BREA : Huge Housing Tract Plan Irks Residents

A proposal by Sante Fe Energy Resources to build up to 2,245 homes at its Olinda Heights project would create all kinds of problems for the community, residents say.

They called for a much smaller number of homes on the 277-acre site because of the impact on schools, police and fire protection, traffic and other community services.

Some also questioned the speed of development in the city’s so-called sphere of influence, a 4,762-acre area, outside the city boundaries. If annexed all at one, the city’s size would increase roughly 70%.

The Olinda Heights project, with more than 100 active oil wells, is the first development in the sphere of influence area.

“This is too fast for us to handle,” said Louis Otto, one of several residents who attended a public workshop Wednesday sponsored by the Planning Commission to get comments on the project.

Ron Keith of Koll Co., which will manage the project, presented three project options.

The first, considered low density, would have 1,365 homes.

The medium-density option would have 1,594 units and the high-density option would have 2,245 units.

Keith favored the medium-size choice, which is a combination of single-family homes, clusters of townhomes, and multi-story dwellings.

Construction will start after a $2-million, 18-month cleanup of the oil fields expected to be completed in 1994.

Resident Diane Taylor said she is worried about additional traffic at Carbon Canyon Road and Valencia Avenue, the two main access roads to the project.

“I’m very concerned about the impact of at least 1,600 more cars at Carbon Canyon Road,” she said.

Residents said the road is dangerous. “Anyone in Carbon Canyon road is an endangered species,” another resident said.

Santa Fe Energy Resources, which has owned the Olinda oil fields for nearly 100 years, will maintain its oil production after completion of the residential project.

That also raised fears about safety, loss of the site’s natural beauty, and possible loss of historic equipment and structures.

Brian Saul, a member of the city’s Historic Committee, said historic structures, like Oil Well No. 1 and the Field House, should remain.

“Moving them is like moving the White House to Detroit,” he said in response to plans to move some of the historic structures to a more accessible site.

Another resident, Mary Jo Barker, wants the ridge lines preserved and more open spaces set aside for recreational purposes.

“It’s one of the few areas with natural beauty. When it’s gone, it’s gone,” she said.

However, city officials said existing conditions won’t be the same as when the project is completed and all environmental concerns, including traffic, will be addressed by an environmental impact report.

A consultant, Dale Beland, has been hired to prepare the EIR, which is expected to be completed in January.

Then the Planning Commission and the City Council will conduct public hearings.