IRVINE : Sheridan to Appeal Project’s Expansion

Councilwoman Sally Anne Sheridan said this week that she plans to appeal a recent Planning Commission decision allowing a developer to expand a project by 195,000 square feet if the company pays to install the first link in a countywide monorail line.

Sheridan voiced her opposition at a recent council meeting, saying the potential profits from a larger development would far exceed an estimated $7 million in installation costs for a half-mile monorail track connecting John Wayne Airport with the nearby Irvine Business Complex.

The appeal, which must be filed no later than 5 p.m. on May 18, had not been recorded as of late Thursday by the city clerk. However, the council on Tuesday voted to consider the appeal and rescheduled its May 22 meeting to May 29.

McDonnell Douglas Realty Co. representatives last week won approval from the Planning Commission to build two, 23-story towers with 791,000 square feet of office space, 24,000 square feet of retail space, 13,000 square feet of restaurant space and a seven-story parking structure.

The council agreed to hear the appeal of that decision at its earliest opportunity because construction of the demonstration monorail project hinges upon the nearly completed expansion of the airport.

A McDonnell Douglas representative told the council this week that if the project was held up longer than one month, contractors overseeing the airport expansion would not allow a monorail track to be installed there.

“I don’t like the idea that it’s do or die,” Sheridan said. The councilwoman said she favors the monorail project but opposes the increased size of the office development because of its potential to be a burden to traffic.

The appeal would not delay the project unless the council voted to uphold it and reject the Planning Commission decision.

Sheridan and other detractors of the proposed McDonnell Douglas project have said the extra 195,000 square feet is equivalent to an 11-story office building.

The half-mile monorail project proposed by McDonnell Douglas would link to a planned five-mile loop around the business complex and would eventually be connected to other proposed monorail projects in the county.