NEWPORT BEACH : Concerns Expressed on Irvine Co. Plan

Local environmentalists and residents concerned about the Irvine Co.’s proposal to secure building rights in exchange for road improvement funds are questioning the company’s plans to bring up to 1,000 homes and about 100,000 square feet of office space to Upper Newport Bay.

A group named Stop Polluting Our Newport and residents in neighborhoods where new roads may eventually be built say the city should not enter the binding development agreement that would allow construction on 11 vacant land parcels in exchange for about $21 million in transportation funds and 140 acres of donated open space.

“Newport Beach is a very rich city,” said SPON member Allan Beek. “The city doesn’t need any money for roads. I have hopes of talking the City Council out of this development agreement.”

Further, the city’s environmental review of the project released last week shows that building could eliminate the coyote population in the hills around the Upper Bay and is likely to destroy the home of at least one California gnatcatcher in the area.

The review also shows that there are unknown archeological resources in the area, and it has mandated that a city-approved archeologist be on site to test the ground for potential findings before building could occur.

“The proposed project will result in an overall reduction in the general botanical and wildlife resources of the area through habitat loss . . . interruption of wildlife movement, and a reduction of genetic exchange among wildlife populations in the area,” the environmental review states.

Company officials have promoted the plan by saying it would bring less development than the city’s own General Plan allows in the area.

Further, the company plans to donate more than 140 acres of the more than 240-acre holding to the city for parkland and has agreed to sell the two biggest parcels to the Newport Conservancy if the group raises the $80 million needed to purchase the land. The cost is about $20 million less than the assessed value of the properties, officials said.

The company is also offering $21 million in road funds, giving the city complete control over how the funds would be spent.

Both the Irvine Co. and the city have indicated that the development agreement would be valid for five years and that if no development had begun within that time it could be renegotiated. The company plans to contract with other companies to build the planned projects.

Meanwhile, the Newport Conservancy has been given a deadline by the Irvine Co. of 12 to 18 months to raise the $80 million needed to buy the land it wants to preserve.

Land Swap Proposed: The Irvine Co. hopes to swap 140 acres of open space plus $21 million for street improvements in Newport Beach in exchange for a development agreement that would bring 1,000 homes and 100,000 square feet of commerical space around Upper Newport Bay. The Newport Conservancy, a community group, is trying to raise $80 million to buy the two largest parcels, Upper Castaways and Newporter North, which total about 130 acres and would hold about 360 homes.