About Us
The Sierra Club Orange Hills Task Force is composed of Orange homeowners and business owners who seek to preserve the unique East Orange environment. We are opposed to the six-mile-long urban sprawl that the Irvine Company wants to impose on the scenic hills from Chapman/Santiago Road all the way to Irvine Lake. We participated in the planning process, raised issues, and offered alternatives to the sprawling tract-home development. We filed a lawsuit challenging a faulty Environmental Impact Report that downplayed traffic congestion, water quality issues and pollution. We lost the first round, but have launched an appeal in the Appellate Court. During our multi-year battle against Billionaire Donald Bren’s Irvine Company, we have earned the support of our East Orange neighbors, citywide taxpayers, equestrians, conservationists, park users, commuters, parents of school-age children and real estate professionals.
So What’s the Problem?
The Irvine Company gave Orange County a gift of 11,000 acres of open space, but now the company wants to ruin it by placing sprawling residential communities right in the middle of it, near Irvine Lake.
This will result in:
- Increased traffic and gridlock on our roads
- Increased pollution of our local air and waterways
- Increased noise and light pollution
- Loss of scenic hill views
- Critical loss of wildlife
- Higher tax burdens to subsidize their sprawl and infrastructure
- Overcrowded schools
