FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Townhouse Project Hearing Is Tonight

The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing tonight on the final environmental impact report for the controversial Lighthouse Lane project, a proposed 140-townhouse development which opponents contend is too dense for the 8.6-acre site.

“We feel the project is not in keeping with Fountain Valley’s standards of living,” said Ginger Cox, a 29-year city resident living near the site.

She and other opponents have suggested that the developer build 43 single-family homes instead of the 140 townhouses. “Less people is going to be less problems,” she said.

Others have criticized the Fountain Valley School District, which now owns the property, for its decision to enter in a joint venture with the developer in the construction and sale of the homes.

“The critics are saying just sell the land outright,” Marc Ecker, administrative assistant to the superintendent, said Tuesday. “But if we sold it as undeveloped land, we’d be lucky to get $3 million for it.

Tumanjan Development purchased the property four years ago. The $9.6-million deal included two other surplus properties and allowed the school district to generate revenue as it copes with state education budget cuts.

Escrow is expected to close this August, pending approval of the environmental impact report and of the project itself. The district’s maintenance facility is now at the townhouse site at the northeast corner of Talbert Avenue and Newland Street.

“State law requires us to be in the joint venture if we sell the land with entitlement,” Ecker said. “The rationale is that (the state) doesn’t want to see the school district undersell the land.”

On top of the $9.6 million the district will receive if the proposed project is approved and developed, it will also pocket profits on the sales of the homes as a limited partner.

The developer has picked up the costs involved in the planning process, such as $37,285 for the environmental report and other documents.

The commission will hear public comments regarding the final environmental report tonight, according to city planner Andrew Perea. About 40 opponents attended the Dec. 11 commission meeting on the EIR draft. A public hearing on the proposed zone change, General Plan amendment, tract map and conditional use permit is scheduled for Feb. 26.