Dick Jones the Developer?

Late last year three downtown properties along E. Amerige Ave. were purchased for $1.3 million by a trust named after one Richard Jones and what is presumably his wife. Hey, that’s the same name as Fullerton’s long-time city attorney of the firm Jones and Mayer.

New homeowner

Yes, it’s the same guy. He bought these three lots for $1,300,000 last last year. That’s a $100 per sq ft, which is kind of pricey for bare dirt. Fortunately the property also contained two old homes. Which one is Dick moving in to?

He never had a chance. Last week a Friend noticed that the two homes had quietly been bulldozed and the 1/3 acre lot stood bare. In preparation for what, we don’t know.


What we do know is that Attorney Jones has been hankering to build some high density commercial property somewhere near downtown. We also know that these properties are in several special parking districts, which means that Dick may be able to erect a structure that forces the burden of parking onto his neighbors or on to public lots and streets, exacerbating Fullerton’s parking problems.

Now that Dick is ready to build up, will years of swapping favors for city staff and kicking up dust to camouflage the city council’s failures finally pay off? We already know that he has no problem ripping off his clients for millions of dollars in unearned pensions. Are there any more ethical lapses or conflicts of interest looming alongside Dick’s road to riches? We’ll find out.

14 Replies to “Dick Jones the Developer?”

  1. COMMERCIAL DEMO PERMIT – DEMO EXISTING 1200 SQ FT COMMERCIAL BLDG. AQMD NOTIFIED
    Name: PETER BEARD
    Application Date: 3/22/2017 3:32:57 PM
    Address: 138 E AMERIGE AV
    Application Received 3/22/2017
    Issue Permit 3/22/2017

    1. I was just next door today at Salon Benardo. Where has Fullerton Heritage in saving this area? That place was right next door to the parsonage (now Salon Benardo) and should have been deemed a landmark, saved and restored.
      So it’s not enough Jones got recalled during the Kelly Thomas debacle, or maybe this is his revenge?
      I’m very concerned about both that and the parking lot on the other side of Harbor where Ace Hardware and other places are. Where’s the concerted effort to stop this?

  2. That site looks good for about 100 housing units sitting on top of Jones’ new office.

  3. Housing is a basic human need. Fullerton’s biggest problem is lack of housing. Parking is a minor issue compared to the skyrocketing cost, and lack of availabilty of housing. I’m no fan of Dick Jones and supported his recall, but if he’s building housing in Fullerton, more power to him. I hope it’s high density, vertical and modern. And if you’re still insistent on making parking an issue, tell council and planning to make him install one level of underground parking.

    1. “Fullerton’s biggest problem is lack of housing”

      Spoken like a true realtor.

      And this is a different Dick Jones, but perhaps not coincidentally they both suck.

  4. There is a picture of Pete Beard tearing one of the houses down in the latest Observer.

  5. I almost wondered why the city didn’t try to save the old house, but then I remembered that the city themselves bought and demolished historic craftsman houses in the Fox parking lot.

    1. It could have been a Neutra, but if some jackhole wanted to build any damned thing, they’d issue a demo permit without blinking.

  6. Jones found a good piece of dirt for a law office. The city refuses to curb its negligence so I predict Jones’ Fullerton business will be lucrative for many years. Might as well move the supply closer to the demand.

  7. Jones has made a ton of money keeping secrets from the people who pay his fees and ignoring the law, too. Remember the illegal water tax he suddenly got on the right side of?

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