IRVINE : Petitions Submitted to Stop Westpark II

A group of slow-growth advocates submitted four cardboard boxes of petitions to the city Wednesday aimed at overturning the planned 3,800-home Westpark II project, the first village approved by the city in five years.

The petitions delivered by Irvine Tomorrow contain about 8,600 signatures, about 3,000 more than needed to place the housing project on the ballot. The signatures will be routinely examined over the next few weeks to ensure enough of them came from registered voters in Irvine, as state law requires for referendums.

By submitting the petitions, Irvine Tomorrow at least temporarily places the Irvine Co. project on hold. If enough signatures are valid, the City Council will be forced either to overturn Westpark II or place it on the ballot to let voters decide. If overturned, the company could not resubmit new plans for one year.

The City Council approved the housing village in December, and the Irvine Co. had said it wanted to move ahead quickly to develop the project. The village would be built on 350 acres of agricultural land just east of the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station.

Members of Irvine Tomorrow have criticized the residential project as too large for Irvine at this time. They say it doesn’t include measures to adequately shield residents from the helicopter noise from the military base, doesn’t have adequate setbacks from the high-voltage power lines along Harvard Avenue and doesn’t guarantee enough subsidized affordable housing.

In advertising and newsletters, members also said the new houses could decrease the value of homes already in Irvine.

In defense, both the Irvine Co. and City Council members have said that Westpark II has long been in the city’s general plan of growth and that requirements for the project meet or exceed city building requirements. Mayor Sally Anne Sheridan and Irvine Co. officials have criticized Irvine Tomorrow’s petition drive as merely a way to seek revenge against the more conservative City Council majority that was elected last June.

That majority ran on a platform of putting development projects back on track after previous council members placed stricter standards on new housing projects. The Irvine Co. withdrew plans for Westpark II a few months before last year’s election because the former council required subsidized affordable housing as a condition for approval.

The Irvine Co. said in a written statement Wednesday that leaders of the referendum drive “are leaders of a no-growth fringe group of political liberals who are using Westpark II as a vehicle for their attempt to regain political power in Irvine.”