ORANGE : Santiago Creek Plan on Council Agenda

The City Council tonight will consider a plan to develop the property along Santiago Creek, which will go into effect if a June 2 ballot measure to preserve the land as open space fails.

Community activists who fought to put the bond measure on the ballot say they will protest the development plan and request that the council postpone approval of any construction proposal until after the vote next month.

The development plan, proposed by the William Lyon Co. and other partners of Santiago Creek Associates, would change the zoning of the property to allow up to 240 units as a compromise for retaining a substantial amount of the open space.

The plan proposes apartments or townhouses in a cluster covering 17 acres, a 2.5-acre commercial area, and 13.5 acres for open space and a flood-control zone. The area includes the former site of the Santiago Golf Course and the Rosewood housing tract.

When the council voted in February to put the bond initiative on the ballot, officials agreed that a development plan would go into effect if the bond measure failed.

But opponents say the current development plan will not preserve the creek in a natural state as promised. They want 30 days to create a new proposal that could be adopted by developers, said Kathy King, a spokeswoman for the Santiago Creek Greenway Alliance.

Even if the June ballot measure fails, it will demonstrate voters’ interest in the creek and in maintaining open space in Orange, said Ralph Masek, president of the Santiago Creek Homeowners Assn.

“For 10 years we’ve been trying to get a proposal that will provide open space,” Masek said. “And I have a hard time believing that the council would help push this through before the bond is even voted on. I think public opinion has been pushed aside.”

Councilman William G. Steiner said the council has cooperated with the community on the fate of the property.

“There’s been an understanding for months that efforts would be made by the Greenway Alliance to pass the bond issue and that they would help to create a development plan that would be in place if the bond issue were to fail,” he said. “Their vision of the creek changes depending on who you talk to.”