Big Fight for Small Property

All of eight acres, a former garbage dump at the edge of Santiago Creek is an unlikely battleground. But park space is so dear in the city of Orange, there’s an all-out tug-of-war over this diminutive parcel.

In Orange--known more for antiques stores and the charms of its historic district--the question of the former landfill has divided the town and the City Council.

Residents have banded together to fight a project by a local developer to create an industrial storage site on one of the last open spaces in central Orange--a site they say has historical and environmental significance.

In the past month, they have distributed hundreds of fliers and flooded the mayor with e-mail protests. At the Oct. 24 council meeting, about 100 people demonstrated their opposition, booing a delay of the hearing and getting into a war of words with the developer outside council chambers.

The controversy also made recent elections more acrimonious than usual, Mayor Joanne Coontz said.

“This was a hotly contested election, probably the nastiest, dirtiest campaign in the history of Orange,” Coontz said, adding that much of the rhetoric had to do with election promises spun around the parcel.

Orange, like many other cities, has seen its population soar over the past decade, to about 130,000 people from 106,000. Though it has annexed land as part of that growth, the city has less than half the state-recommended acreage for parks. Consequently, every vacant lot, even a small landfill parcel, is prized.

The land, on the creek near the intersection of the Costa Mesa Freeway and Chapman Avenue, is zoned for open space and recreational use. The developer wants the city to take the unusual step of amending its general plan and granting a zoning change to make way for an industrial storage facility, effectively a parking lot for about 620 containers, each about the size of an RV.

The Greenway Alliance, a local environmental group, leads opponents who say they will turn out in force for Tuesday’s council meeting, at which the proposal for Yorba Mini Storage Facility is expected to top the agenda.

“This is marginal land as far as building goes, but in some ways the development pressure has changed what’s [considered] marginal,” said Howard DeCruyenaere, founder of the Greenway Alliance. “People are looking at developing land that in the past would have been passed over. You have a vacant lot, and people are trying to build on it.”

Beyond the scarcity of park space, the land is important because of its creek-side location and is part of a larger effort to keep creek banks free of development.

Despite its poor-quality soil, the parcel is a dingy pearl on a string, providing a feeding and watering spot for herons, egrets and other creatures, said advocates for preservation.

Over the past decade, the alliance has lobbied the county and local governments to preserve open space along the 12 miles of Santiago Creek, from Irvine Lake east of Orange to the Santa Ana River in west Santa Ana.

“Our goal here is to connect the dots,” DeCruyenaere said. “The greenway is really a regional issue, not just a little site behind these houses.”

Julie Jones, who studied the creek for her landscape design degree at Cal State Fullerton, said, “We need to fight for every little piece of greenway along the waterway. . . . Property along the waterway is really important because greenway up and down the creek--from the inner city to the hills--connects with trails.”

Keeping this open space may also save taxpayers money by preserving water quality and protecting against urban runoff and flooding, Jones said.

“It would be a wise move not to [develop] it,” she said. “If we leave the waterways as recreational space . . . we won’t have to spend so much money on flood control.”

Advocates of a greenway park say it may be time to consider a ballot measure to give residents more say in growth and development issues.

“People are just finally saying enough is enough . . . because there’s so little space left,” Jones said. “I think it’s a matter of time before we see a [slow-growth] measure in Orange.”

As the developer puts finishing touches on the plan, Jones and other members of the alliance are preparing for a fight.

On a recent afternoon, Bill Bouska directed the opposition troops from the front line: his home on the edge of the disputed land. Foot soldiers phoned in about rallies and fliers, and Bouska’s kitchen headquarters was abuzz with activity. The alliance had just found new ammunition.

Bouska pointed to documents, city memos, maps and aerial photos that he said prove the area is historically significant. On a river rock base, an old bronze plaque says the Gaspar de Portola expedition camped on this part of Santiago Creek on July 27, 1769. But the developer has a more contemporary advantage: a July report from the city’s Planning Commission, unanimously recommending industrial use of the parcel.

The land is owned by Yorba Medical Group, but developer Barry Cottle is in escrow to buy the property.

Cottle said resistance among residents after the Planning Commission’s approval caught him by surprise.

He said the plan takes environmental factors into account and that talk about a park is a recent not-in-my-backyard attempt to kill the project.

“We started talking to neighbors about it a long time ago,” Cottle said. “We didn’t hear anything about a park until [October].

“We’re kind of confused. I’m wondering why they waited so long to tell us.”

Cottle said the parcel’s shape and poor soil make it ill-suited for a park but well-suited for his project.

Julie Jones disagreed.

“Parks don’t have to be any special shape--you can stick them in any nook or cranny,” she said. “Everybody deserves a little nature in their lives . . . and I think the people in the city deserve that, too.” The land use decision now rests with the City Council.

The battle has prompted Councilman Michael Alvarez to call for a system of checks and balances. He said the council has considered creating a “watchdog” position, to keep an eye on proposed development.

But Coontz, the acting mayor until Dec. 5, said council members should consider what the city can afford.

“All of this [open space] costs money,” Coontz said. “You just don’t point all over the map and say, ‘I want that.’ ”

At the last council meeting, Cottle said he needed more time to hear local concerns about the project, and the council voted to have the public hearing postponed. That prompted some residents to cry foul.

Shirley Grindle, a longtime political activist in the city, said politics was behind the delay. By postponing the hearing, council members up for reelection dodged a tough decision until after the election.

“This has become a major issue,” Grindle said, adding that several council members accepted campaign contributions from Cottle. Over the years, Coontz has received thousands of dollars from Cottle, as has Mark Murphy, a former council member who was just elected mayor, Grindle said.

Both Coontz and Cottle confirmed the contributions but said it would not affect the council’s vote on the issue. This project is far from a done deal, Cottle added.

“You just never know until you make your presentation,” Cottle said. “We’ll make our best effort and see how it goes.”

Cottle said he plans to meet with residents before the hearing to hear their objections to the project.

Alvarez, the councilman who could be the swing vote on the project, said he hoped the two sides can hash out their differences before Tuesday’s council meeting. A compromise, he said with exasperation, “or we’re going to get stormed again at the council.”