NO Orange Heights | Protect Foothills from 1180 Homes in Wildlife Area
NO Orange Heights | Protect Foothills from 1180 Homes in Wildlife Area
The Issue
In 2005, the Orange City Council approved the environmental impact report (EIR) for The Irvine Company's controversial 4100-home proposed development project in the rural foothills of Orange known as "Santiago Hills Phase II." Since then, there have been multiple devastating wildfires in the area, extensive habitat loss due to other large scale developments, severe declines in local wildlife populations, massive increases in pollution and overwhelming traffic congestion.
Now, almost 20 years later, The Irvine Company wants to build 1180 homes in the rural foothills of Orange, but they changed the name to “Orange Heights.” They plan to grade the scenic hillsides and pave over a crucial wildlife corridor between Irvine Regional Park and Peter’s Canyon Regional Park which supports mountain lions, mule deer, bobcats, gray foxes, long-tailed weasels, white-tailed kites, coastal California gnatcatchers, coastal cactus wren, least Bell’s vireo, greater roadrunners, California quail, native pollinators and many other sensitive species.
Since the environmental circumstances have changed significantly between 2005 and 2024 and new projects of this scale pose significant threats to the health and well being of Orange residents, our community is requesting that The Irvine Company stop the proposed Orange Heights development project and conduct a new environmental review, donate the land to OC Parks or give us a chance to buy the land for conservation. Because of the rampant development of thousands of homes in the City of Irvine, The Irvine Company can afford to halt this project. However, we cannot afford to lose more of our rural, wild and scenic open space to inappropriate urban sprawl.
As part of the democratic process, citizens deserve an opportunity to comment on the proposed project as it currently exists, especially since The Irvine Company is proposing something different than the original “Santiago Hills Phase II” and it will significantly impact our quality of life in perpetuity. We never had an opportunity to comment on this new project known as "Orange Heights." We need The Irvine Company to stop the proposed development for the following reasons:
Wildfire at Irvine Regional Park, ©leegamer, 2017
1) WILDFIRE - The proposed project puts people and property in harm’s way. There have been multiple devastating fires in recent years. Other similar proposed projects in Los Angeles and San Diego County have been stopped for this exact reason. Even if the developer pays for a fire station, they won't pay for firefighters salaries or equipment in perpetuity, so the City will be on the hook for that (in which case property taxes will need to be increased). Also, there is the issue of fire insurance, since many insurance companies are pulling out of CA and refusing to write new fire insurance policies when they come up for renewal.
Orange Heights Tract Map (2023)
2) URBAN SPRAWL - The proposed project is further away from amenities and transit hubs, which increases traffic to and from. This project contradicts the city's effort to develop sustainable infill projects that are near amenities and transit hubs, which are meant to reduce traffic to and from. It also degrades the rural, wild and scenic viewshed for current residents and visitors to the canyons. Light, noise, air and water pollution will increase exponentially at the proposed project site because it currently produces no pollution. Even if The Irvine Company was proposing affordable housing, which it is not, the location is completely inappropriate and will exacerbate an already serious traffic congestion issue.
M317, a single male lion just past dispersal age, was observed on the property within the last 10 months. Photo: Juan Gonazlez, UC Davis Wildlife Health Center
3) WILDLIFE CORRIDOR - Sensitive wildlife species, including mountain lion, mule deer, bobcat, white-tailed kite, northern harrier, long-tailed weasel, greater roadrunner, California quail, coastal California gnatcatcher, coastal cactus wren, least Bell's vireo, butterflies, bats and other species who require large amounts of contiguous undeveloped open space are heavily reliant upon this proposed project site as crucial habitat (food, shelter, cover and space for movement), especially because it is perfectly situated between Irvine Regional Park, Peter's Canyon and the Santa Ana Ana Mountain range. M317, a single male lion just past dispersal age, was observed on the property within the last 10 months. Other large-scale developments (thousands of dwelling units) and the toll roads, have already decimated the populations of these sensitive species in Tustin, Anaheim Hills, Irvine, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo and San Juan Capistrano. The open space that has been set aside cannot fully accommodate the species that are relying on the habitat at the proposed project site.
4) CULTURALLY SENSITIVE - There are at least six archaeological sites within the project area. The archaeological sites are both prehistoric and historic in nature. Anthony Morales, of the Gabrieleño Tongva Band of Mission Indians, says that it is a culturally sensitive area. New information regarding the potential for the project area to contain Native American burials was acquired through consultation with the Native American Heritage Commission and Gabrielino/Tongva and Juaneño/Acjachemen representatives. During the 2004 study, archaeologists, with authorization from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, removed one acre of grass and sage scrub species from the site and were able to map a clearly visible sample of the site. This testing showed that CA-ORA-556 qualifies for the California Register of Historical Resources. Therefore, the site is considered a unique archaeological resource for the purposes of CEQA. It is estimated that 90% of archaeological sites in Orange County have been destroyed to may way for development. This makes the remaining archaeological sites of utmost importance as they are the only tangible remains of ca. 10,000 years of Juaneño/Acjachemen and Gabrielino/Tongva/Kizh history.
5) TRAFFIC CONGESTION - The intersection of Jamboree and Chapman/Santiago Cyn Rd already suffers from excessive traffic congestion during peak commuting hours. The 1180 homes will potentially generate ~11,800 daily trips, which should be enough to exceed air quality thresholds, even mitigated, so the County would be required to adopt a Statement of Overriding Considerations.
The 400-acre wildlife corridor is the rural gateway to the Santa Ana Mountains which is well documented as being a significant wildfire risk. We are asking The Irvine Company to conduct a new environmental review or donate the land to OC Parks or give the community an opportunity raise the funds to purchase the land for conservation.
Donate to NO Orange Heights: naturalist-for-you.org/donate
Contact: noorangeheights@gmail.com
Visit our website: norangeheights.org
Write letters to (for letter templates, visit our website):
Attention: Executive Vice President Jamie Yoshida
Irvine Company
550 Newport Center Drive
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Jamie Yoshida: jyoshida@irvinecompany.com
Jennifer Le: jenniferle@irvinecompany.com
Steve Greyshock: sgreyshock@irvinecompany.com
6th District Council Member John Gyllenhammer: jgyllenhammer@cityoforange.org
City Council: councilinfo@cityoforange.org, dan@danslater.com, anagutierrez@cityoforange.org, abarrios@cityoforange.org,
City Council's Office
300 E. Chapman Ave.
Orange, CA 92866
(714) 744-2211
View the comments below.
27,256
The Issue
In 2005, the Orange City Council approved the environmental impact report (EIR) for The Irvine Company's controversial 4100-home proposed development project in the rural foothills of Orange known as "Santiago Hills Phase II." Since then, there have been multiple devastating wildfires in the area, extensive habitat loss due to other large scale developments, severe declines in local wildlife populations, massive increases in pollution and overwhelming traffic congestion.
Now, almost 20 years later, The Irvine Company wants to build 1180 homes in the rural foothills of Orange, but they changed the name to “Orange Heights.” They plan to grade the scenic hillsides and pave over a crucial wildlife corridor between Irvine Regional Park and Peter’s Canyon Regional Park which supports mountain lions, mule deer, bobcats, gray foxes, long-tailed weasels, white-tailed kites, coastal California gnatcatchers, coastal cactus wren, least Bell’s vireo, greater roadrunners, California quail, native pollinators and many other sensitive species.
Since the environmental circumstances have changed significantly between 2005 and 2024 and new projects of this scale pose significant threats to the health and well being of Orange residents, our community is requesting that The Irvine Company stop the proposed Orange Heights development project and conduct a new environmental review, donate the land to OC Parks or give us a chance to buy the land for conservation. Because of the rampant development of thousands of homes in the City of Irvine, The Irvine Company can afford to halt this project. However, we cannot afford to lose more of our rural, wild and scenic open space to inappropriate urban sprawl.
As part of the democratic process, citizens deserve an opportunity to comment on the proposed project as it currently exists, especially since The Irvine Company is proposing something different than the original “Santiago Hills Phase II” and it will significantly impact our quality of life in perpetuity. We never had an opportunity to comment on this new project known as "Orange Heights." We need The Irvine Company to stop the proposed development for the following reasons:
Wildfire at Irvine Regional Park, ©leegamer, 2017
1) WILDFIRE - The proposed project puts people and property in harm’s way. There have been multiple devastating fires in recent years. Other similar proposed projects in Los Angeles and San Diego County have been stopped for this exact reason. Even if the developer pays for a fire station, they won't pay for firefighters salaries or equipment in perpetuity, so the City will be on the hook for that (in which case property taxes will need to be increased). Also, there is the issue of fire insurance, since many insurance companies are pulling out of CA and refusing to write new fire insurance policies when they come up for renewal.
Orange Heights Tract Map (2023)
2) URBAN SPRAWL - The proposed project is further away from amenities and transit hubs, which increases traffic to and from. This project contradicts the city's effort to develop sustainable infill projects that are near amenities and transit hubs, which are meant to reduce traffic to and from. It also degrades the rural, wild and scenic viewshed for current residents and visitors to the canyons. Light, noise, air and water pollution will increase exponentially at the proposed project site because it currently produces no pollution. Even if The Irvine Company was proposing affordable housing, which it is not, the location is completely inappropriate and will exacerbate an already serious traffic congestion issue.
M317, a single male lion just past dispersal age, was observed on the property within the last 10 months. Photo: Juan Gonazlez, UC Davis Wildlife Health Center
3) WILDLIFE CORRIDOR - Sensitive wildlife species, including mountain lion, mule deer, bobcat, white-tailed kite, northern harrier, long-tailed weasel, greater roadrunner, California quail, coastal California gnatcatcher, coastal cactus wren, least Bell's vireo, butterflies, bats and other species who require large amounts of contiguous undeveloped open space are heavily reliant upon this proposed project site as crucial habitat (food, shelter, cover and space for movement), especially because it is perfectly situated between Irvine Regional Park, Peter's Canyon and the Santa Ana Ana Mountain range. M317, a single male lion just past dispersal age, was observed on the property within the last 10 months. Other large-scale developments (thousands of dwelling units) and the toll roads, have already decimated the populations of these sensitive species in Tustin, Anaheim Hills, Irvine, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo and San Juan Capistrano. The open space that has been set aside cannot fully accommodate the species that are relying on the habitat at the proposed project site.
4) CULTURALLY SENSITIVE - There are at least six archaeological sites within the project area. The archaeological sites are both prehistoric and historic in nature. Anthony Morales, of the Gabrieleño Tongva Band of Mission Indians, says that it is a culturally sensitive area. New information regarding the potential for the project area to contain Native American burials was acquired through consultation with the Native American Heritage Commission and Gabrielino/Tongva and Juaneño/Acjachemen representatives. During the 2004 study, archaeologists, with authorization from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, removed one acre of grass and sage scrub species from the site and were able to map a clearly visible sample of the site. This testing showed that CA-ORA-556 qualifies for the California Register of Historical Resources. Therefore, the site is considered a unique archaeological resource for the purposes of CEQA. It is estimated that 90% of archaeological sites in Orange County have been destroyed to may way for development. This makes the remaining archaeological sites of utmost importance as they are the only tangible remains of ca. 10,000 years of Juaneño/Acjachemen and Gabrielino/Tongva/Kizh history.
5) TRAFFIC CONGESTION - The intersection of Jamboree and Chapman/Santiago Cyn Rd already suffers from excessive traffic congestion during peak commuting hours. The 1180 homes will potentially generate ~11,800 daily trips, which should be enough to exceed air quality thresholds, even mitigated, so the County would be required to adopt a Statement of Overriding Considerations.
The 400-acre wildlife corridor is the rural gateway to the Santa Ana Mountains which is well documented as being a significant wildfire risk. We are asking The Irvine Company to conduct a new environmental review or donate the land to OC Parks or give the community an opportunity raise the funds to purchase the land for conservation.
Donate to NO Orange Heights: naturalist-for-you.org/donate
Contact: noorangeheights@gmail.com
Visit our website: norangeheights.org
Write letters to (for letter templates, visit our website):
Attention: Executive Vice President Jamie Yoshida
Irvine Company
550 Newport Center Drive
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Jamie Yoshida: jyoshida@irvinecompany.com
Jennifer Le: jenniferle@irvinecompany.com
Steve Greyshock: sgreyshock@irvinecompany.com
6th District Council Member John Gyllenhammer: jgyllenhammer@cityoforange.org
City Council: councilinfo@cityoforange.org, dan@danslater.com, anagutierrez@cityoforange.org, abarrios@cityoforange.org,
City Council's Office
300 E. Chapman Ave.
Orange, CA 92866
(714) 744-2211
View the comments below.
27,256
The Decision Makers
Supporter Voices
Petition created on August 28, 2023