BREA : Residents Protesting Plan for 1,150 Homes

A plan to build up to 1,150 homes in Olinda Heights has some Brea residents protesting, saying the project will increase traffic, noise and density.

The opponents, who generally live within four miles of the project, hope to persuade the Planning Commission to reject the current plan for the development, which would include luxury homes, horse trails, a school and a park. Commissioners are expected to review the project sometime this year and make recommendations to City Council members, who will make the final decision.

Earlier this year, city officials held two workshops at which 200 people commented on the project’s environmental impact report. They claimed the added housing will cause traffic congestion on Carbon Canyon Road, increase air pollution and add 10% to the city’s population of 32,000.

“We think the project is just way too big,” said Judi Kasper, an Olinda Village resident who formed Help Improve Land and Living Space, a grass-roots campaign against the proposed development.

Santa Fe Resources Inc. wants to develop the project on 277 rural acres in Olinda Heights that it has owned for 100 years. City planners said they are weighing residents’ concerns and about 200 letters that were mailed to City Hall regarding the proposal.

Both Santa Fe Resources and the city said plans for the project are fluid and there would be revisions to the current development plan before it goes to the Planning Commission. Those changes will be unveiled a month before the first public hearing, said City Planner Konradt Bartlam, who added that comments from the public are still welcome.

No date has been set for the hearing.

If the proposal is approved by planning commissioners and council members, the city would first annex Olinda Heights, which is currently in an unincorporated area but in Brea’s sphere of influence, and construction would begin in 1995, officials said.

The proposed project calls for Santa Fe Resources to also build an elementary school and a 14-acre park, to preserve three historical buildings and to widen Carbon Canyon Road and Valencia Avenue. In addition, Santa Fe is negotiating with Cal State Fullerton and other nearby universities and local school districts in an effort to make more than 300 homes available for faculty and employees at affordable costs. About 393 of the project’s homes would be luxury estates with horse stables.

If the entire 1,150-home project were approved, the city would allow Santa Fe to build 230 extra homes, provided they are sold as affordable housing units. However, John Ullom, the project’s manager, said it was unlikely that the extra homes would be constructed.

As part of the plan, Santa Fe would dedicate more than half the 277 acres as open space and shut down 102 of the 150 oil wells on the property. The city’s first oil pump, which is no longer in use, would be preserved. The development would include horse, hiking and biking trails and would be completed in seven to 10 years.

“The community will benefit overall,” said Phillip R. Schwartze, a planner for the company.

Diane Taylor, an Olinda Village resident who lives about three miles from the project area, disagrees. She said she believes the added traffic would affect residents in her neighborhood and surrounding areas.

“The development that is being introduced is urban development in a rural setting,” Taylor said. “I have a problem with the number of houses (Santa Fe) wants to build and I think (the company) should rethink the whole proposal. . . . I would be satisfied if they build 400 to 600 homes and offered senior citizen housing.”

Ullom said the plan is “in a dynamic state. We’re responding to input that we are getting from neighbors and we’re looking at” possible changes.