NEWPORT BEACH : Castaways Plan Change Provokes Anger

About 75 residents expressed anger this week at city officials for considering a changed development plan from the Irvine Co. for its Castaways project.

The new proposal comes after years of debate and differs from the proposal approved by the Planning Commission two months ago. The most recent plan would increase by 15 or 16 homes the 119 houses approved by the planning board, and would also sharply alter plans for ball fields and a wilderness area in the development at the head of Newport Bay.

The residents--most of them members of the Cliff Haven Community Assn.--also cited concerns about traffic, obstructed views and noise if the new proposal for the project wins City Council approval. The council will hold a public hearing Feb. 27, then likely vote on the plan.

The original development plan had included 119 homes on the 56.6-acre parcel, a 4.8-acre active park at 16th Street and Dover Avenue, a wilderness park at the point below, and a 70-boat marina at the headlands of the Back Bay.

The latest plan eliminates the upper park site, pushes the ball fields and play equipment onto the lower site, which it shares with a smaller wilderness area. The developer would trade the marina for the right to build another 15 or 16 more homes on the upper gated tract.

Under both proposals, the city gets title to 30.6 acres of open space in parks, trails and slopes, city engineer Don Webb said.

Residents objected to the new proposal’s shaving the top of a hill, formerly part of the wilderness area, to put in ball fields.

If the ball fields are built on the wilderness area, then “the birds and the animals there (are lost) for good,” said Jamie Kula, who worked with city committees for five years to create the earlier plan.

A straw vote taken at the end of the Wednesday meeting showed the residents favoring the original plan by a ratio of about 2 to 1.