Yorba Linda Auto Mall Receives Tentative OK

Despite objections from neighbors, the Yorba Linda City Council has approved plans for a 40-acre auto mall, with several conditions.

Following a five-hour public hearing Monday night, the council decided in a 4-1 straw vote to rezone the site on La Palma Avenue, previously approved for manufacturing, warehouse and commercial services.

The council is expected to take a final vote on July 7.

The proposed auto mall could contain up to 10 auto dealerships and add about $2 million in sales tax revenue to the city’s coffers, officials said.

Councilman Todd Murphy, who cast the dissenting vote, said the city needs the revenue but another development “would be more desirable.”

“I guess my only dissent was that there might be something else that might bring those kinds of dollars in,” he said.

Neighbors’ Concerns

Neighbors’ concerns over traffic, noise and bright lights prompted the council to set these conditions:

- Before it approves a conditional use permit, the council will receive a report from noise and lighting experts on the potential effect of a series of auto dealerships on surrounding homes.

- Residents of The Villages in Yorba Linda, condominiums east of the site, may declare a private street in their tract. They would maintain the street and the city would pay to install electric gates at both entrances to the complex.

- The city would require a 10-foot, landscaped strip and a three-acre buffer zone between the mall and homes to the west.

- Trees would be planted along the rear property line and between individual car dealerships.

Signs that cast light from the top or sides would be prohibited.

Nevertheless, some residents said they will seek a court injunction to halt the project. Some also accused the council of favoring the development before Monday night’s meeting.

“That really upset me,” Murphy said. “We are a very honest, open and above board council, and I think such accusations are a sad commentary.”

Mayor Irwin Fried said the issue “has been with the city for at least several years . . . and it’s been through several public hearings for the last 90 to 120 days.”

“We’ve all been aware of what’s going on, and we’ve had to read all of the documents associated with the issue before we came to the public hearing in order to better understand the presentation by the homeowners. But that’s a far cry from meeting in a broom closet and swearing a secret oath to vote all one way or another way.”

That implication, he said, is “rather dumb.”

Fried said the city will need $9 million more than its anticipated income in the next five years for street and park improvements and for storm drains.

Moreover, he said, the proposed mall is “on the very edge of the city,” next to the Riverside Freeway, so “its impact on the city as a whole will be minimal.”