ORANGE : Development Plan Clears a Hurdle

A 37-acre development along Santiago Creek cleared a major hurdle this week when the City Council approved a conceptual plan for the project, despite pleas from several local residents who said traffic and flood problems have not been adequately addressed.

The council must adopt a special traffic plan for the area before the project, dubbed Villa Santiago, can receive final approval.

The Santiago Golf Course is on the main portion of the development site in the south central section of the city. The Burnett-Ehline Development Co. of Anaheim plans to develop 160 homes, a shopping center and a 3.5-acre greenbelt on the site.

The council voted 3 to 2 to conditionally approve the plan. Councilman Gene Beyer and Councilwoman Joanne Coontz said they could not support the development because the lot sizes are smaller than anticipated. They also expressed concerns about liability issues associated with placing that many residences on a flood plain.

About 20 local residents, including several from the Santiago Creek Homeowners Assn., spoke in opposition to the project at the council meeting. The main concern voiced by the residents was that the developer had not made sufficient plans to control Santiago Creek in the case of a flood.

“There will be a honeymoon between the home buyers and (the developer). It’ll be great,” said Dave Horowitz, who lives near the proposed development. “Until the first flood, that is. Then there will be trouble.”

Developer Lynn Burnett said the creek bed will be channeled in anticipation of the “worst-case scenario,” a 100-year flood.

A few residents commended the developers for coming up with a workable project that included larger lots and a greenbelt not seen in the original plans.

The Planning Commission had sent the development plan to the council with no recommendation earlier this month, saying it had not had enough time to review changes the developer had made in the project.

The changes included dropping the extension of La Veta Avenue between Tustin and Cambridge streets and, instead, creating a greenbelt area with bicycle paths and walkways.