MISSION VIEJO : Delay to Be Asked on Apartments Decision
A seven-month delay in deciding the fate of a proposal to build 850 apartment units off El Toro Road will be requested by city staff at tonight’s Planning Commission meeting.
However, a presentation of the housing project and full public testimony will be heard by commissioners, Community Development Director Clint Sherrod said.
“This is an important issue and the public will have an opportunity to comment,” Sherrod said.
Plans being presented by the Mission Viejo Co., the developer, are being challenged on several fronts:
* Local environmentalists say the apartments would be more intrusive to area wildlife than the business park previously planned for the 50-acre site.
* City officials say the 850 units exceed the amount of housing allowed under a development agreement between the city and the developer.
* The Orange County Airport Land Use Commission pointed out in September that the project lies under the flight path of military jets heading to the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.
In response, company officials say an environmental study shows a business park would generate more traffic than an apartment complex.
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