Planners Give Go-Ahead for Unocal Project in Fullerton : Land-use: A proposal to develop hundreds of acres in Coyote Hills into a massive mix of homes, parks and an 18-hole golf course will go before the City Council.

The Planning Commission on Thursday approved Unocal’s proposal to develop hundreds of acres in Coyote Hills into a massive mix of homes, parks and an 18-hole public golf course.

The commission voted unanimously in favor of the proposal after hearing two hours of testimony Wednesday night from supporters who praised the project for its blend of parks, the golf course and a sports complex, and opponents who complained that some areas would be too dense and that traffic, noise, glare and air quality would get worse.

“It is packing in and stockpiling,” said Jerry Yonker, president of the North Fullerton Homeowners Assn. “. . . We feel that the answer is, pure and simple, economic gain.”

But Planning Commission Chairwoman Susan Zepeda said she was satisfied with the plan.

“I commend the developer for his extensive work with the city, the open space within the project,” she said. The commission’s approval sends the project proposal to the City Council, which will consider it on Nov. 19.

The proposal, the largest single project to come before the city in at least 20 years, calls for developing 380 acres of oil fields and grassy hillside over the next three decades. The site is roughly bounded by Harbor Boulevard on the west, Bastanchury Road on the north, State College Drive on the east and Skyline and Ladera Vista drives on the south.

Unlike many other developments of this size that have come before cities in Southern California recently, the project area is surrounded on all sides by residential housing tracts, prompting disapproval among neighbors accustomed to the isolation of north Fullerton.

In the past two years, Unocal Land and Development Co. has hired a public relations firm, published a series of newsletters and held public meetings with homeowners associations, city advisory panels and sports enthusiasts to outline plans for the area.

Still, several neighborhood groups objected to several aspects of the project, particularly plans to build 490 apartments or condominiums on the west end of the site in the next five to eight years.

“We think this project is convoluted,” said Kenneth L. Patchett, a resident of the Fairway Village neighborhood, across the street from the west--and most dense--end of the project. “It is 180 (degrees) from what the original plan was.”

Unocal Land and Development Co. officials say they have devoted two-thirds of their land to open space and greenbelts, forcing the firm to construct condominiums, apartments and townhouses instead of single-family dwellings. Overall, the project will average 2.3 housing units per acre; a master plan for the site approved in 1980 allowed the site to average as many as three units per acre.

City planners had recommended that Unocal shift 123 of the housing units to the east end of the project. The Planning Commission on Thursday unanimously endorsed that recommendation, and several commissioners said they would like to lower the density even more. But even with the those changes, Patchett said density on the west side of the project still would be 50% to 300% greater than Fairway Village.

In addition, several homeowners on the south side of the project along Skyline Drive feared that new streets would ruin their neighborhood’s rural character.

But supporters said the high densities are tolerable because the city would gain a much-needed sports complex, relieving overcrowding at other facilities. Unocal plans to construct soccer and softball fields through an agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers, which owns the 17 acres of land at the west end of the project.

“Each development generates some trade-offs, but Unocal has done (its) homework and has considered input from anyone willing to comment,” said Rick Feuchter, who lives at the south end of the project.

Unocal also plans to provide 99 acres of habitat land for the California gnatcatcher, which is a candidate for the federal endangered species list.

Unocal said the company is devoting a large share of the project to habitat preservation. In addition, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will oversee a pilot program in which a portion of the land will be re-vegetated for the gnatcatcher. Overall, Unocal officials said, 99% of the bird’s habitat will be saved.

Some residents questioned the amount of land set aside for the gnatcatcher habitat, and others expressed fears that the project will damage coyote and California quail habitats in the area, known as East Coyote Hills.

Parts of the project will be constructed in areas that had high-intensity oil drilling. City officials said that some of the soil is contaminated but does not pose a health risk. Even so, Unocal will have to comply with a host of federal and state guidelines before building on the areas.