Irvine Co. Asks for a Delay in Project Hearing

The Irvine Co. on Wednesday requested that the county Planning Commission delay for 30 days next week’s scheduled hearing on the developer’s controversial Laguna Laurel project that would bring more than 3,000 homes into pristine Laguna Canyon.

“The company wants to continue its discussions with officials from the city of Laguna Beach,” said Dawn McCormick, director of corporate communications for the Irvine Co. The company “felt it would be more appropriate to continue those (negotiations) in a climate that didn’t include a public forum.”

The decision to request a delay was made by Don Hunt, senior vice president of the Irvine Co., who has participated in meetings with Laguna Beach officials, McCormick said.

McCormick would not speculate about whether the Irvine Co. had requested the delay because it was close to reaching an agreement with the city concerning the project, which would bring suburbia to one of the last undeveloped coastal canyons in Southern California.

“As part of our discussions with them, we’ve kept the different proposals and counterproposals silent,” she said. “Therefore, as part of this, we will be also doing that.”

The company’s request for a hearing postponement was applauded by both environmentalists and city officials.

“We’re pleased with the sincerity (of company officials) to negotiate,” said Harry Huggins, a leading opponent of the Irvine project. “We’re pleased with their development of new-found wisdom in the value in keeping Laguna Canyon free of any development. . . . We plan to make good use of this 30-day break to further inform countywide residents of the environmental issues at stake.”

Laguna Beach City Councilwoman Lida Lenney called the delay a “significant development in the course of negotiations.”

“I’m thrilled,” Lenney said. “It sounds as though the Irvine Co. is serious about helping us find a way to preserve the canyon.”

The requested postponement follows a protest on Nov. 12 in which an estimated 7,000 to 8,000 people marched up Laguna Canyon Road to denounce the project, which is just outside the Laguna Beach city limits near a greenbelt that separates the community from the rest of Orange County. The Irvine Co. also wants to turn rural Laguna Canyon Road into a six-lane highway and build major thoroughfares throughout the project.

Irvine Co. officials maintain that the 2,150-acre project, which includes homes, apartments and condominiums, includes a generous amount of open space and will improve a dangerous stretch of highway.