MISSION VIEJO : Theater Complex Gets Green Light

A proposed 12- to 16-screen cinema complex and entertainment mall was given the green light this week after the City Council denied an appeal of the Planning Commission’s approval of the project.

Citing traffic concerns, Councilman William S. Craycraft filed the appeal, but at Monday’s council meeting said he was satisfied with planned traffic mitigation measures and joined in the council’s 5-0 vote.

Craycraft had scheduled the public hearing Monday over Kaleidoscope, a 351,000-square-foot entertainment mall that was approved by the Planning Commission last month.

The shopping-entertainment center is to be built at Crown Valley Parkway next to the San Diego Freeway, one of the busiest traffic areas of the city. The cinema complex will have about 3,500 seats, making it the largest in Orange County.

The council agreed with the Planning Commission that future road improvements planned for Crown Valley Parkway will offset the extra traffic expected to come into the 16-acre mall.

“We know that Crown Valley is going to present a severe challenge,” said Councilman Robert D. Breton. “But this land was zoned for this type of density and this type of use.”

Breton pointed to the Crown Valley Corridor Fee program, which charges $1.30 per square foot for new development on the street and earmarks the money for road improvements. The city will also get state and county transportation funds that will be used on Crown Valley Parkway, Breton said.