BREA : Developer Reduces Plan Again

Officials of an oil company that is proposing a master-planned community in the hills above Brea said Wednesday that they will scale back the plan by about 100 housing units.

The changes, made in the wake of a public outcry, would reduce the number of units to about 760, said John McLaughlin of Santa Fe Energy Resources, which owns and wants to develop a 284-acre parcel north of Carbon Canyon Road and east of Valencia Avenue.

The area was once Orange County’s top producer of petroleum and home to about 3,000 workers.

The City Council was to vote on the project Tuesday but delayed action after Santa Fe said it would make changes. The council has scheduled a study session on the new plan for Tuesday and a public hearing for Sept. 5. A vote on the matter will be scheduled after that.

McLaughlin said Santa Fe is also considering additional safety measures. Brea residents had raised concerns about problems from a nearby landfill, an earthquake fault, oil wells and oil storage tanks.

Plans for a congregate care facility for about 120 senior citizens have been dropped, McLaughlin said, though the development would still include housing for seniors.

This latest revision marks the fifth time Santa Fe has changed its plans. At first, 2,245 homes were proposed for the site. That was reduced to 1,600, 1,300, 1,150, 867 and now about 760. That number, however, is still higher than the 497 units that would be allowed under the city’s General Plan.

Santa Fe has asked the city to amend the General Plan, a move critics have strongly opposed.

“If it’s reduced to 750 and that’s still allowed, it’s not going to placate us,” said Diane Taylor, a resident who opposes the development. “We don’t want the message [to developers] that it’s OK to ask for any type of General Plan amendment they want.”