Our Mission Statement
The Orange Hills Task Force came together to preserve the quality of life in East Orange; to fight the reckless sprawl of tract housing that threatens the hills, parks and open spaces that residents deserve to keep; to force the Irvine Company to rethink its development plans that will saddle rural East Orange with gridlock, overcrowded schools and taxpayer deficits.
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Join us June 21, 2008 for the 4th Annual Tree Hugger's Ball. For more information and ticket sales, visit www.treehuggersball.org.
Good Enough for Government Work new!
The City of Orange Planning Commission has approved tract maps for the Irvine Company’s East Orange development without conducting an environmental impact report.
The City has opted not to evaluate environmental impacts of the 1,200-tract-unit plan because it considers its approval of a 2005 general plan EIR to be sufficient. The original EIR, currently undergoing a court challenge by the Sierra Club’s Orange Hills Task Force, did not include tract maps, street layouts, drainage or bulldozing specific to this area. Approximately 785 acres of hills and valleys will be graded to accommodate the builder.
The city approved the general EIR despite its lack of specifics because it knew it would have another opportunity to review the project. Except now, it isn’t going to review the project because it “already did.”
In other words, a plan that did not exist was approved in 2005. Now that the plan exists, it doesn’t have to be reviewed because it was already approved. The Planning Commission will forego an EIR because it already did one, although it really didn’t because it couldn’t, but the one that it didn’t do is as good as the one that it should do, but won’t, because of the one that it couldn’t do, but did.
Tract maps will again be before the City Council at their 4:30pm meeting on Tuesday, March 25. However, public comments must be received by Wednesday, March 19. Residents who question the logic behind approval are encouraged to email councilmembers here.
It's Your Water
The Orange Park Acres Water Company is looking for a partner and the Irvine Ranch Water District (IRWD) is happy to oblige. The merger, which OPA water users will finance, gives IRWD access to the well that belongs to the OPA water company. In a recent meeting with the City of Orange, IRWD officials reported that the company needs the reservoir to service the 4,000-home development that the Irvine Company wants to build in East Orange.
Billed as a bail out of the OPA water company, IRWD will be paid to take over the community's water service, paid to upgrade aging pipes and pump stations and paid back for its out of pocket expenses to buy out OPA Water Company shareholders. For an investment of zero dollars, IRWD will own the community's water well. It can then resell that resource to new users in the Irvine Company's development.
If you live in Orange Park Acres, you are going to pay IRWD to sell your water to someone else.
The Next $18.6 Million is on You
The recent Santiago Fire cost $18.6 million to contain. That expense was born by Orange County taxpayers and federal assistance funds.
The City of Orange has annexed the wild lands at the intersection of Jamboree and Santiago Canyon Road and is allowing the Irvine Company to build 4,000 houses there. These new residences will abut an arid landscape that routinely burns. Witness: four fires in the past 22 months.
When the next blaze in this area occurs (and it will), it will likely engulf the acreage that escaped this year’s inferno -- the land surrounding the proposed East Orange development. Firefighters will save the houses first and contain the wild fire later. The flames will ravage more brush land and take longer to contain. The next fire storm, almost certain to take place within Orange’s expanded city limits, will be paid for by city (not county) taxpayers.
The City Council believes you can afford it. Do you?
East Orange Subdivision in Harm’s Way
The Irvine Company’s planned Santiago Hills II development puts 4,000 residences on the fire line. Houses that abut wilderness areas are particularly vulnerable to wildfires. Witness the loss of homes in Modjeska Canyon in the recent Santiago Fire and the hundreds of families left homeless in San Diego County.
Speaking during the height of the conflagration, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) implored local officials to rethink zoning that puts future residences in harms way. “Local governments control zoning,” she said. “Local governments have could limit catastrophic fires by keeping subdivisions out of dry areas prone to Santa Ana winds.”
The 4,000 unit development in East Orange has already been approved by the City of Orange. During the approval hearings, the city council was asked to consider the wisdom of placing homes in harm’s way. Their response was that “it is handled.”
Based on the experience of canyon residents, the fire situation in East Orange is anything but handled. Canyon residents had only one way out – Santiago Canyon Road – and it was closed by the California Highway Patrol due to fire danger. The cars of evacuating residents were lined up along Silverado Canyon, waiting for the all clear. Imagine the resulting traffic jam if canyon evacuees were joined by families from 4,000 additional homes.
Contrary Santa Ana winds whipped the fire in all directions. “It was out of control,” says one fire fighter who was on the scene. “There was nothing we could do.”
Fighting wildfires is different from fighting urban fires. The priority of both is always to save lives and structures first; but the wildfire fighter is also looking to stop it from spreading. Given the choice between saving a building or containing the fire, the building takes precedence and the fire rages on.
Donna Hummel, a federal incident response team information officer, was one of the people who kept canyon residents informed throughout the blaze. She talked to residents who lost homes or weren’t allowed to return to theirs. People who questioned how the fire was initially handled and why it was taking so long to put out. “We did everything we could,” she said, “but, putting houses in a fire zone is dangerous.”
Learn More!
LA Times | Foothills Sentry
Orange County’s largest land owner had a problem. The Irvine Company wanted to build a 4,000 tract unit development in East Orange, but needed a place to dump the water that would run off of the asphalt streets, concrete driveways, rooftops and paved surfaces. Neither the Company’s 535 acres set aside for the development nor its 11,000 acres adjacent to the site were sufficient. It needed more land!!
The County of Orange was happy to help the hapless developer. By a unanimous vote, the Board of Supervisors turned over several acres of Irvine Park for the Irvine Company’s to build a concrete water runoff facility.
The County’s Harbors, Beaches and Parks department called it a misuse of public assets. Local residents opposed it, noting the unsightly concrete basin filled with stagnant water would hurt property values. Park users tried to invoke a statewide Park Abandonment Act that prohibits government officials from giving away public parkland for non-park uses.
Once the County approved the Irvine Company’s private use of public property, the City of Orange stepped up to manage it. So Orange Taxpayers are not only losing several acres of publicly funded parkland to a waste water runoff facility, they’ll be paying for its upkeep.
The Orange City Council’s neglect of East Orange in the city’s General Plan update is more than an inconvenience to residents, builders and investors. It results in community chaos and divisiveness and forces citizens to fight for balance and reasoned construction every time a spade is about to be turned... Continue Reading
Sixty-seven acres of the Sully-Miller property abutting Santiago Canyon Road in Orange, including the seven-acre horse arena across the street, are for sale, with bids required by June 22. The sale is expected to Close October 15... Continue Reading
The 3rd Annual Tree Hugger's Ball and "Go Green" Expo, held in Baker Canyon on Saturday, May 19th was a huge success. "We busted out the seams when more people flooded the gate than had been anticipated with the event's catered Italian food & biodegradable forks! "Where's the fork'in food" is our new moto!" stated the event promoter & CLCF Director, Chay Peterson. The CLCF had to make runs to the local stores and Pascale's Pizza to accomodate the over 500 hungry guests...