TUSTIN : Houses OKd Despite Concern Over Birds

The Tustin City Council has approved a 55-home development, despite arguments by area residents that the plans could endanger cactus wrens and California gnatcatchers that live nearby.

The rare birds live to the north of the project, in an area forested with about 20,000 sickly eucalyptus trees. Those protesting the 14-acre development, west of Township Drive and north of Rawlings Way, said the trees could lead to a firestorm in the neighborhood.

The residents also are concerned about the birds, who would be displaced if the trees are removed and replaced with houses. The city should address these environmental concerns, they said.

Resident Tom Crosby and others gathered more than 90 signatures on a petition asking the council to consider the project in tandem with another to the north, on which a decision has been delayed by the Planning Commission.

That project, which is where the trees lie, would have as many as 351 homes on 210 acres.

Rob Frakes, a representative of Glencrest development, said the 14 acres where his company plans to build has already been graded and does not have any habitat for cactus wrens or gnatcatchers.

City officials said the Glencrest development will provide a buffer between existing houses, where those who protested live, and the hillside with the unhealthy trees.