Council Wrestles With Fate of Santiago Hills

The debate over the Irvine Co.’s plan to build 1,746 dwellings on 494 acres of rolling hills in East Orange continued late into the night at Tuesday’s Orange City Council meeting, still unresolved.

After receiving an earful from supporters and critics alike, the council members were expected to vote on the project and bring an end to a months-long battle between developers and residents wary of new homes in their semirural neighborhood.

If approved, construction could begin as early as July 15.

Council member Michael Alvarez, in questions posed to Irvine Co. officials, expressed serious concerns over the runoff the new development might send into nearby wetlands and the financial burden of providing city services to more homes.

Both Alvarez and Councilman Dan Slater also were worried that the project could potentially create a significant increase in local traffic.

Irvine Co. officials offered words of assurance to the council and the community members packed into the City Council chamber.

“We’ve been a great listener. We’ve listened to the community and we’ve been in this community and we’ll certainly be around,” said Dan Young, senior vice president of the Irvine Co.

The Santiago Hills site stands as a gateway to wilderness parks and open space only sparingly marked by signs of civilization--strings of power lines, the occasional street light. The triangular tract is roughly bounded by Jamboree Road, Irvine Regional Park and the Eastern Transportation Corridor.

“It goes without saying that none of us really want any more development in East Orange--or in the county for that matter,” Anthony Torres, chair of the East Orange Neighborhood Committee, told the council.

Still, Torres’ committee decided to support the project after conferring with the Irvine Co. and agreeing on a scaled-down project that was a better fit for the community, he said. It was the committee’s only choice, he said, because neither the county nor city had the funds to purchase and preserve the land.

The Santiago Hills Phase II project is the first step in a plan to bring more than 12,000 homes to the base of the Santa Ana Mountains. Wedged between an equestrian community and the county’s oldest grove of live oaks, the project was first included in a general plan adopted by the city in 1989. The development was approved by the Planning Commission last month despite neighbors’ protests. Some commission members expressed remorse over the decision but said that development is a necessary ingredient of their community’s prosperity.

Much of the early opposition to the project waned after the Irvine Co. nixed its original plans for nearly 1,900 homes and a 25-acre commercial center and provided a $17.8-million school construction loan to Orange Unified School District.

In the last few days, however, critics have stepped up their fight with a postcard campaign targeting the City Council and County Supervisor Todd Spitzer, in whose district the project lies.

The yellow postcards called Santiago Hills II a “disaster” and a “recipe for the destruction of Orange County’s best parks, quality of life and property values.”

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Controversial Project

The plan for the Irvine Co.’s controversial development in East Orange includes 1,746 dwellings on 494 acres. After harsh criticism earlier this year, the Irvine Co. agreed to downsize the project and provide a $17.8-million school construction loan.

Sources: Irvine Co.; East Orange General Plan