BREAKING NEWS!
New Monster arrives for A March 10th 2026 (vote)
STOPTHE
MONSTER!
Equity Residential,the owner of the Vista Del Lago Apartments 2162 Marguerite Parkway has hopes of building the largest monster in Misson Viejo at 85 feet tall
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Update March 2026
Dear Stop the Monster members,
The time is now or never. On Tuesday March 10th at 6:00 pm, the city council will hear all those who oppose the first “Monster-Sized” 8 story, 85 feet high apartment building to be constructed at the Vista Del Lago apartment complex. The time is now or never to fill City Hall to be seen and/or heard (3-minute speech).
The time is now to be a lion, not the sheep the city wants us to be.
I truly believe if we don't stand now to be heard and counted, that within 5 years Mission Viejo will look more like downtown Los Angeles than the quiet peaceful town
of Mission Viejo.
The issues that we fought four years ago and won, are the same today.
Noise, air pollution, traffic, emergency vehicles response time, lack of parking within the structure, as well the fact the Apartment sits in a high-density fire zone. More people, leads to a more negative impact on nearby wildlife.
On February 9, the applicant, “Equity Residential” presented their plans to the commissioners and planning committee. The presentation was sloppy and unsuccessful. The Applicants thought they could ram rod the application down our throats and have it voted on the next day by the city council on Feb 10th.
They falsely and incorrectly gave the total of 600 parking spaces to cover the project.But it was the commissioners who pointed out that 800 new parking spaces were needed.
After not meeting the requirement to notify people in a timely fashion, they now are trying their best to meet the public; giving slick answers to the same problems mentioned above.
In closing,
I believe that we will see bigger Monsters and more attempts to build Aircraft Carrier style Buildings up against residential neighborhoods. Our peaceful town of Mission Viejo is in Danger!
Carlos Pianelli
This could be COMING SOON to your neighborhood!
Vista Del Lago Project (Apartments for rent at 21622 Marguerite Parkway, Mission Viejo) 418 New Units, 6 Story Wrap Style Structure 958 total units
Get involved
stopthevistadellagobuild@gmail.com
YOUR VOICE BE HEARD:
Mission Viejo City Council Meeting
Tue. March 10 – 6:00pm
City Hall
Arrive early to sign-up to speak for 3 minutes
Email your City Council Members:
Mayor Wendy Bucknum • wbucknum@cityofmissionviejo.org
Brian Goodell • bgoodell@cityofmissionviejo.org
Trish Kelley • tkelley@cityofmissionviejo.org
Bob Ruesch • rruesch@cityofmissionviejo.org
Cynthia Vasquez • cvasquez@cityofmissionviejo.org
STOPTHE
MADNESS!
Don't let ValueRock Realty ruin our city forever
48,000 sq/ft of retail
With the addition of the retail plus 6 stories of residential, the building could reach 288,000 sq/ft. By comparison the largest building in Mission Viejo today is Mission Medical Tower which is 5 stories tall and 119,497 square feet.
626 parking space garage
Can you imagine an additional 600+ cars coming and going on La Paz and Marguerite?! Thats an insane amount of traffic to add around an already VERy busy intersection.
3 years of construction
6 months of demolition with an additional 30 months minimum to construct this monster will add to pollution and congestion in and around our city core.
Negatively impacts MV forever
This proposal will forever change Mission Viejo and take away the charm we all moved here for. Additional noise, crime, traffic, and pollution will be the legacy of this project.
Six story, 74 foot tall building
At 74 feet, this will be 13 feet higher than the Mission Medical Tower on Crown Valley Parkway located in a commercial district.
234 apartments (36 per acre)
The proposed plans create the tallest and highest density development in Mission Viejo and places it in a residential neighborhood completely changing the character of the area.
We need your help
Subscribe by emailing Carlos at: c7pianelli@aol.com
"They're Back” April 3rd 2023
Members of the Stop The Monster group, yes its true. "THEY'RE BACK"
Value Rock Reality, the owner of the Garden Plaza on the corner of La Paz and Marguerite, has hopes to sell the property to developer Avalon Bay.
Same gift package to the Citizens of Mission Viejo just wrapped differently with a different approach. A five story High Rise apartment building with a pool on the very same corner of La Paz and Marguerite in which “Stop The Monster” campaign led six 4 Corner protests last year 2022.
This monster High Rise also has plans to add additional buildings which will result in increased traffic and parking . But I believe the same relentless approach that led to us winning ( 5/10/22) with a unanimous vote by the city council will ultimately prevail.
Their Approach
Keep the name of Value Rock out of the public eye. But it’s Value Rock that owns the property known as “the Garden Plaza”. Avalon Bay will take the lead as it tries to acquire a mixed use permit for development, with no fanfare, public announcements or interaction with the Community. All with the hopes that nothing is done prior to July 2nd when they can quietly submit an application and then start traffic and environmental studies.
What we did
Core members of our organization and I found out about this plan in Feb, but wanted to investigate every lead and make sure before we shared information with the public today. I again personally have talked to a number of people behind the scenes as well as Avalon Bay and have confirmed all information gathered. Currently there are no guidelines for a mix-use housing plan. We need this action to be done in order to slow them down.
We are aware of ab2011 and other housing laws that go into effect July 2nd of this year. But we believe that there could be some guard rails that will protect us
from another high rise Monster project.
Today
April 11th the city council meeting 6:00 pm will tackle and explain the three new housing laws that go into affect July 2nd 2023. The new laws that go into effect this summer are: Ab2011, SB 6, Builder’s Remedy
Facts (Monster 2.0 2023)
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Avalon Bay Project manager has stated to me it would take a minimum of 18 months or more to build. But add 4 to 6 months for demolition will make this project over 2 years.
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No application has been submitted, nor a Traffic or Environmental study requested.
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Many believe that In order to build the New Monster the street will have to be widen.
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Of the 90 trees in and around the Plaza Garden many if not all will have to be cut down.
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Building a high rise against residential neighborhoods will increase the following: Heavy Traffic, Noise pollution, during construction the increase of Poor Air Quality, Stress levels to those sitting in Traffic, Impede emergency vehicles trying to get through the 2 lane corridor in each direction. Safety issues for surrounding schools as cars will try and reroute their approach in order to get around traffic.
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There is a 12 site Housing element to be submitted to the State this year by Mission Viejo. But none of the 12 sites is there any mention of the Garden Plaza.
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At the Garden Plaza only 18 of the 71 small business are left. They in turn have a lease until the end of December 23 ,2023
The following current and former city council have voted against the Monster May 10th 2022 and support our efforts to stop the MONSTER 2.0
Trish Kelly City Councilwoman & current Pro Tem major
Robert b Ruesch City Councilman (Voted in 2022 as Planning Commissioner against the Monster)
Greg Rath former City Council man voted against he monster May 10th 2022
Es Sachs former City Council man voted against he monster May 10th 2022
Wendy Bucknum former mayor
Brian Goodell current mayor
On Tuesday May 10th at a packed City Hall, the citizens of Mission Viejo won when The City Council voted UNANIMOUSLY 4-0 to deny Value Rocks Reality’s request for a mix zoning. The additional zoning was to be added to the owners application for the Garden Plaza Project. The denial in essence stops the building of a 83 foot High Rise Monster. While City councilmen Ed Sachs was sick and unable to attend, Kelley, Goodell, Raths, and Mayor Bucknum voted Yes to accept the recommendation of the Planning Commission to deny Value Rock Reality of the mix use zoning request.
At this time I like to thank all of you who supported the “Stop the Monster” campaign.
Whether you were one of the 5935 who signed the petition, placed a lawn sign on your lawn, canvassed, attended 4-corner demonstrations , packed City Hall meetings, handed out flyers or just told a friend.
It was you and all of you as the Citizens of Mission Viejo who won.
Today I am declaring this week “Stop The Monster” week. Wear your shirts proudly, keep your lawn signs and remember “it took a village to kick out a Monster”
Carlos Pianelli
StopThe Monster.org
Last year, 2022, WE WON!!!!
The Citizens of Mission Viejo Stopped the Monster!
Position / Role
The YARD SIGNS
are HERE!
We are excited to spread the word and raise community awareness with these yard signs.We are not charging to have one and availability is first come first serve. If you would like to have one for your yard, email Carlos at c7pianelli@aol.com to arrange a pick up time .
Position / Role
OUR FINAL RALLY
Saturday May 7 3pm-5pm
Join us for our final Four Corner Demonstration! While it appears that the City Council will not approve mixed use zoning, we need to keep the pressure on. As the say " it ain't over till it's over"! We cannot let the Garden Plaza Project get approved. Let your voices be seen & heard!
Meet at the intersection of La Paz and Marguerite. RSVP Your Participation to c7pianelli@aol.com
Bring a sign or use one of ours. Invite your friends to join us.
Position / Role
This is the BIG ONE
City Council Meeting
Tuesday 5/10 at 6pm
THE TIME IS HERE!!!The city will be voting on whether to approve mixed use zoning on May10. Meeting opens to the public at 6pm. This is our final chance to share our opinions on the zoning issue and Value Rock Realty's insane plan to build an 83 foot monstrosity of a building with our City Council and Mayor. ALL residents are welcome and encouraged to speak for 3 minutes. Sign up to speak at the beginning of the meeting.