blog'n at san onofre

O.C. BUILDERS REACH THEIR FINAL FRONTIER

"It's some of the prettiest land you'll ever see," ( AND WE WANNA RAPE IT!) said Mark Boud, market analyst for Rancho Mission Viejo and the Irvine Company. The article describes how Orange County has long been developer-friendly, but is now at "the beginning of the end" in terms of remaining open space. (WE WANT IT BULLDOZE IT ALL) The story describes the current RMV and Irvine proposals, the struggles they face, and the effects they will have. "The effects that residents in Orange County will feel most acutely because of these types of far-flung developments are further congestion of roads. What we're doing is creating a road map for traffic," said Bill Corcoran of the Sierra Club. "Another effect people will have is further seeping of water pollution into streams and in the surf."

The article recognized the strength of the volunteers who have continually worked hard to protect our valuable open space and stop the development plans that threaten it.

"One wild card will be the depth of opposition to proposed projects as developers seek approvals from planning commissions, city councils and county supervisors...To the South, Rancho Mission Viejo's proposal for 14,000 homes had drawn up to 500 opponents to 'scoping sessions.'"

"Some say that once public hearings begin on Irvine Co. projects, they will draw opposition similar to Rancho Mission Viejo. And analysts say some projects sought by smaller developers, such as Banning Ranch in Newport Beach or Tonner Canyon in Brea, may never be built because of intense, organized opposition."

The article ran in the California section of Sunday's Times. You can read the complete article at http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-buildout15jun15,1,235744.story


This is a great opportunity to send a letter to the Times. You can write about the importance of supporting affordable housing near existing jobs and transportation networks instead of building in our last open space and polluting our last clean surf.

And while your are at it, go over to http://www.friendsofthefoothills.org/ and sign up to stay in the loop!

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posted by NeoN @ 6/17/2003 10:14:00 AM