Council Denies Appeal for 47-Unit Tract

The City Council has flatly rejected a move to overturn the Planning Commission’s denial of approval for a 47-unit housing tract.

Before more than 100 neighborhood residents who showed up to protest the plans, the council Monday night unanimously turned down the appeal and asked developer Polygon Communities to come back with a project that has fewer homes.

“I see no compelling reason to approve” the developer’s appeal, Councilwoman Susan Withrow said. “I cannot make a finding that this site is suitable for the plans proposed.”

Located near Casta del Sol Road and Marguerite Parkway, the 9.2-acre parcel was originally approved for 27 units under a 1990 citywide development agreement between the city and the Mission Viejo Co.

The company recently sold the project site to Polygon Communities and gave permission to ask the city to transfer building rights for 20 units at another Mission Viejo Co. site to the Casta del Sol Road property.

The extra 20 units would result in lot sizes averaging 3,200 square feet in the proposed development--far below city standards of a minimum of 5,000 square feet.

“The bottom line on this issue for me is that [the project] is too dense,” Councilman Joseph D. Lowe said. “It is not equal to, or a betterment,” of the quality of surrounding neighborhoods.

Wayne Peterson, a development consultant hired by Polygon Communities, pointed out that adjacent housing include an apartment and homes built on lots of comparable size.

“There is a mixture of residential uses in the area,” he said.