ORANGE : Council Prepares for Development Vote

The City Council took action this week to clear the way for a final vote July 17 on a controversial residential and commercial development proposed for the former Santiago Creek Golf Course and nearby creek bed.

The council voted 3 to 2 to speed the review of final data on the development plan and hire a consultant to review traffic studies of the area before the July 17 meeting.

Some of the 150 residents at the meeting favored a longer period of study for one part of the development, a proposal to delete the extension of La Veta Street from Cambridge Street to Tustin Avenue. Many of those who oppose the speedy review sported bright yellow badges that identified them as members of the Santiago Creek Greenway Alliance, a coalition of homeowners and environmentalists who want to preserve the creek as open space.

Councilmen William Steiner and Gene Beyer sided with those residents, saying that one month was not enough time to study the impact of dropping the La Veta extension. But the council majority decided that after four years of arguing over the fate of the 37-acre site, a final decision on the development should not be postponed again.

On July 17, the council will vote on a general plan amendment to delete the La Veta extension and consider environmental reports on the project.

The development, Villa Santiago, would call for filling in the creek bed in order to build 160 single-family homes, a seven-acre shopping plaza and a 3.5-acre greenbelt.

However, both supporters and opponents of the project expressed relief that after more than four years battling for control of the 37-acre site, a final decision could be made as early as next month.

The developer of the project, Lynn Burnett, said he is optimistic that the plan will be approved next month. In the last two years, Burnett said the project that started as a 471-unit apartment complex has undergone four revisions and slowly gained support from the community.

“To me the real story here is not that 100 people show up with banners and flags,” Burnett said of the crowd Tuesday. “To me the story is that a couple years ago, 350 people showed up and were very vocal and very hostile” toward the project.

Opponents of the project have said that filling in Santiago Creek would destroy one of the few greenbelts left in the city and eliminate an important flood wash, creating a hazard in heavy rains.