New Building Won’t Affect Irvine Co.

A cap on development in Lower Peters Canyon had the Irvine Co. appealing to the City Council this week, asking that a building by the Irvine Ranch Water District not reduce what the developer will be allowed to build nearby.

The city had set a 1.35-million-square-foot limit on the amount of building space allowed in a planning area shared by the district and the Irvine Co. The land lies north of the Santa Ana Freeway between the Irvine Transportation Corridor and Culver Drive, where the water district had received the city’s OK to construct a 43,000-square-foot research-and-development building at its 2.37-acre Frances Mutual site.

Irvine Co. officials were concerned their building entitlements for the area would be cut back by the amount of square footage taken up by the water district’s plan.

The council introduced an ordinance Tuesday that would increase allowable building space in the planning area to 1.393 million square feet--in essence nullifying any effect the water district’s plans will have on the Irvine Co.’s project. The ordinance is expected to receive final approval at the council’s Jan. 9 meeting.