IRVINE : Council Delays Vote on Northwood 5

The City Council postponed a key vote on the Irvine Co.’s controversial 2,885-home Northwood 5 project early Wednesday because of some lingering air pollution and traffic concerns.

On the advice of City Atty. John L. Fellows III, the council agreed to consider the issues at an Aug. 13 public hearing before taking a vote on the project.

Northwood 5 is proposed to be built on what is now 416 acres of orange groves owned by the Irvine Co. near the Santiago Hills. The land is just north of the Irvine city limits, but the city has planning authority over the area because it lies within the city’s so-called “sphere of influence.”

The master-planned residential “village” would be located northeast of the city’s Northwood community, one of the city’s oldest. It would contain houses priced from $300,000 to $500,000, as well as condominiums and apartments.

The center of the community would contain a large park and land set aside for an elementary school, church and day-care center. A 150,000-square-foot retail center would be located at one corner.

In separate letters to the council, the South Coast Air Quality Management District contended that the development would increase air pollution and the City of Tustin complained that potential traffic problems were being ignored.

The AQMD contended that the development would add “significant short- and long-term adverse air quality impacts” from construction and from new residents with their cars.

Although Northwood 5 would add more pollution to the air, city planners are recommending that the Irvine Co. pay for two measures aimed at reducing pollutants: a 35-space park-and-ride lot at the retail center and a shuttle service to take residents to the business centers and to the Irvine Transportation Center.

If the City Council approves those measures, that would satisfy the AQMD’s suggestion that the project pollute the air as little as possible, said Connie A. Day, an AQMD supervisor who reviewed the Northwood 5 plan.

Tustin officials, meanwhile, are concerned about how the development will affect traffic in their city. Tustin city planner Dana Ogden called on Irvine to study how Northwood 5 would impact several key intersections.

Irvine officials are working on adding new requirements to the Northwood 5 plan that would force the Irvine Co. to study additional traffic impact, Fellows said. But wording of the requirements was not ready for the Tuesday meeting, he said, adding another reason to delay Northwood 5’s approval.