Hearing Set Today on Developing Irvine Coast

The Irvine Co.’s newest proposal to put homes, hotels and golf courses on the the county’s largest remaining undeveloped stretch of coastal land is scheduled to be aired today at a public hearing of the county Planning Commission.

The 1:30 p.m. session at the Hall of Administration in Santa Ana is expected to give both proponents and opponents of the plan a chance to state their opening positions, with more hearings on the company’s proposal to follow in June or July.

The Irvine Co.’s latest plan leaves 75% of its land in open space, rather than the original proposal’s 60%. And, instead of office buildings, there would be two 18-hole golf courses on the inland side of Coast Highway, along with more hotel rooms and less residential development.

Although the Planning Commission approved the original plan, the company withdrew it in 1983 to meet objections from groups such as Friends of the Irvine Coast, a 2,000-member organization that has an ongoing lawsuit against the project. The suit has been dormant while the company revised its designs for the 9,400-acre, 2.5-mile stretch of land.

Fern Pirkle, president of Friends of the Irvine Coast, said the group is still concerned about the number of daily car trips that would be generated by the project and the heights--possibly up to 10 stories--of some planned hotel buildings.