained from property owners inside the area.
"The implication in the Sun article that these lots will become valuable
because they are in the same area as the redevelopment area is just not
reality,' the 86-year-old Leroy Hansberger wrote in the letter.
In the earlier interview, Leroy Hansberger suggested that a reporter call
the real estate agent who has handled the properties. Contacted later that
day, the agent, Clark Hahne, affirmed the land developer's belief that the
properties would grow in value with the presence of new water and sewer
lines and navigable roads.
Some residents believe Dennis Hansberger has a conflict of interest because
his father and mother gave him power of attorney over their financial
interests in 1967. State regulations require politicians to disclose any
financial ties to property in a project area or within 500 feet.
Experts on campaign finance laws have said it's difficult to say whether any
have been violated but add that they raise ethical questions, at the least,
because the chairman's father could benefit from the project.
Dennis Hansberger has denied a conflict of interest and added he has
consulted three different legal sources. Despite that, he recused himself
from discussion of the project and an ensuing vote on it a week ago.
The elder Hansberger's letter states that in 1989, he created a family trust
and a durable power of attorney to replace the 1967 documents. But the 1967
documents have never been revoked because they had been forgotten, he wrote,
which makes them still viable.
In an interview Monday, Leroy Hansberger clarified another issue related to
questions of a potential conflict of interest.
The family trust, which names Dennis Hansberger as a beneficiary, does not
distribute dividends but instead acts as a will for the elder Hansbergers.
It is revocable, and while Dennis Hansberger could stand to benefit from
assets distributed after his parents' deaths, it does not fall within the
state's conflict of interest codes.
Other charges made in Leroy Hansberger's fax incorrectly characterize the
newspaper's coverage.
In a four-day series published in June, it was not the newspaper but Gene
Zimmerman, the supervisor of the San Bernardino National Forest, who first
suggested that land-use decisions could be implemented to limit building and
help save the dying forest. Zimmerman has since corresponded with Dennis
Hansberger's office and made a similar suggestion.
Following the series, two planning commissioners, including Dennis
Hansberger's appointee, Theresa Kwappenberg, urged the county to consider a
temporary building moratorium. They suggested studying how the mountains
were reacting to wildfire damage that torched about 91,000 acres from the
foothills up to the outskirts of Lake Arrowhead.
They also questioned whether the mountain can sustain growth until it is
made safer from another catastrophic wildfire.
Dennis Hansberger, along with the other four supervisors, opposed any limit
on building in the mountains.
In the recent fax, Leroy Hansberger claims The Sun reported that "I and my
wife turned control of our business and all family assets over to David and
Dennis Hansberger, through the recording of Powers of Attorney in 1967.'
This is contrary to what the newspaper reported. In four stories published
over nine days, the newspaper has reported on Dennis Hansberger's potential
conflict but never stated that he and his brother, David, ran their parents'
enterprises.
In the earlier interview with The Sun, Leroy Hansberger at first said he had
never issued a power of attorney over his business dealings.
Told that documents recorded with the county showed otherwise, he then said
he remembered giving authority to two of his sons as a precautionary
measure. He and his wife, Helen, sometimes vacationed outside of the United
States, and his lawyer suggested the safeguard, he said.
But at the time, Leroy Hansberger said, "If you'll notice, my wife's name is
not on the document so they never could sell any property.' Informed that
the county records show Helen Hansberger issued a power of attorney for both
sons, the land developer replied that the documents were limited and
prevented either son from buying or selling property.
Experts in law and campaign finance regulations say otherwise. The document
gives the sons the ability to buy, sell, sue or take out loans on behalf of
their parents' business operations. |
