MISSION VIEJO : Plans Submitted for Major Development

Plans for 719 homes have been submitted by the Mission Viejo Co. for what city officials say will be the first major development proposed since the city’s incorporation.

And the last.

With the 25-year-old planned community fast approaching build-out, this final, massive housing project promises to be controversial, city officials say.

“I don’t think there is any doubt that this development will be highly visible,” said Councilman William S. Craycraft.

The 719 homes compose almost half of the 1,483 units of housing remaining in the Mission Viejo Co.’s development agreement for the planned community of Mission Viejo.

“When and if this gets built,” said Councilman Norman P. Murray, “we’ll be getting much smaller projects of a hundred houses here and there. And then that will be it for development here.”

Mission Viejo Co. officials were scheduled to give a presentation before the Planning Commission today, but asked for a continuation to May 7.

Known in the community since 1969 as “Planning Area 12,” the project will cover 421 acres along the rolling foothills east of Olympiad Road, between Alicia and Oso parkways.

The battle will likely be between residents near the area who want to preserve the beauty of the last remaining ridgeline in the vicinity and those who want the amenities that the project promises.

The plans set aside more than 200 acres of open space, which will include about 20 acres of parkland for youth soccer and Little League baseball fields. Craycraft said he will investigate the possibility of also building a municipal golf course.

But homeowners in the nearby Casta del Sol residential community promise that they will be out in large numbers to oppose any development of the site.

“There are going to be a lot of people who will oppose this,” said Milt Jacobson, a Casta del Sol resident. “We don’t want them to destroy the hills entirely and ruin the last area that has a ridgeline in Mission Viejo.”

Mission Viejo Co.’s involvement in the unsuccessful recall campaign against Councilman Robert A. Curtis also may work against the project, Murray and Craycraft said.