ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Slow Down Before It’s Too Late

It’s extremely rare for the state to step into a local development decision, but it is doing so properly in Anaheim because the city’s environmental review has been so weak. At the request of the Department of Fish and Game, the attorney general is suing to overturn approval of a 1,550-home development in Coal Canyon.

Fish and Game officials say the city has ignored their advice on measures to be required of Hon Development Corp. to mitigate the environmental damage to the canyon, which is home to mountain lions. There also is concern about the impact of the development, called Cypress Canyon, on an adjacent ecological preserve, recently acquired from Hon by the state. It contains one of just four groves of Tecate cypress in the United States.

One Fish and Game official, speaking of the environmental impact report prepared for the city, said he had “never read a document as arrogant as this one. . . . The bottom line was they felt the economics justify the project.” Hon Development officials contend that they have already set aside open space and agreed to make other allowances for mountain lions. Now it will be up to a judge to decide whether their efforts are enough.

It doesn’t help the city’s case that Hon gave City Council members $8,800 in the last half of 1991--the largest single source of contributions--even as the council was considering the Coal Canyon project.

The issue of gifts and campaign contributions to council members seems to come up repeatedly in Anaheim. Council members were recently criticized for accepting tickets from Disneyland that exceeded the state limit of $250 in gifts a year; such gifts prevent recipients from voting on issues involving the donor. It’s time for Anaheim to overhaul its campaign contribution and gift procedures with an eye toward assuring the public that the council is not being influenced unduly by donors.

No one is saying Hon should not be allowed to go forward eventually. But the city must make sure that every effort is made to preserve delicate canyon areas that are fast disappearing.