TUSTIN : Residents Concerned About K mart Plan

The City Council is expected to decide tonight on a plan that would eliminate a proposed 250-room hotel from an Irvine Co. development on the city’s east side, but some residents remain concerned over a K mart outlet that is still proposed for the site.

“We are just concerned that whatever comes in is going to be consistent with the atmosphere,” said area resident Mark Henson. “Certainly we have all grown up around K marts and they have usually had really large parking lots without a lot of landscaping.”

The council will take public comments at tonight’s meeting before voting on the plan, which would reserve all 24 acres of a parcel at the corner of Tustin Ranch Road and El Camino Real for retail development. A Costco Warehouse store is also planned for the site. The project, which could begin within a month, is expected to bring the city $900,000 a year in sales tax.

Originally, five acres of the lot were reserved for a hotel. Even though there was little public opposition to that idea, city and Irvine Co. officials said they decided against it because of economic concerns.

Irvine Co. spokesman Larry Thomas said the company still intends to build an upscale hotel in the East Tustin area, but it will probably be built instead at a location near the Santa Ana Freeway and Jamboree Road.

Henson added that he believes that most residents will be satisfied with the project as now proposed, as long as it is aesthetically pleasing.

Senior Planner Dan Fox agreed that since residential neighborhoods border the land on the east and west, there is a special need for the development project to have a look that is compatible with private dwellings.

And he sought to dissuade concerns that a K mart store might hurt the image of the area. “K mart is undergoing a major overhaul and bringing their standards up,” he said.

The public hearing will be at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 300 Centennial Way.