SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Council Stalls Plans for Housing Project

A controversial housing development has been put on hold by the City Council, because it would add a major thoroughfare through a now-isolated neighborhood.

The 99-acre project of 76 custom homes is proposed by Irvine-based Concorde Development.

It has drawn criticism from the nearby neighborhood of Connemara-by-the-Sea estate homes, because it calls for linking Camino Las Ramblas with San Juan Creek Road.

This link would create a major route west to Interstate 5 from eastern San Juan Capistrano, through a series of hills.

Currently, the Connemara estates and an older development of homes atop Valle Road enjoy the quiet privacy of being on dead-end streets.

City planners are concerned that if Camino Las Ramblas is extended, the impact on current residents would outweigh the benefits of another through street.

The council voted to refer the issue to the advisory Traffic and Transportation Commission as well as to the Planning Commission for further review.

Concorde Development has offered to pay for building the Camino Las Ramblas extension through the 900 acres of hillsides, in exchange for approval of its custom-home project.

The road project is estimated to cost at least $5 million.

Also at issue is whether the road and the custom homes can be built without violating the city’s ridgeline protection ordinance, which prohibits construction within 200 feet of a hilltop.