ORANGE : 1,800-Unit Project OKd Despite Protests

Despite pleas from Anaheim Hills residents who claimed that they had not been adequately notified about an 1,800-dwelling development in the rolling hills that Anaheim shares with the city of Orange, the Orange Planning Commission voted this week to approve the Serrano Heights project.

The 727 acres previously zoned for agriculture will be designated for development of apartments, townhouses and single-family houses and will require massive grading of ridgelines between the two cities.

About 70 homeowners from East Orange and Anaheim Hills wore orange ribbons pinned to their shirts in opposition to the Woodcrest Development project.

Lisa Lewis of Anaheim Hills presented a petition bearing 681 signatures that outlined the concerns of residents and requested that construction be restricted to 100 feet below the existing ridgeline.

Other Anaheim residents who claimed that they had not been informed about the project clashed frequently with commissioners Carmine Master and Donald Scott.

“This has been going on for 6 years,” Scott told the residents, “And I feel we have addressed all the issues. Additional input should have come in in 1988,” when the development agreement was approved, Scott said.

The Woodcrest project was the best plan that the commission had considered for the site since an initial proposal was made for 3,200 units, Scott said.

“We understand there are going to be impacts,” Master said. “There were impacts to build where your homes are now. We do find that the total project, including its assets, far overrides the liabilities.” The project guarantees 476 acres of permanent open space, a 4-acre park, and the extension of Serrano Avenue, providing a four-lane throughway connecting Orange and Anaheim.

Residents have protested the development, saying it will endanger wildlife, lower property values and destroy the semi-rural lifestyle that attracted them to the area in the first place.