IRVINE : Foes of Proposed Tract Force Delay

A residents’ group has successfully gathered enough signatures on a petition to derail--at least temporarily--the Irvine Co.’s latest proposed residential development in the city, City Clerk Nancy C. Lacey said Friday.

The Orange County registrar of voters office, which had been counting and verifying the signatures for the city, reported that at least 5,762 of the 7,637 signatures collected were from currently registered voters, Lacey said. The total is 245 more than required to force the City Council either to overturn its Nov. 12 approval of the 2,885-home Northwood 5 development or place the project on the ballot for voters to decide.

If the council or residents vote to overturn Northwood 5, the Irvine Co. would have to wait at least a year before it could submit similar development plans for the land, which is north of the Northwood community near Culver Drive and Irvine Boulevard.

Fred Schwartz, a Northwood resident and one of the leaders of the petition campaign, said he hopes that the Irvine Co. simply waits a year to resubmit the project.

“If they fail to do that, then I’m very confident that an election will be appropriate,” Schwartz said.

The council probably will decide whether to call an election at its Jan. 28 meeting or later. If an election is called, the ballot measure could appear on either the June or November ballot. It would be the second time within a year that Irvine voters would decide on a major land-use proposal.

In November, voters approved the Irvine Co.’s 3,850-home Westpark II project after a similar petition drive forced the council to place it on the ballot. The Irvine Co.’s campaign in support of Westpark II was the most expensive in city history.

Even though the petition will force the City Council to reconsider its approval of Northwood 5, the fate of the development could end up out of the city’s hands because the land is beyond its borders.

The orange groves on the land proposed for Northwood 5 are in unincorporated county territory. Irvine officials processed and approved the Northwood 5 plan because it is within the city’s “sphere of influence,” an area expected to be added to the city. Cities can make long-term land-use decisions on areas outside city limits but within its sphere of influence.

If the city overturns its approval, the Irvine Co. could submit the project to county planning officials, Mayor Sally Anne Sheridan said. If the county approves the project, Irvine will lose thousands of dollars in developer fees and an undetermined amount of sales tax income from the project’s retail center, she said.

“We already know the Irvine Co. will go and process this project with the county,” Sheridan said. “I think this is regrettable. . . . We will get all the negatives of the project without getting the revenue.”

Irvine Co. spokeswoman Kathi Crowley confirmed Friday that the company is considering asking the county to approve the project. Before making a decision, the company will wait to see what action the City Council takes on the petition, she said.