South County : Public Hearings Set on Foothill Freeway Route

Orange County residents concerned about proposed routes for the Foothill Freeway segment between Wagon Wheel Regional Park east of Mission Viejo and Interstate 5 near San Onofre may attend three planning meetings during the next six weeks, county officials said.

The Foothill Freeway would link the Tustin hills with the coast south of San Clemente through the new community of Rancho Santa Margarita and near the developing areas of Mission Viejo, the Robinson, Glenn and Whiting ranches and Coto de Caza.

Traffic from new homes being built in those areas will account for about 76% of the traffic on the new freeway, according to county transportation studies.

The first hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Orange County Planning Commission hearing room in the county Hall of Administration, Santa Ana.

The second hearing, before the Board of Supervisors, is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Nov. 5 in the board’s hearing room in the same building.

The third session is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Nov. 13 at a meeting of the Foothill-Eastern Transportation Corridor Joint Powers Authority in the Santa Ana City Council chambers.

All three agencies have a say in what route will be selected.

Following these hearings, an environmental impact report will be prepared, and then engineering studies will begin. Eventually, more public hearings will be held before a final route is determined, an action not expected for at least two years.

Additionally, “preferred” routes must be approved by the California Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.

A preferred route previously was chosen for the northern segment of the Foothill Freeway in the Tustin foothills, said John H. Douglas, senior planner at the county Environmental Management Agency. Planning for the northern segment is further along, Douglas said, because “that’s where the pressures for new development have been the greatest.”

Preliminary studies of the southern route segment are available at the county EMA offices, the Caltrans office in Los Angeles, the University of California, Irvine, library, and the San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente public libraries.