Family Aims to Build Retail Center on Farmland

A landowner’s proposal to convert 6.2 acres of farmland into an upscale retail center has stirred a storm of protest from residents who say that more shopping space is the last thing they need in their quiet neighborhood.

Douglas Prescott, 45, whose family owns the property and would develop it, said the area could only benefit.

“I think that this would be a tremendous asset to the community of North Tustin,” he said. “I don’t think that there is another developer that would do what we’re doing.”

But residents are organizing to fight the estimated $15-million project, dubbed North Tustin Village, saying it would ruin a serene neighborhood where fields of corn and strawberries yield produce for a roadside stand that has been in business since 1912.

“This came out of the blue for us residents, and there are a lot of irate people here,” said Eleanor Zatyko, a resident of the unincorporated area for 26 years.

“We are a semi-rural family neighborhood. That is why we bought a home here,” she said.

The project, set for consideration by the North Tustin Advisory Committee on Wednesday, would be anchored by a Gelson’s Market and would have space for shops, a restaurant and a bank.

Leason Pomeroy, lead architect for the project and chairman of LPA Architects, based in Irvine, said the development would stand out from nearby retail centers. Plans call for top-quality materials, he said, including a copper roof for one building.

The amount to be spent on the project, he said, is double the budget for most ventures of comparable size.

“This happens to be a fairly affluent area, and I think it warrants this kind of project,” Pomeroy said.

But resident Kathy Allumbaugh said there isn’t a need for such businesses.

“We already have four or five grocery stores around here,” she said, “and restaurants too. We are really well provided for.”

Others say a fancy retail center would draw many shoppers from beyond the neighborhood, jamming now-quiet streets with cars.

“The biggest concern is the traffic issue,” said Manny Padilla, a longtime resident.

Les Card, who prepared the traffic analysis of the project for LSA Associates Inc., an environmental consulting company based in Irvine, said the center would generate about 1,500 two-way trips a day.

Card, who has lived in North Tustin for 10 years, said he believes existing roads and traffic signals could handle the increase.

If the site plan wins approval from the advisory committee this week, it would then go to the Orange County Planning Commission, probably in September. The next step would be to win approval from the Orange County Board of Supervisors.

“By the time a particular project has gone through the North Tustin Advisory Committee and the Planning Commission, all the critical issues and areas of contention will be laid out on the table,” said Supervisor Todd Spitzer, whose district includes the proposed development.

Residents opposed to the project say they hope to derail it before it gets that far. They have mailed out informational fliers, posted signs in their yards and collected money to pay for an independent traffic analysis, Padilla said. They will be on hand at Wednesday’s meeting to voice their opposition.

“Our spirits are very high, but we have to keep our folks energized and focused until the process is concluded,” Padilla said.