Orange : Foes of Imperial Hwy. Extension Rally Support

Opponents of a plan to extend Imperial Highway through an area of undeveloped hills and canyons in Orange say they are hoping for a big turnout Monday when the Orange Planning Commission considers a revised environmental impact report for the project.

Residents of Orange and Anaheim Hills who are fighting the plan have formed a group called ROAR--Residents Opposing Arterial Roads--and have been distributing flyers to publicize the meeting.

ROAR organizer Mary Wright said that the road, which would link Anaheim Hills with Orange, will bring six lanes and 42,000 vehicles per day into residential areas.

Opponents of the road forced Orange to scrap an earlier environmental impact report for the project last year. ROAR organizers now are working to rally enough support at Monday’s hearing to defeat the second study as well.

Wright, a Villa Park resident, said the group hopes to draw as many as 500 people to register their opposition to the road extension plan, which she called “intolerable.”

“It’s a mess and we’re saying that before you chop up the hills and make a big mess that you’ll never be able to put together again, you should wait for the Eastern Corridor (freeway project) and see what it will do,” she said.

If the environmental report is approved Monday, it will go to the Orange City Council for a public hearing and a vote, probably some time in late August or early September, Richard Reichert, an associate city planner, said.