Newport Panel Approves Trade With Irvine Co. : Agreement: Plan to exchange land and money for building rights requires City Council and Coastal Commission approval.

The Planning Commission unanimously approved a binding agreement with the Irvine Co. early Friday to exchange open space and road funds for building rights on lush land around Upper Newport Bay.

In a post-midnight vote, in front of the remains of what had been a capacity crowd of about 100 project foes and a few supporters, the commission praised the agreement as a “very good deal” for the city.

The agreement is a trade between the city and the Irvine Co. under which the developer would donate about 140 acres of land to the city for use as open and park space, plus $21 million in funds for traffic improvements anywhere in the city.

In return, the city would approve plans for about 1,000 homes, an office complex, an affordable senior housing project or a health club, and a 68-room hotel expansion on 100 remaining acres. The building scenario is less dense than limits in the city’s general plan, and each specific building project would come before the City Council for review.

“It’s not a giveaway. I wonder if it’s truly on the other foot and it’s too much of a giveaway (from the Irvine Co.),” said Planning Commission Chairman Gary Di Sano. “There has been an awful lot of give and take on both sides. The city has not brushed this aside. . . . I think it’s a very good deal for the city.”

The plan must be approved by the City Council and the state Coastal Commission.

The agreement is for five years, after which it will be reviewed and can be abandoned or continued.

“The plan really is the result of the many, many meetings with the community we’ve held,” said Tom O. Redwitz, a representative of the Irvine Co.

However, concerned residents from both Newport Beach and Costa Mesa questioned entering an agreement that locks in building rights and argued that new roads are unwanted.

“Some may think that for SPON to be skeptical (of this agreement) is like being skeptical of motherhood and apple pie,” said Carl Hufbauer, a representative of the environmental group Stop Polluting Our Newport. “Given . . . the irreversible damage to the character of Newport Beach and the biological resources around the Upper Newport Bay, SPON is skeptical.”

Further, supporters of the Newport Conservancy, the group raising $80 million to buy the two largest parcels of company-owned land on which about 300 homes would be built, want longer than the Irvine Co.’s 18-month time frame to purchase the property.

Also, residents along 19th Street and Friends of the Santa Ana River, a group that also includes Huntington Beach residents, are worried about new roads bringing more traffic to their neighborhoods.

While new roads are not part of the agreement, they are part of Newport Beach’s general plan and are likely to be built in the future. The agreement would provide the necessary construction funds.

Representatives from Hope Lutheran Church in Newport Beach, which is adjacent to the Upper Castaways, one of the larger parcels, said the environmental review failed to address the impact new neighbors would have on their church.

The few supporters included some nearby homeowners associations and the Corona del Mar Chamber of Commerce.