Irvine : Council Postpones Action on Westpark Project

After five hours of debate, the City Council has delayed action on the proposed 832-acre Westpark development.

The action came Tuesday after council members raised questions about density and traffic problems during discussion of an environmental impact report, general plan amendment and conceptual plan for the project.

The Irvine Co. has proposed building 5,700 houses priced from $80,000 to $200,000 on a site west of Culver Drive and north of the San Diego Freeway.

Councilwoman Barbara Wiener said at the Tuesday meeting that she received negative responses from 76% of 300 residents in a poll and added that she would prefer to see a lower-density development in the area. The Planning Commission had earlier pared about 600 homes from the project.

Councilwoman Sally Anne Miller said there were simply too many unresolved issues for the project to gain preliminary approval. “This is a huge village. We’ve got about 2,000 pages of written material,” she said, noting that the council will consider zone changes along with the other material when it reconsiders the plan next Tuesday.

Mayor David Sills, however, said he believes the density of the proposed project is acceptable. “It may be a little bit higher than the rest of the city but not significantly so,” he said. “And we’re certainly not talking about cheap housing here.”

In addition to homes (15% of them for senior citizens), the development would include a civic center, an elementary school, office buildings and a park.