TIC Runoff Runaround Questioned by Residents
Homeowner reaction to the Irvine Company's proposed water runoff facility located on public parkland behind the Hillsdale community has unleashed a flurry of misconception, confusion and unsubstantiated claims.
After the Foothills Sentry broke the story of the developer's plans to divert runoff from its Santiago Hills II housing project into Irvine Regional and Peters Canyon Park, Hillsdale homeowners rallied to fight the proposal and protect their neighborhood from the specter of concrete basins, standing water and negative impacts on property values.
A meeting with Irvine Company representatives led homeowners to believe the project was a fait accompli, that the City of Orange supported it, and that it resulted from painstaking planning with environmental groups. Residents were also told that the builder had an easement for runoff in Irvine Park, obtained in 1897 when James Irvine donated the land.
"I was so mad," says Hillsdale property owner Pat Spencer, "we were told the Irvine Company was going to do this no matter what and the best we could hope for was to mitigate the damage by moving it as far from our homes as possible and putting in landscaping to hide it."
Unwilling to accept that outcome, Spencer sought additional information and arranged for former Orange City Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Mike Alvarez to meet with residents to explain the history of the runoff plan and suggest effective ways to counter it. The community forum was held June 26.
Alvarez, now a candidate for mayor, was a city council member in 2000 when the original Santiago Hills II development was approved. He recalls that no runoff management plan (ROMP) was analyzed nor finalized at that time. "There were some discussions of a runoff facility that the Irvine Company would pay the city to manage," he says. "But we never agreed on where it would be or how it would be maintained."
"I doubt that any of the current council was aware of this runoff management plan when they approved the revised project last year," he reports. "The council had seen draft plans, but no final ROMP was ever submitted."
The council approved the development in November 2005. The Irvine Company requested county encroachment permits to build runoff facilities in Irvine and Peters Canyon parks in January 2006.
"The city never agreed to this," says Alvarez. "And once the council understands what this is, they may seek county help or ask the Irvine Company for an alternative plan."
"If you want to stop this," he told Hillsdale homeowners, "talk to each of the council members; talk to the mayor. Let them know what's going on. Give Mayor Mark Murphy phone calls and letters."
Because the encroachment permit process takes place at the administrative level, elected officials were, in fact, unaware of it. In separate conversations with several county supervisors and staff, the Orange Hills Task Force found that Tom Wilson, Chris Norby and Bill Campbell knew nothing about plans to encroach on public parkland.
Orange City Councilwoman Carolyn Cavecche, also running for mayor in Orange, did hear of the Irvine Company's intentions. When Hillsdale homeowners learned of the looming encroachment, they asked her for help. Assuming that the runoff facility was inevitable, Cavecche and several Hillsdale residents met with Supervisor Campbell to explore possible mitigation. Campbell agreed to look into it, but reportedly noted that the Irvine Company held an easement that would allow it to send runoff onto park property.
An open records request filed by the Orange Hills Task Force turned up documents pertaining to the incomplete ROMP dating back to 2004. There are numerous references to an easement in Peters Canyon. There are no references to any easement in Irvine Park. The draft permits for park encroachment specifically cite the Peters Canyon easement, but say nothing about an easement in Irvine Park. In fact, the official county response to the draft ROMP, dated March 4, 2004, states "Irvine Co. has no reserved rights at Irvine Regional Park."
The county's response to the draft ROMP also notes that "TIC [the Irvine Company] has agreed to relocate [the] drainage facility to connect directly to Santiago Creek through adjacent Irvine Co. property."
Although the 2004 draft ROMP cited the Irvine Park/Hillsdale location as the best alternative, it is clear that park officials were encouraging another approach. During a 15-month stretch of meetings with environmental groups (Sierra Club, Coastkeeper), the Irvine Company appeared to back down.
"I attended many meetings," says Orange Hills Task Force member Theresa Sears. "We never agreed to this plan and never reached an agreement on any plan. We kept asking for the final ROMP, and were promised one, but it never came. We always insisted that the Irvine Company handle its ROMP issues on its own land, which it had plenty of - over 11,000 acres."
In January 2005, Coastkeeper sent Mayor Murphy a letter noting that the water quality issues were being resolved and that it "has been informed by TIC that they are abandoning their plan to locate the infiltration basin on county park land."
Coastkeeper, however, has recently come out in favor of the plan. "That doesn't mean environmentalists support it," says Theresa Sears. "Remember, the Sierra Club filed a lawsuit challenging the Irvine Company's irresponsible development. And Coastkeeper's narrow focus is water quality, making sure it is clean before emptying into the ocean. It doesn't understand the irreversible effects of pouring urban runoff into sensitive riparian areas like this. It doesn't recognize that it is wrong to use public land for private development."
Pat Spencer agrees. "Why can't the Irvine Company use its own land to control the runoff," she says. "Why do they need our park? Why do they have to lower my property value by putting it behind my house? Isn't there any way to stop this?"
We Need Your Help!
Saving the hills east of Orange from development that is unresponsive to the needs and wishes of the concerned citizenry will take more than confidence. We are asking our East Orange and canyon friends and neighbors to help us raise needed funds for this important fight.
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