Irvine Co. Has New Offer on Project East of Orange

The Irvine Co. has offered to eliminate 50 of about 4,000 homes it is proposing to build in the canyons east of Orange, in some of the last large swaths of undeveloped land in Orange County.

The offer came Tuesday as the Orange City Council deliberated about the company’s development plan for the third time in a month. The council is expected to take up the issue again Nov. 8 and possibly vote.

Two previous meetings were devoted to public comment, which drew hundreds of speakers for and against the proposal to build on about 6,800 acres that stretch from the eastern edge of Orange to Silverado Canyon. The proposal would leave about 4,300 acres as open space.

The project is slated for an unincorporated area, but Orange is in the process of annexing it and has planning jurisdiction over it.

Dan Miller, an Irvine Co. vice president, told the City Council that the company would be willing to eliminate 50 homes from some of the most environmentally sensitive areas of the property. The company also offered to increase its contributions for traffic improvements from $7.3 million to nearly $8.5 million.

Opponents of the proposal were not appeased. They said the company’s new offers would do little to diminish concerns over increased traffic and environmental impacts. “We can’t continue to do what we are doing and cover everything” with development, said Orange resident Julie Jones-Ufkes.