Overflow crowd opposes

rezoning in No. Tustin

Some 150 concerned residents attended an Environmental Scoping Meeting last month to express their opposition to the proposed rezoning of a 7.25-acre parcel in North Tustin from single-family residential to multi-family.

                The proposed zone change would allow a 153-unit senior living facility to be built on the west side of Newport Avenue between Castlegate and La Loma. Current zoning would support approximately 20 single family homes on minimum 10,000-square-foot lots. The proposed senior complex would include a main building (with 134 living units) approximately 35 feet tall. The combined building space would be 702 feet long and 240 feet wide (roughly two football fields long and one football field wide). That makes it about the same height as the new science building at Foothill High School with a footprint six times greater. The plan calls for a two-story main building and 19 separate bungalows. The facility will require a business license and will be staffed by as many as 20 employees on three shifts a day. Residents expressed concern over the traffic and parking problems the facility would generate. The project plans call for only 165 parking spaces to serve 153 living units, staff and visitors. Residents believe that limited on-site parking would result in overflow parking throughout their residential streets. Concern was also expressed that left turns in and out of the project would create hazards on Newport Avenue, particularly during rush hours and when school is starting or letting out.

Right idea, wrong place

                Many of the residents who opposed the rezoning were seniors who support the development of senior facilities in the proper place. They suggested that high density senior facilities should not be built in the midst of single family residential neighborhoods and would be better located near commercial and transportation facilities.

                Rick Nelson, president of Foothills Community Association (FCA) pointed out that over 500 people signed petitions opposing this zone change. Nelson stated that the FCA would be submitting written responses to the County of Orange Planning Department regarding matters which need to be studied in the Environmental Impact Report (EIR).

                Mike Rubin, a resident of St. Regis, discussed the covenant created by the County Board of Supervisors with the residents of North Tustin in 1982 and 1986 when the North Tustin Specific Plan (NTSP) was adopted and amended. The plan provides that the area north of 17th Street be zoned single-family-low density. He also noted that the particular parcel in question was studied extensively in the 1982 EIR for the NTSP. That study reported the detrimental impacts to an established residential neighborhood when high density zoning is allowed.

                Jerry Wolf, a resident of Dorsetshire Lane, said that the NTSP has been in place for more than 27 years protecting the residential

areas north of 17th Street. Wolf stated it is necessary to include in the EIR a study of how the proposed zone change to multi-family high density zoning would impact future zoning and development of parcels of property on Newport Avenue from 17th Street north to Foothill and possibly to Crawford Canyon.

Rezone now rezone later

                He noted that a zone change for one parcel would make it difficult for the county to justify a denial of a zone change for other parcels in North Tustin. It was pointed out Newport Avenue north of 17th Street could become home to fast food restaurants, markets, pharmacies, and medical and other professional office buildings.

                Earl Prescott, owner of the property at the corner of Newport and 17th Street, was in attendance, but did not speak at the meeting or confirm the family’s plans for the corner property. In 2000 the Prescott family had proposed a shopping center development for the corner of Newport and 17th Street, but the proposal was withdrawn after substantial community opposition.

                The meeting was held to identify issues to be studied in the EIR being prepared for the project. The County’s timeline for completion of the draft EIR is September or early October 2009 to be followed by a 45-day public comment. Afterwards, public hearings will be held before the North Tustin Advisory Committee, the Orange County Planning Commission, and ultimately the Board of Supervisors, probably during the months of January and February 2010.