YORBA LINDA : City Rejects Plan for Added Homes

The City Council has rejected a proposal to nearly double the number of homes originally approved for a 418-acre portion of Bryant Ranch, a massive development on the city’s fast-growing east side.

Council members voted 3 to 2 against the proposal Tuesday after dozens of nearby residents argued that more houses would decrease property values and worsen traffic and school overcrowding. No homes have been built on the site, but city officials had previously approved dividing the property into 60 5-acre lots. The new proposal called for 119 lots.

Under its new plan, Irvine-based AW Associates would build 78 homes on sites of at least one acre, and build another 41 ranch-style homes on five-acre sites. To do so, company officials had to gain approval to rezone the property and change Yorba Linda’s General Plan, the city’s blueprint for land-use in the area.

“Of all the problems that are there now, would you want additional problems?” asked Frank Goebel, who has a home near the proposed new neighborhood just north of Via Lomas de Yorba and east of Hidden Hills Road.

Still, company officials said the density of the project would have only increased from one unit per 5 acres to one for every 3.5 acres.

“We feel this is consistent with Yorba Linda’s philosophy of large lots and large (building) pads,” said developer Brian Johnson of AW Associates. “We think that this development does not impact the area negatively.”

Johnson added that the additional homes would boost city property and sales tax revenues, and would increase property values because of the overall quality of the development. Councilmen Henry W. Wedaa and Gene Wisner agreed.

“The density for the entire city is less than three (homes) per acre,” Wisner said. “How can you complain about density?”

Still, opponents argued that the additional homes would actually cost the city for additional police and fire protection and would leave Bryant Ranch School overcrowded. In addition, they feared that it would worsen a water shortage caused by the drought.

“Yes, the (project) has the capacity to store water, but where is the water coming from?” said Mayor Mark Schwing, who voted against the plan. “I’m not willing to prostitute myself for a few extra tax dollars.”

Still, school district planners have told city officials that they would have enough space in the district for the additional students, Johnson said. In addition, the city’s water district has said that it could serve the area as long as a storage system was in the plans for the project, he said.