Anaheim OKs Huge Irvine Co. Canyon Project

Touting the Irvine Co.’s provisions for parkland and open space, the Anaheim City Council approved the company’s development plan for an 8,000-home residential community in Gypsum Canyon.

The Mountain Park project, which had been threatened for years by the Orange County Board of Supervisors’ push to build a jail in the canyon, passed in a unanimous vote of the council.

Although supervisors withdrew their support for a canyon jail two weeks ago, city officials still must contend with the county’s desire to locate a landfill on the development site and a lawsuit by a Fullerton environmental group, Friends of Tecate Cypress, which hopes to preserve the 3,179 acres in its rugged natural state.

Due to the legal challenges and the city’s desire to annex the canyon property, Irvine Co. officials have said that it may be years before the first homes are built in what would be the largest residential development in city history.

A public hearing on the city’s bid to annex the property is scheduled for 2 p.m. today before the county’s Local Agency Formation Commission. If the commission passes on Anaheim’s request, the City Council could vote as early as Friday to officially annex the property.

Environmentalists have contended in their lawsuit that inadequate attention had been given to the preservation of wildlife habitats. Tecate Cypress representatives have claimed that the council did not deal with such issues as traffic, grading, blasting and the movement of wildlife.

The Irvine Co.’s plan calls for homes expected to cost between $200,000 and $500,000 and for commercial uses on 179 acres. Also included are plans for three elementary schools, a middle school, high school, three neighborhood parks, two community parks and possibly a fire station.