Brea : Residents Protest Hillside Housing Plan

A plan to build more than 850 homes on the once oil-rich hillsides above the city drew a dozen residents to the City Council meeting this week to protest that the project would bring more traffic, noise and unwanted density to the area.

“The small-town quality of Brea is rapidly disappearing,” resident Lori Felix told council members Tuesday.

A key concern of residents is the traffic that would be generated along the narrow and often congested Carbon Canyon Road, which runs south of the proposed development. The city-commissioned environmental impact report estimates that the project, called Olinda Heights, would generate a daily average of nearly 7,000 trips and significantly impact nearby intersections.

The developer, Texas-based Santa Fe Energy Resources Inc., wants to build 867 units, including a complex for senior citizens, and an elementary school and recreational facilities east of Valencia Avenue. Also planned for the 284-acre site is housing for faculty from Cal State Fullerton and Cal Poly Pomona.

An 11-acre historical center featuring original buildings from the oil boom town of Olinda, which fell into decline during the Depression, would also be incorporated.

“A project of this magnitude does not belong in Carbon Canyon,” said Judi Kasper, a resident.