New mixed-use zoning designation would allow mixed retail/apartment development adjacent to homes in Mission Viejo!

What seems like an isolated local issue could become a precedent affecting zoning and land use at 9 privately owned sites across Mission Viejo.  Please read our summary of the proposal and join us in defending the character of our city. 

As reported in the Public Notice published on the city website October 7, 2021, the property owner of the 6.5 acre site on the northwest side of Marguerite Parkway and La Paz has applied to the City seeking to establish a new mixed-use land use designation and zoning district for a new project ironically named “The Gardens”.

The Gardens plan calls for:

1.     A six story, 74 foot tall building

2.     48,000 square feet of retail (existing 46,148 square feet to be demolished)

3.     5 stories of residential housing

4.     234 apartments (36 per acre) with a mix of 1, 2 and 3 bedroom units ranging from 581 to 1,547 square feet

5.     626 parking spaces

6.     12 units allocated as low-income affordable housing

Copies of the plans are on file at the Mission Viejo City Planning and Transportation Commission offices at City Hall.

This request threatens to change the nature of our community in some fundamental ways:

1.     Precedent: This land is zoned Office/Professional.  Per the Mission Viejo Zoning Map, there are approx. 9 other sites in MV with the same zoning.  Once the new zoning designation is created and the precedent is set it will be nearly impossible to stop other property owners from following suit. 

2.     Height: At 74 feet, this building will be 13 feet taller than the 5 story Mission Medical Tower on Crown Valley Parkway, a major 6 lane thoroughfare in a commercial-zoned location, becoming the tallest building in Mission Viejo. 

3.     Traffic: At peak hours it can take 20 minutes to get from La Paz and Marguerite to the 5 freeway, and vice-versa. This proposal would significantly increase traffic on roads that are already overburdened.

4.     Noise: The density of this plan will produce a noise footprint that is many times greater than anything currently operating in this part of Mission Viejo.

5.     Size: If the first-floor retail space is slated to be 48,000 square feet, and the structure is 6 stories tall, the building could reach 288,000 square feet.  By comparison the largest building in Mission Viejo today is Mission Medical Tower, situated on a commercial site fronting Crown Valley Parkway, at 5 stories tall and 119,497 square feet. 

6.     Density: The proposed plans create the tallest and highest density development in Mission Viejo and places it in a residential neighborhood completely changing the character of the area.

7.     City Plan Impact: The Mission Viejo Core Area Vision Plan envisions a low-density open-air paseo that would attract foot traffic to improved retail and restaurant locations. This proposal runs counter to that vision, creating a high density mixed-used presence right in the city center, and opening the door to multiple other locations within Mission Viejo. 

Don’t let developers do this to Mission Viejo!

Please sign our petition!!

Go to WWW.SAVEMISSIONV.ORG for more information

PLEASE NOTE: Donations go to change.org to run their web site and does not the directly benefit this petition.