Council shuts door on Habitat houses

Deirdre Newman

Like the sound wall they are trying to protect, College Park

residents Monday presented a solid barrier against a nonprofit’s

plans to build houses in their neighborhood, convincing city leaders

to reject the eight-home development.

In turning down Habitat for Humanity’s affordable housing

development for a site behind Harbor Center, the City Council also

overturned the Planning Commission’s decision that the

irregular-shaped site -- bordered on three sides by a wall -- was

appropriate for residential use. Councilwoman Libby Cowan dissented.

The decision means that Habitat will not be able to build its

project at the site, a 1 1/2 -acre, land-locked parcel comprising two

properties, one on Harbor Boulevard and one on West Wilson Street. It

also means the site will stay zoned as it is -- for commercial use.

The council’s verdict illustrates how difficult it will be for the

property owner -- ICI Development-- to build a residential project on

the site, because that would require opening up a sound wall for

access. Some of the council members said they wouldn’t feel right

using their authority to open up a portion of the wall, even though

they are allowed to do so through the settlement agreement that

produced the eastern part of the wall.

College Park residents, who went to great lengths to separate

their opposition to the project from their admiration for Habitat for

Humanity, were thrilled with the council’s judgment.

“The quality and suitability of the homes has never been

questioned,” resident Mary Kipp said. “Quality and suitability of

life is the question.”

A visibly frustrated Mark Korando -- vice president of site

development of Habitat for Humanity Orange County and a former city

planning commissioner -- said he didn’t want to comment after the

council’s decision.

He had asked the council to postpone any decision -- council

members had already postponed three other items Monday -- but his

request was rejected. He requested the continuance because Habitat

wanted more time to try to negotiate a compromise solution with the

neighbors in a less adversarial manner than the group had been

facing.

“To cut off discussion where there’s potential to get a viable

answer goes against the American way,” Korando said. “At least, let

us get there.”

Scott Bell, president of ICI Development, disagreed that opening

the wall would be unethical. The company will have to come up with a

new project for the site as none of the previous proposals have won

over the neighbors, Bell said.

“It’s back to the drawing board and work with the neighbors,” Bell

said. “I hope they would look at this thing with more of an open mind

and help us to achieve something that makes sense instead of turning

it down. We proposed storage -- they didn’t want that. We proposed

housing -- they didn’t want that. They don’t want retail. What else

do you want?”

The site is so difficult to develop because of its shape and the

fact that it is sandwiched between the Home Depot loading dock at

Harbor Center and homes in College Park. The site is walled in on

three sides. The walls include two 14-foot portions -- one behind

Home Depot and another on the east side, at the end of Wake Forest

Drive, between the site and some homes. Most of the site has served

as a buffer between the shopping center and the neighboring

residential community.

The eastern portion of the wall was required by a 1999 settlement

agreement among the city, ICI Development and neighbors to lessen

noise from Home Depot. The agreement enabled the council to open the

wall at the end of Wake Forest Road only for a residential project.

But noise issues continue to plague the neighborhood, residents

have said, even though an acoustical engineer found that noise from

the mega-store wasn’t significant.

Even the specter of more noise if the sound wall is opened was too

much of a gamble for council members like Mike Scheafer, who conceded

that he liked the project at first but realized it just wasn’t a good

fit.

“If I think a square peg needs to go in a round hole, I will do

everything I can to beat it in there, but I can’t do that [for this

project],” Scheafer said.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers government. She may be reached at (714)

966-4623 or by e-mail at [email protected].