SOUTH COUNTY : Foothill Ranch Lots OKd by Supervisors

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved the creation of hundreds of residential lots in foothills in the Santa Ana Mountains, clearing the way for the early phases of a 2,743-acre planned community in the unincorporated area of the county east of El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

Patrick Stanton of the county’s Environmental Management Agency said about 1,000 lots have been approved so far in the Foothill Ranch project, including the more than 500 residential lots approved Tuesday. The J.M. Peters Co., William Lyon Co. and Bramalea California Inc. are developing the project’s residential areas.

Dougall Agan of Foothill Ranch, a subsidiary of Hon Development Co., said the project could have as many as 4,000 homes when completed, making it one of the largest developments in Orange County in the 1990s.

Agan said three residential areas are planned for the project covering 485 acres. Multiple-family dwellings will be built on 45 acres. Construction of the apartments and condominiums is scheduled to begin in 1993.

In addition, the project will include mixed-use developments, including vertically zoned, multi-use structures designed to encourage 24-hour activity. This could include theaters and restaurants on 15 acres, while 21 acres would be set aside for “neighborhood commercial and congregate care living facilities.” The supervisors voted unanimously to approve the subdivided tracts.

Although actual construction has not begun, models, according to company representatives, will be ready for public view by late May or early June.

The project will also include entertainment facilities, professional office buildings and hotels and motels. In addition, 368 acres will be set aside for such uses as business parks, light manufacturing, professional and administrative offices, construction industries, service industries and churches.

Land, according to Agan, will also be set aside for regional park areas, regional open space and local and urban parks.