NEWPORT BEACH : Development Pact Gets Preliminary OK

The City Council has given preliminary approval to a comprehensive agreement with the Irvine Co. that allows the firm to eventually build 950 homes and 124,000 square feet of offices and commercial buildings on most of the undeveloped land left in the city.

The development agreement, which the council will formally adopt on Sept. 14, involves an Irvine Co. offer to pay $21 million for street improvements in exchange for guarantees it will be allowed to build on the 11 undeveloped properties it has left in the city.

Tom Redwitz, Irvine Co. vice president of land development, said he was pleased with the council action, although it is only one of many hurdles in the city and state approval process. “This really represents a culmination of years of work by the city and the community,” he said.

Acting Monday, the council lowered building heights of homes planned on bayside property commonly called Castaways, required that those homes be set back farther from the bluffs and added language that allows the neighboring Newport Harbor Lutheran Church to eventually expand.

The Irvine Co. has also offered to keep 150 of the 246 total acres undeveloped for open space and parkland use. But environmentalists say the two largest properties, where the Irvine Co. hopes to build 360 townhomes, should also be left undeveloped because the land is home to valuable wildlife, including coyotes, smaller animals and rare birds.

Hundreds of residents packed the council chambers Monday night to express opposition to the agreement and urge the council to save the two bayside properties, Castaways and Newporter North, from development.

Most of the opponents said they fear that the agreement locks in development rights, giving the Irvine Co. unrestricted power to build large, closely packed condominiums on the land. Others criticized the 32-foot maximum height proposed for the Castaways townhomes.

The council dropped the average height of the Castaways homes to 24 feet and required specific Planning Commission approval for any home to reach 32 feet.

Additionally, the council is requiring the Irvine Co. to fund a federal monitoring program of the Upper Newport Bay coyotes and pay as much as $25,000 toward an animal management program if the coyote population decreases because of development on Newporter North.

The Irvine Co. noted that the development plans aren’t final because each separate building project must be reviewed and approved by city and state officials before construction can begin.

Supporters contend that the Irvine Co. has demonstrated a cooperative spirit during the past year of discussions with city leaders and community groups. For instance, the company opted to clump the homes on Castaways and Newporter North rather than spread them out across the entire site, they note.

The company reduced the number of homes it planned to build along MacArthur Boulevard and donated 20 acres where offices were planned around Jamboree Road and MacArthur Boulevard for open space, a new fire station or a Park-and-Ride site.

The company has also agreed to consider building a nursing home and about 300 affordable senior apartments.